Can Newbies Repair Their Search Engine Listing?

So, you got a big surprise last night, didn't you? You went
to search for your Website and it wasn't there anymore!
Where did it go? Did you have to use double quotes just to
find it? Not a pleasant feeling, I bet!

Let's face it: having your website de-listed or sent all the
way back to the start of the line isn't a joking matter! All
those months of hard work just gone down the drain! Poof !!

Is there a way out of this seemingly mortal blow to your
website; can you repair your Search Engine Listing? Yes
there is!
If your mistake was one of the dumb mistakes we all make on
account of lack of experience, there is a solution.

Don't think the Search Engines are stone monoliths; you can
talk to them! However, the first thing you have to do is be
calm and deliberate your next moves as you repair the damage
to your Search Engine listing.

Here are some pointers to look for the source of your Search
Engine troubles:

(a) Go back to the nearest specific date your website was
doing well with the Search Engines.

(b) Think of any changes you've done to your Website since
then and make a list.

(c) Have you created any other websites/blogs/message boards
with a very close or identical name?

(d) Have you done any tweaking to your Meta tags or website
content?

(e) Have you used any artificial web page or content
enhancement technology?

Once you revise your list and eliminate any obvious reasons
for trouble, keep on going looking for any others sources of
problems. By all means, do a thorough inspection and don't
leave a stone unturned. Repair and revise is the thing!

Go back to the basics and do your homework; don't put too
much stake on much of the (mis)information you find floating
around the Web. You also have to consider that Search Engine
technology is an evolving thing and what worked two years
ago, won't necessarily work today. Make sure your sources of
information are fresh and relevant.

Here are published guidelines on what some of the big Search
Engines take into consideration for a good listing:

Yahoo:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/ysearch/deletions/deletions-05.html

With their resent Natural language initiative, it's clear
Yahoo wants web pages that are very readable. Be careful not
to let "keyword loading" affect the easy readability of your
website.

MSN:
http://beta.search.msn.co.in/docs/siteowner.aspx

Google:
http://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html

Once you've done all that you can think of to clean-up your
Website, contact the Search Engines and offer them an
explanation while asking for a review of your Website.

Keep it short and businesslike and ask any pertinent
questions. Consider the SE staff is composed of people just
like you. We all make mistakes! Believe me, they have many
years of experience dealing with Newbies; they can also spot
a slick operator.

You might have to wait some time depending on their schedule for
crawling your neck of the Web. Look at your server logs to
see an average time between SE crawling.


A note of caution:

I don't see why in the world a Newbie would deal with
technology that artificially enhances web pages. There are
plenty in the market extolling their virtues. I've done
research on many of them and consider them only useful in
the hands of an experienced Webmaster.

If you MUST use any of them, build a dummy website to test
all your ideas before you build your dream website. I've
heard of folks with much more experience getting their site
banned for using some of the artificial enhancement
technologies.

If you follow the above guides, you will repair your Search
Engine listing. Your Website will return to its former
Search Engine friendly ranking. Keep your eyes open for the
next time and do your best not to make any more mistakes.
Take a deep breath and move on, that much wiser for the
experience.

by Francisco Aloy

(C)2005 Francisco Aloy
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About the Author

Francisco Aloy is the creator of The
Newbie Business Guide. Discover the
marketing punch of original content.
For more of Mr. Aloy's articles, visit:
http://www.newbie-business-guide.com