JLH Design

I’ve been quoting an excellent post by Susan Moskwa (Go Wisconsin!) on Google Webmaster Central lately, and thought I’d dissect it a bit. First thing I’d like to highlight is that when you’ve been caught spamming they probably take a deeper look at the site, how it ranks, and particularly how it got there.

But we must also take into account that besides the shady SEO techniques used on a particular site (for instance hidden text, redirecting doorway pages, etc) there are often off-site SEO techniques used such as creating artificial link popularity in order to gain a high position in Google’s SERPs

Secondly, after the spammy on-the-page factors are removed and the link profile is updated they then re-rank the site once it re-included.

…once those manipulations to make a site rank unnaturally high are removed, the site gains the position it merits based on its content and its natural link popularity…

The reason I want to highlight this is that it’s a subject I see a lot from webmasters. They’ve been caught spamming, clean up the site, and then can’t seem to figure out why they don’t rank where they used to anymore. Susan, in a rare glimpse at Google being quite open, lays the groundwork for understanding this. As she explains, the reason some sites are penalized for spamming, is because spamming works. By removing sites Google has really always admitted this simple fact, but at least now it’s in writing.

Site removal is also basically an admission that detection is not nearly as automatic as we’d like to believe. If the algorithm could easily detect spamming techniques the logical conclusion would be they’d just ignore them, and let the site rank where it would without the technique. The same way they treat the keyword meta tag, an abused system of assigning sites keywords used in the early 1930s, ignored by any real search engine today, but religiously used by the flat-earth-society of webmasters. I’d imagine there are too many instances of collateral damage for many types of automatic detection, for example CSS driven menu systems that hide some text.

Spamming a search engine takes some sort of sophistication that your average joe-six-pack mom-n-pop shop doesn’t normally exhibit, which is why I am glad to see Susan mention that they look deeper into how the site has been acting off the page as well. The logic is that if you’ve been sly enough to hide some text, cloak, or any other various egregious violations maybe your links should be looked at. The first and easiest place for the company that has built an empire on data mining is to look at your links. They’ve got cache data from your site going back to Jamestown in the 17th century, and data on the rest of the web. Looking for exchanged links is nothing for a bit of data mining to find, going 3 or 4 levels deep for linking rings is probably just as easy. Now they simply make a note of all those links to your site not counting.

I think this is also a good indication of the manual nature of penalization as I think we are talking about link exchanges, or attempts to manipulate search engine rankings artificially. It’s not the same as reciprocal linking. Reciprocal linking is a natural phenomena of the web, birds of a feather tend to flock together as they say. For example I’ve linked to search giants like Sebastian and Matt Cutts multiple times, and both have linked to me. That was not an arranged for any ranking purposes, but rather as a consequence of the subjects covered, thus a reciprocal link in that case is a good thing. Those links back and forth probably do count for something. Only a manual review and detect the difference.

So what’s all this mean? If you’ve been caught spamming, expect Google to put on the rubber gloves and give your site a real good look-see. Also expect that even though you have removed your spamming ways your ranking will probably be effected because 1) the original spam worked and doesn’t now, and 2) other factors, even off site ones, will also be re-evaluated.

I think where this really impacts people is the ones that get busted for unnatural linking procedures. If you’re running a site in a specific niche that has garnered most of it’s authority from unnatural linking between sites through exchanges and Google busts up that linking ring, some people are not going to be happy. If your site’s links were comprised of mainly industry wide exchanges expect a big drop, on the other hand if your competition had a good amount of real links, expect them to weather the storm better than you. No amount of reconsideration requests is going to get your site back to where it was and there is nothing any Googler can do to help as the old links that helped are now gone.

The answer, as always with Google, is to obey the rules and get more links. Real ones.

Sponsor: Today’s post was brought to you by Jane’s Addiction, circa 1990, back in my college days.

I’ve been caught stealing
Once when I was 5
I enjoy stealing
It’s just as simple as that
Well, it’s just a simple fact
When I want something, I don’t want to pay for it
I walk right through the door
Walk right through the door
Hey all right!
If I get by, it’s mine
Mine all mine!
My girl, she’s one too
She’ll go and get her a shirt
Stick it under her skirt
She grabbed a razor for me
And she did it just like that
When she wants something, she don’t want to pay for it
She walk right through the door
Walk right through the door
Hey all right!
If I get by, it’s mine
Mine all mine!
We sat around the pile
We sat and laughed
We sat and laughed and waved it into the air!
And we did it just like that
When we want something, we don’t want to pay for it
We walk right through the door
Walk right through the door
Hey, all right!
If I get by, it’s mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine. . .

I’ve been inadequate in my music video selections lately, here’s a great-old-one just for the video alone, but the song’s good too. I’ll definitely come back and watch this one from time to time.

“..they just got out an walked..”

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life, well hang on
Don’t let yourself go, ’cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it’s time to sing along
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)
When you think you’ve had too much of this life, well hang on

‘Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts. Don’t throw your hand. Oh, no. Don’t throw your hand
If you feel like you’re alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you’re on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,
When you think you’ve had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts. You are not alone

The voice of Enigma
Part I. Sadness

Part II. Find Love

Part III. Sadness (reprise)

The voice of Enigma

Good evening, this is the voice of Enigma.
In the next hour,
we will take you with us into another world.
Into the world of music, spirit, and meditation.

Turn off the light, take a deep breath, and relax.
Start to move slowly, very slowly,
let the rhythm be your guiding light.

Part I. Sadness

Procedamus in pace
In nomine Christi, Amen
.
Cum angelis et pueris,
fideles inveniamur
.
Attollite portas, principes, vestras
et elevamini, portae aeternales
et introibit rex gloriae
Qius est iste Rex glorie?
.
Sade dit moi
Sade donne moi
.
Procedamus in pace
In nomine Christi, Amen
.
Sade dit moi
qu’est ce que tu vas chercher ?
le bien par le mal
la vertu par le vice
Sade dit moi pourquoi l’ ‘evangile du mal ?
quelle est ta religion ou` sont tes fide`les ?
Si tu es contre Dieu, tu es contre l’homme
.
Sade dit moi pourquoi le sang pour le plaisir ?
Le plaisir sans l’amour.
N’y a t’il plus de sentiment dans le culte de l’homme ?
.
Sade es-tu diabolique ou divin?
.
Sade dit moi
Hosanna
Sade donne moi
Hosanna
Sade dit moi
Hosanna
Sade donne moi
Hosanna
.
In nomine Christi, Amen

(Translation:
Let us go forth in peace
In the name of Christ, So be it
.
We shall find the faithful in the
company of angels and children
.
Lift up ye heads o ye glorious gates,
and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors,
and the king of glory shall come in.
Who is the king of glory?
.
Sade tell me
Sade give me
.
Shall we proceed in peace
In the name of Christ, Amen
.
Sade tell me
what is it that you seek?
The rightness of wrong
The virtue of vice
Sade tell me why the Gospel of evil ?
What is your religion? Where are your faithful?
If you are against God, you are against man
.
Sade tell me why blood for pleasure?
Pleasure without love?
Is there no longer any feeling in man’s Faith?
.
Sade are you diabolical or divine?
.
Sade tell me
Hosanna
Sade give me
Hosanna
Sade tell me
Hosanna
Sade give me
Hosanna
.
In the name of Christ, Amen )

Part II. Find Love

The principles of lust, are easy to understand,
do what you feel, feel until the end.
The principles of lust, are burned in your mind,
do what you want, do it until you find, love.

The principles of lust, are easy to understand,
do what you feel, feel until the end.
The principles of lust, are burned in your mind,
do what you want, do it until you find, love.

Part III. Sadness (reprise)

Cum angelis et pueris, fideles inveniamur
.
Sade dit moi
Sade donnes moi
Sade dit moi
.
Hosanna
Sade donnes moi
Hosanna

Upon further review, the Bears still suck.

How many times must we take this disgrace
Another Bears fan throwing insults in our face
The Packers are the greatest team to ever play the game
Even if from time to time they’ve been a little lame

How could you ever love a team with Jim McMahon
Not even Porky Pig was as big a ham
They got a reputation that’s mostly based on luck
The Bears…Still…Suck

The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
They really really really really really really suck
Yes the Bears…Still…Suck

If you drive to Soldier Field they make you pay a toll
For cripes sake they only won one lousy Super Bowl
They make fun of Wisconsin, but we don’t get upset
Where do you think that they’re all headed every chance they get

We don’t really hold a grudge ’cause this is all in fun
As far as football rivalries we’re both number one
Still we wouldn’t mind seeing Ditka run over by a truck
‘Cause the Bears…Still…Suck

The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
They really really really really really really suck
Yes the Bears…Still…Suck

(All the ladies now) The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
They really really really really really really suck
Yes the Bears…Still…Suck

(Everybody now) The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck
They really really really really really really suck
Yes the Bears…Still…Suck…HEY !!

Update 1/30/07 - As a badge of honor I’m saving a screen shot of the google results for today, showing this blog in the #1 spot for “Bears Really Suck”.

The world was on fire
No one could save me but you.
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I’d meet somebody like you
And I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you
No, I don’t want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
No, I don’t want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
With you

What a wicked game you play
To make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do
To let me dream of you
What a wicked thing to say
You never felt this way
What a wicked thing to do
To make me dream of you
And I don’t wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
And I don’t want to fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]

The World was on fire
No one could save me but you
Strange what desire will make foolish people do
I never dreamed that I’d love somebody like you
I never dreamed that I’d lose somebody like you

No I don’t wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart
No I don't wanna fall in love
[This love is only gonna break your heart]
With you
With you

Nobody loves no one

Through the fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes
I can barely define the shape of this moment in time
And far from flying high in clear blue skies
I’m spiraling down to the hole in the ground where I hide.

If you negotiate the minefield in the drive
And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
And if you make it past the shotguns in the hall,
Dial the combination, open the priesthole
And if I’m in I’ll tell you what’s behind the wall.

There’s a kid who had a big hallucination
Making love to girls in magazines.
He wonders if you’re sleeping with your new found faith.
Could anybody love him
Or is it just a crazy dream?

And if I show you my dark side
Will you still hold me tonight?
And if I open my heart to you
And show you my weak side
What would you do?
Would you sell your story to Rolling Stone?
Would you take the children away
And leave me alone?
And smile in reassurance
As you whisper down the phone?
Would you send me packing?
Or would you take me home?

Thought I oughta bare my naked feelings,
Thought I oughta tear the curtain down.
I held the blade in trembling hands
Prepared to make it but just then the phone rang
I never had the nerve to make the final cut.

What happened here,
As the New York sunset disappeared?
I found an empty garden among the flagstones there.
Who lived here?
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot,
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop.
And now it all looks strange.
It’s funny how one
insect can damage so much grain.

And what’s it for,
This little empty garden by the brownstone door?
And in the cracks along the sidewalk nothing grows no more.
Who lived here?
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot,
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop.
And we are so amazed! We’re crippled and we’re
dazed….
A gardener like that one, no one can replace.

And I’ve been knocking, but no one answers.
And I’ve been knocking, most all the day.
Oh and I’ve been calling ,oh hey, hey, Johnny!
Can’t you come out to play?

And through their tears,
Some say he farmed his best in younger years.
But he’d have said that roots grow stronger,
if only he could hear.
Who lived there?
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot,
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop.
Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls…..
We hear, we hear your name…..

And I’ve been knocking,
but no one answers.
And I’ve been knocking,
most all the day.
Oh and I’ve been calling,
oh hey, hey, Johnny!
Can’t you come out to play,
In your empty garden?
Johnny?
Can’t you come out to play,
in your empty garden?

Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
And she tied you to her kitchen chair
And She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well baby I’ve been here before
I’ve seen this room and I’ve walked this floor
(You Know)I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
And Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya?
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew is Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not somebody who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah