OMG! I’ve Lost my Google PageRank!
December 2nd, 2007 by Mike
Well it’s happened…. I’ve lost my Google PageRank. I used to be 4 at one time, then I was a 2, and now I’ve become a 0. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques, so if you are looking for info on this you might as well stop reading here. What I will tell you is that this is bad news for me and that I’m not the only one out there experiencing this problem.
The main reason why Google has punished me is because I had paid links on my site. Paid links are from advertisers who ask you to link to their site from yours. You can simply do this by including a link in your page to their site. Now of course they have different requirements but as long as you meet those specifications they will compensate you. It’s not very much but hey, it helps pay for the cost of hosting your site.
I had paid links from a company called Pay Per Post. Pay Per Post was great cause they would give me a list of different advertisers who wanted bloggers to blog about their sites. For example, a dog food company may try this method of advertising by asking bloggers to write about dog food and include a link to their site. There was often a lot of freedom with how I could write the post just so long as I included the link and met other requirements such as writing 50 words on the subject. Anyway Google doesn’t like advertisers getting these back links and so they’ve now taken my page rank away. It’s taken me a long time to achieve the page rank I had and now since my page rank is gone it will be more difficult for people to find my site, which of course is bad. What’s even more is that the opportunities with Pay Per Post have substantially dropped off as their advertisers want bloggers with high page ranks. It’s a vicious circle. I kind of feel hung out to dry by Pay Per Post on this as well.
I like blogging and will continue to do so but it’s disappointing that after all of the work I’ve put in to it, it feels like Google is taking it away. Oh well, there isn’t anything I can do about it and I guess I just have to take it. Hopefully someone else will come along that will help even the playing field and make Google less dictator-like and more democratic-like.
Possibly related:
-How Mike Got His Google PageRank Back
-Back your Hard Drive up!
-Nick Ramsay vs. Nick Ramsay
-Peace Be With My Net Buddy 4 Life… In Japan!
-Westside United FC Drop to 4th Place
Posted: December 2nd, 2007 under Internet.
Comments: 16
Sorry to hear you got hit.
You know, as much as we’re upset at Google, if they didn’t impose this rel=”nofollow” rule, their search results would lose relevance over the next few years and then everyone would switch to Yahoo and bye-bye Google. They have to maintain the quality of their search results because their whole business is based on it.
So, if Google is justified in forcing compliance, then the blame shifts to the companies that sell paid links, e.g. Pay Per Post. If they allowed their publishers to use the nofollow tag, then they’d be no problem… but wait, then most advertisers would stop buying links because the only reason they do it is to manipulate the search results! So if PPP and co. followed Google’s new policy, they’d quickly go out of business. However, if more “posties” get hit and pull out of their programs, that’s likely to happen anyway.
As long as backlinks and anchor text are used to determine where a site is listed in the search results, advertisers will find a way to get them. PPP-type companies and “posties” will be the victims, including poor work-at-home moms who earn their keep by selling pagerank. The rest of us will see an increase in spam as marketers look for backlinks.
Since you’ve lost your pagerank now, and can’t get any worthwhile opportunities through PPP, I suggest:
1. Wait till you get paid from PPP
2. Remove PPP tools and disclosure, etc. from your blog.
3. Go through all your PPP posts and add rel=”nofollow”
4. Submit a reconsideration request to Google from Webmaster Tools (it may take a few weeks)
5. Take a deep breath, then start doing some honest blogging and get socializing with fellow bloggers in your niche.
6. Look at all Google’s Adsense options : Content, Referrals, Video units, Search, maybe even Mobile, and use/promote what you can. Google is going to get bigger and bigger! Also consider other affiliate programs.
7. Work hard at building your readership, and earn residual income from Adsense.
Point 7 is my favorite, because if you can get a passive income stream from Adsense, it sure beats having to actually work on writing paid posts for the rest of your life!
Keep blogging away and follow my advice. Within 6 months you’ll have a huge amount of great content, and you’ll be a “good little blogger” in Google’s eyes. Go Net Buddy! You can do it!
Hey Nick, Thanks for the comment! In fact I think this is the best comment ever on MM.com and the longest!
I think I’m going to take your advice and in the New Year PPP will no longer exist on this blog. It was a good run but yeah writing paid posts all my life would be pathetic!
2008 will soon be upon us and from there a new era will start with MM… Hey maybe if you have time you can help me give it a make over! The only question is what kind of topic I should focus on… maybe I’ll just keep it the same as it is now… the life and times of Michael McKinlay!
You, too? I also lost my PageRank today, and it really sucks. It raises a bunch of questions, and so far there have been very few answers forthcoming.
I have about 6 PayPerPost reviews on my site that I have not yet been paid for and, according to their terms of service, I might not get paid for them at all without the PR4. This also kills my Text-Link-Ads income completely, as I’m expected to have at least a PR3 from my two clients.
What’s worse, is that this could cost me money in the form of refunds, as well. According to the PayPerPost terms of service, we can’t remove or modify our posts for six months after posting them. We also can’t be losing huge amounts of PR. On top of that, the same story is said for Text-Link-Ads and many other online income sources. Any changes to these ratings or values could result in a demand for repayment from any of the affected parties. In the last six months, I’ve received over $400 USD through these online companies. Hardly a large amount, and hardly something I can’t afford to repay, but that’s not the point. It’s the principle of the matter.
I disagree with Nick’s seventh poing saying that we should earn residuals from the Big-G’s Ad-nonsense. Bloggers that are truly upset with how things have come down should look elsewhere for income opportunities. Accepting whatever Google is willing to give us is almost like grovelling for forgiveness, and most bloggers I know are way too proud to resort to such measures.
Google is hardly a monopoly, but they wield an incredible amount of power. If they really wanted to shut down PPP, TLA or LinkWorth, they could have done so in the space of 10 seconds. Instead, they’re simply making it impossible for these sites to peg themselves to Google’s valuation of a site.
Will Google’s move ensure quality returns in the future? Perhaps. Has Google’s previous methods resulted in a large quantity of garbage search results? Kinda. Will Google’s plans ensure the internet continues to bend over and take it? Definately.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. You can’t tell me that the Big-G omnipresent crawlers can tell the difference between a paid link and a real link to another site due to a superior product or service.
All that said, my site is now Yahoo-optimized
Geez, this has got me worried now. I’ve stripped my blog of Text Link Ads and nofollowed my old paid posts, but maybe it’s too late. I’m probably already on their list.
The big question is whether losing PageRank will really hinder your ranking in Google’s search results or not. I can’t take that chance because Google drives the traffic that clicks the ads that makes me money, and under the circumstances I think Mike’s best bet for ensuring he doesn’t get booted out of Google’s index is to comply with the Big G’s wishes. Sure, he doesn’t have to use Adsense, but at least he won’t get penalized for it if Google change their policies again.
I’ve been checking my results for specific keywords on both Google.com and Google.ca and found that only my real name has been hit with a seriously lower ranking. Everything else is still right up where it used to be
That said, maybe the new PR0-ness hasn’t yet rippled to the SERPs … I’ll let you know if Google completely removes me from their indexes.
Pagerank is supposed to be based on page not site. Do you think they’ve just hit the index pages?
Every page on my site is a big fat zero. I’ve checked this with several online tools, and it’s not pretty.
That said, my decent returns might just be waiting for the G-cache to be cleared
Thanks for your comment Jason! You’ve raised some great points. Now I’m kind of worried that PPP is going to ask for refunds. Then again, I don’t see how they could since 30 days has past and that should be enough. Of course I’ve lost my page rank but we all know whose fault that is, so I can’t see Pay Per Post expecting a refund!
Anyway I think I’m through with Pay Per Post and when January begins, so does a new era on MichaelMcKinlay.com!
Thanks for your comments Jason!
Geez, you guys!!!!!!!!!!! I do not have a ranking at all and really feel lonely!!
Actually in all honesty, reading what you guys wrote only makes me worry
for Nick!!
I’m sure he is all over it like white on rice but to the Daaaah dopey fool like
me who knows very little about what you guys are all talking about, it does seem
like earning money from what you guys do does leave you at the mercy of the
Google and yahoo’s whims!!!
Good luck and do hope this gets sorted for you all!!!
Keith
Thanks Keith. It turns out Google did get to me, too, but a bit differently. I’ve had my Longcountdown domain and sub-domains knocked down the search results by a couple of pages. I’m sure if I get my blog in a Google-approved state, I’ll get back to where I was, but the hit to my Writing Wizard site (an LC sub-domain) is going to hurt a bit. It won’t change my plans for February, though. It’s full steam ahead… with a little more care than before.
Update: I got my rankings back in just 48 hours! Whoo-hoo!
Congrats Net Buddy!
[…] lost his PageRank and Jason was finally spanked by Google this week, and I’ve been scrambling to make my […]
Mike,
If you want to have a higher PageRank then you have to have more quality backlinks to your website. Have you tried to add your website to Dmoz.
Oh good tip, I will do that! Thanks!