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Originally Posted by MarcinSarasota
It looks like the bomb was dropped on my site yesterday from the dramatic decrease in traffic. I erased my state pages about a week ago. Apparently, it was not soon enough. I have used the "Remove URL" Google tool for all of the state pages.
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Yes I saw that you JimJ and a couple other friends over at REW got hit. Sorry to see it. We all depend on these rankings to support our families and it is devastating when they tank.
When did you submit the pages to Google for a “Remove URL”? Was it before or after you got hit?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcinSarasota
Hopefully, this will be a short term set back. The sad thing is that I really do have an authority site on the subject of real estate in Sarasota and I am getting beat out by real estate agent websites in other parts of the country.
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Yes is was and still is the “Authority Site” for Sarasota real estate IMHO. I am sure you will get back on top in short order. Our prayers go out to you JimJ and the others that were affected.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonbrown
This leads me to the following question of, what if you delete the links but keep the state pages in tact? Doing so would allow you to provide non-link info about other agents, without the links being present. This would allow you to keep 50 pages on your site, which makes your site bigger and also allows you to keep a state referral directory that should benefit your local clients to use in locating other Realtors around the country.
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You are still thinking in terms of a work-around. From what Jim Messenger tells me it was a general consensus by the panel staffed by Search Engine representatives at the SES Conference that the state reciprocal link pages amounted to 50+ irrelevant pages per Agent website that were spamming the index.
As a group we need to collectively assess the situation calmly. The fact is the
state reciprocal pages were created to manipulate the SERPS. PERIOD! Everyone can use any excuse about referrals or what ever they wish to justify the existence of these pages but the fact remains the same. It was done to manipulate results. It worked for a very long time but that time has come and gone. We need to adapt, conform and move on IMHO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jasonbrown
Do you think leaving the pages is alright or is deleting the pages in their entirety imperative?
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That is not my decision. I don’t sit “On High” and bless my disciples with advice and expect them to blindly follow knowing that if the advice causes damage I will charge additional excessive fees to correct it.
I am just like you. I am a REALTORŪ and in the trenches everyday. While I now leave the showing and selling up to my Wife and Son I still go over closing statements, meet inspectors and deal with Title Companies on a frequent basis. I don’t tell anyone what to do with their sites (even my Clients). I give them all of the information I have available, what I am doing that works or does not work and let them decide.
As HHI Golf Guy has been preaching since Cat was a Kitten there are alternative ways to build link popularity but let’s not try to rebuild our house while it is still on fire. Let’s put the fire out, assess the damage and then rebuild.
If you insist on retaining your directories at the very least follow HHI Golf Guy’s suggestion and move them to a sub-domain.
I am a Real Estate SEO Consultant and NOT a SEO Guru.
As a Consultant I have advised my Clients to conform.
~VegasMack