Results completely shut out all "commercial" sites

[makapangyarihan]

Hello,

I dunno if anybody has noticed something similar but it's happening on Google. Before, my site was #1 for "web design philippines" and of course, all my competition were not far behind. but for about 2 weeks now, the 1st page results for this particular search term is completely devoid of all the "commercial sites" deliberately targeting this particular search term.

can anybody explain this to me? my site is not banned in google by the way... i'm still doing quite well (from #1 to 5 depending on what search term) for other highly competitive terms.

Jon

[qwerty]

Jon, that's being discussed at http://www.ihelpyouservices.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12372

We have seen commercial sites drop, and there are a few theories in that thread as to why it's happening.

[icwcorp]

The Google Algorithim thread is starting to become a monster.

[keress]

I've only read about five pages of that thread, but my general reaction so far is, forget Google. If I can spend months learning all I can about how to do things that will gain me a reasonable position there, and work countless hours trying to achieve that, just to have it all jerked around, then it isn't a reasonable place to be dealing with. People are trying to make a living, and the ground rules can't be so capricious, or they'll just have to make their living somewhere else.

Why in the world penalize commercial sites??? People are trying to buy things online. They WANT commercial sites. I looked at some sites I helped last year, realtors in New Bern, NC. Presently, there are NO realtors listed anywhere under the terms "New Bern real estate." So those poor people trying to find a realtor, and a real estate site with good listings, are neglected, unless they can find a search engine that isn't dominated by Google.

I'm going to start shopping around myself for some paid listings, or SOMETHING besides Google. There's no pleasing that behemoth.

[steelcityinternet]

Well, look at it this way - you've probably made a mint out of Google over the years with your free listing, so the time you spent optimising has paid off well - but now Google's decided the free ride is over and it's time to pay - they aren't 'penalizing' you - think of it more like the 'special offer' of free advertsing is now over.
It is their site after all - you can't expect free advertising forever, you have to pay for advertising everywhere else on this planet, so why not Google?

[keress]

Actually, I haven't made a mint. I've been chasing that Google tails for years, trying to figure out what it wanted, and pouring hundreds and hundreds of hours into catching up on the curve. Now, after all this time finally starting to close in on it and get somewhere, they decide to change all the ground rules? That's cold. And it's unrealistic. Nobody can do business that way. How many mom and pop shops are going to go belly up over Christmas because of this?

I wouldn't mind paying a reasonable fee, if it was made clear upfront what the expectations were and how I was to fulfill those expectations. All this game playing is a stupid waste.

[Webmaster T]

Originally posted by keress
I've only read about five pages of that thread, but my general reaction so far is, forget Google. If I can spend months learning all I can about how to do things that will gain me a reasonable position there, and work countless hours trying to achieve that, just to have it all jerked around, then it isn't a reasonable place to be dealing with. People are trying to make a living, and the ground rules can't be so capricious, or they'll just have to make their living somewhere else.That is how it has been for as long as I've been doing this. This is nothing compared to what happened in the past on older engines who refereshed less regularly and were constantly changing the technology. It's to be expected all engines are always changing.

[projectphp]

I'm going to start shopping around myself for some paid listings, or SOMETHING besides Google. There's no pleasing that behemoth.
That's the attitude!!! GIVE UP I say. Why bother learning? Why bother trying, surender is just soo much easier.

Seriously, Google is important because people search there. Until that stops happenning, we are all stuck. I personally applaud people who diversify, but if Google isn't a big part of the diversified mix, then youa re nuts. Chasing your tail, learning tricks and generally doing crazy things is now, more than ever, the wrong approach.

So, look at the alternatives, understand where you get results and put into action ideas taht make money, but seriously, giving up is surely crazy!!!

[ihelpyou]

Exactly. Especially so if you give up right now when I know damn well the new algo thingie ain't set in stone yet. :)

[qwerty]

I agree. But because of that, now is also not the time to be experimenting with different things, unless you've got domains you don't care about.

If what you've been doing was all about creating content that Google recognized as relevant, keep doing that. Google may dial things back and recognize a good site as a good site again, but even if they don't, having a site that's optimized the right way is never going to hurt you.

[keress]

Well, thanks a lot for calling me a quitter. That was appropriate. Not. Truth is, I may not have a choice if I can continue chasing the Google rainbow. If, after all I've put into developing my site, it doesn't start to show some return pretty quick, it will be hung out to dry for me. The wolves are at the door.

[yuccadude]

keress:

Querty's right. Keep building your site like you have.

You might want to read my thoughts as to why your home page may have dropped.

http://www.commercefriends.com/Google-Florida-Update.htm