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Went Hot: January 30, 2008 - 10:52 am
Posted By: BenjArriola 523 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.businessol.com)
Category: Google SEO
Maybe when you see drops in ranking, the best thing to do is wait. But my problem is I don't have the position 6 penalty but the position 58 penalty. *LOL*
12 Comments
Comments
Well that's gotta hurt for all the people laughing at the speculation of the position 6 penalty.
I said there was no such penalty, and there isn't. It isn't a penalty.
@nickycakes:
It never was a penalty so why would it hurt? There is a massive difference between an error and a penalty. A Penalty implies you've done something wrong, an Error does not.
I think the point that nickycakes makes is that many people denied the existence of the issue regardless of whether it was a penalty or an error. Clearly it is an error on Google's part and not a penalty. However, the behavior characteristics which defined the Google "sandbox" were not an error. They were also not necessarily a penalty from a strictly semantic point of view. But the behavior was real, despite many Web masters (and some SEO "experts") claiming otherwise So I think the takeaway here is that, regardless of whether something is an error, penalty, algo change, or whatever, wide reports of similar behavior across search engine listings usually deserve investigation with an open mind.
aaron wall just went way up on authority (if he can go higher).
Was so funny to see all the seo experts say he didnt know what he was talking about on this.
aaron wall just went way up on authority
How so?
He called it a penalty and it wasn't.
Nobody disputed something was moving things to spot #6 but I'd never call being in the top 10 of Google a penalty unless you're just trying to linkbait the hell out of a minor issue.
Being in the top 10 is a blessing...
Hat's off to Aaron for not only sharing his vast amount of SEO experience on the matter, but also having the business acumen to take it seriously. Penalty or bug, dropping from 1st to 6th impacts your business in the same way - from a business point of view you need to approach it as such.
>> He called it a penalty and it wasn't.
And many others said it didn't exist when it did. Does the label you put on it really matter? The result for website affected is just the same.
If Google did it and it impacts your rankings in a predictable way it matters. The academic argument of penalty or not, algo tweak or collateral damage etc. is important strategically for all of us for the long term as well.
It's important that we understand how to fix the problem a.s.a.p. (Aaron) and it also matters if it is actually a penalty or not, is intentional or consequental.
Anyone who waits for solid theoretical understanding *before* acting is not seriously working the web. Anyone who reacts immediately to every ranking change is probably foolish. In between those extremes, we are all competing.
Amen, John.
"Penalty or bug, dropping from 1st to 6th impacts your business in the same way - from a business point of view you need to approach it as such."
If a client considers it a penalty, he/she would probably spend hours fixing what ain't broke and filing a reinclusion request - possibly rattling his long-established rankings in the process.
On the other hand, if a client thinks its a glitch, then the answer would be to just wait it out.
So to approach every ranking drop as if you are penalized isn't something I'd recommend.
I am glad that some noise was made on this issue though - as SamIWas said elsewhere, Google may never have bothered to fix the issue otherwise.
I almost wish they had waited a while before fixing it...down the line it might reappear as a permanent addition to the algorithm (in some form) and I would've like to have studied it a bit.
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..."
LOL, while I appreciate your academic pusuit of SEO DarkMatter, I am sure there are many Webmasters that are glad its fixed...lol. also John I thought your post was well said.