Is it panda, pengiun, ad penalty?
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I'm trying to figure out why my google traffic is going down...
I see that back in Feb and then March 2011 it started to drop, which I assume was pengiun.
I saw a gradual comeback in traffic until March 2012, which I assume the second drop was another pengiun update.
The decline continued gradually until I saw a big drop in October 2012 which is completely dropping off in the past month today.
I recreated my website on wordpress, improving content and removing google ads. Relaunched a few weeks ago and still see a big drop.
Any idea what happened? I only got a message from google about a large traffic drop in march 2012 and a 404 error increase recently when I launched the new site which I fixed with 301 and removing media attachment pages that were indexed that gave a 404.
Once concern is I have no idea if I have a problem with pengiun. Could I have a problem with too many links coming from my blog or soicial network? What's acceptable number of back links to not be spam? If you add pages in the blogroll is this thought of as spam with pengiun?
website: http://www.dashinfashion.com
Thanks for your help!
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Thanks for the quick response....I'm starting to feel like in on the way to the zoo
I also posted this on the google webmaster forum and two issues came up:
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to non-follow outgoing links (affiliate or ones that look paid)
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big increase in backlinks since early march using this tool:
mainly from my network and blog (not sure why this happened, I did update links to new urls on new site). Does SEOMOZ have a tool to see the history of backlinks in a graph?
- increase in backlink issue brought up the recommendation to non-follow links from blog and network
So my big question is the non-follow outgoing link issue. I run a kids fashion magazine and have pages on each designer - approx 450. Most of these links are not paid, as it is a resource for our readers. So....my question is should rel="nofollow" most of these links, all of these links, only those that are an affiliate link? (My affiliate links will be set as redirects from an internal link).
Also, from external blog and network, should all of the links back to the main site be rel="nofollow". If not, is this considered spam / penguin?
Thanks so much!
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Dash,
I am thinking this is Aardvark at play and not the other animals. OK, just messin' wit ya.
First, I suggest using SEOmoz's Algorithm Change History to check your dates. Feb/March 2011 certainly appears to be Panda/Farmer and given such a large percentage of queries were hit, you were likely in the group. So, just check the change in traffic to the updates and you will have clues.
Now, with the new site, 404 issues, etc., you may be wanting to regain lost ground a bit too quickly for reality. Here is a good article by Jason DeMers around "fixing" the issues, etc.
Next, focus on the content you have on the site and continuing to put newer and better content on. Stay away from too many overly optimized links with anchor text issues, etc.
I would certainly counsel that you focus on content instead of penguins, etc.
Best
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