When do Panda ranking factors apply when Google deindexes a page
-
Here is 2 scenarios
Scenario 1
Lets say I have a site with a ton of pages (100,000+) that all have off site duplicate content. And lets say that those pages do not contain any rel="noindex" tags on them.
Google then decides to de-index all those pages because of the duplicate content issue and slaps me with a Panda penalty.
Since all those pages are no longer indexed by Google does the Panda Penalty still apply even though all those pages have been deindexed?
Scenario 2
I add a rel="noindex" to all those 100,000+ off site duplicate content pages. Since Google sees that I have decided to not index them does the Panda penalty come off?
What I am getting at is that I have realized that I have a ton of pages with off site duplicate content, even though those pages are already not indexed by Google does me by simply adding the rel="noindex" tag to them tell Google that I am trying to get rid of duplicate content and they lift the Panda penalty?
The pages are useful to my users so I need them to stay.
Since in both scenarios the pages are not indexed anyways, will Google acknowledge the difference in that I am removing them myself and lift the panda ban?
Hope this makes sense
-
I have over 800,000 pages total that contain duplicate content "if" that is an issue with my definitions. I would assume that Panda would slap me hard for that, again "if" that is the issue. Since I have never tried to deindex this many pages I am hoping this works and I will take a few coffee breaks waiting because its going to be a while lol
I have nothing to lose and I feel like I have tried a ton. Thanks so much
-
"Google then decides to de-index all those pages because of the duplicate content issue and slaps me with a Panda penalty."
Panda will not deindex pages. It might move them to the supplemental index, but they're not deindexed. Technically, Panda is not a penalty. It's an algorithmic demotion. If you've got a bunch of duplicate content, Google may choose not to index some of that content, or, more likely, to just show users the most appropriate page of that content.
Now, if Panda has affected your site because Google feels that the site consists of mostly duplicate or thin content then you'll need to noindex or significantly change or remove that content in order for Google to see that the quality has improved. You can't say that the content is essentially gone because Google is not showing it. That wouldn't change the factors that caused you to be affected by Panda. (Now, this is assuming that this is what the problem is, because we don't know that.)
"I add a rel="noindex" to all those 100,000+ off site duplicate content pages. Since Google sees that I have decided to not index them does the Panda penalty come off?"
If these pages were the primary reason for Panda to visit your site, then what would happen is that as Google recrawls your site they will start to recognize that the quality is improved. Then, at some point with a future Panda refresh (it may take several if there is a lot of content to crawl), you should see an increase in traffic. If the duplication was the only factor that Panda was concerned about then you'd likely see a dramatic improvement. If it was just one of the factors, you might see a smaller improvement. If you had a lot of factors, you may see very little or just some improvement.
If I understand the question right, I would say that the answer is to go ahead and add the noindex tag to these pages.
-
No offense man, I really want to figure out what the heck happened with my site, I really feel like I was hit from unfortunate circumstances.
My website is http://www.freescrabbledictionary.com/
The duplicate content I am referring too is that I generate my definitions for words from an API provided by https://www.wordnik.com/
I do site the resource on each definition at the bottom of every page (which was required by https://github.com/wordnik), an example is http://www.freescrabbledictionary.com/dictionary/word/testing/
I have never had a manual penalty from Google, I check Google Webmaster Tools all the time. I also use tools like Google analytics as well as moz.com, ahrefs.com and monitorbacklinks.com.
I used to rank for the keyword "scrabble dictionary" in the top 4 spots on average. For a long time I was #2 which was my biggest keyword traffic.
I remember when the first Panda update came out I was not hit. I notice the negative changes in my rankings after the second panda update and so on. Since Penguin was in the mix as well I cant even tell if I was hit with penguin.
I never paid or did black-hat backlinking
Again I never was hit with a manual penalty, this is 100% algorithmic
If you notice with the keyword "scrabble dictionary" my homepage does not rank for that keyword at all. Not anywhere in all the search results, where I used to rank top 4 spots.
Since I have been hit so hard I have nothing to lose so I have "noindex" 100% of each word definition, sentence example's and quotes which even though those are not copied (except for definitions) I did that just in case. This equates for about 90% of my site's pages indexed by Google.
I have changed my site design to equate for the "refresh" ranking factor, I have desperately comb through my site 1,000,000 times trying to figure out what happened, I have disavowed link 10 fold and nothing seems to affect my rankings. At this point I will try anything...I have nothing to lose.
-
Can you describe what happened to your site and why you believe you got a penalty.
make sure Type site:www.example.com in to Google it will show you what is indexed.
Be certain that you do not have a robots.txt file or something similar blocking your website go to https://www.feedthebot.com/tools/ type your domain in and it will tell you if you are blocking anything with your robots.txt do this on the URLs that you think not indexed.
Because if you are affected by a true panda penalty it would be a manual penalty you would receive word inside your Google Webmaster tools account. If you do not have one set one up.
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en
if you think you've been hit by an algorithm penalty not manual you can check by using tools listed in this URL
http://www.iacquire.com/blog/5-tools-to-help-you-identify-a-google-slap
now obviously because you're talking about duplicate content which it seems like you may have known existed somewhere else may be and please don't take offense you copied it?
In that case Google takes the domain with the most authority and gives it to that domain.
so time.com could probably take your entire site and you would be the one that looked like you stole their content.
remember Google does also consider the first time it was indexed however site authority trumps it.
Google will only acknowledge a difference if you actually have a manual penalty if you received a manual penalty it would come with instructions on what to do next.
My advice to you is if you have duplicate content that is taken from another website and not yours please remove the content second choice no index that content.
It could be that you have the misfortune of somebody finding out that you took their content and they do digital millennium takedown in many cases would damage or domain beyond repair. You would know if this occurred as well. I'm just letting you know it's not smart to have someone else's content on your site you should write it uniquely to meet your end-users needs and if the current content is very helpful to them I recommend you use that to create your own unique content not spinning it but unique.
please know that if you tell me you didn't take the content I will apologize right away. I do not mean to imply.
respectfully,
Tom
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
The particular page cannot be indexed by Google
Hello, Smart People!
On-Page Optimization | | Viktoriia1805
We need help solving the problem with Google indexing.
All pages of our website are crawled and indexed. All pages, including those mentioned, meet Google requirements and can be indexed. However, only this page is still not indexed.
Robots.txt is not blocking it.
We do not have a tag "nofollow"
We have it in the sitemap file.
We have internal links for this page from indexed pages.
We requested indexing many times, and it is still grey.
The page was established one year ago.
We are open to any suggestions or guidance you may have. What else can we do to expedite the indexing process?1 -
What tools or tactics do you use to identify which ranking factors Google is weighting for your industry or keyword?
Google ranking factors are increasingly more complex and less universal. Google is emphasizing different ranking factors for different scenarios. What tools are available that can help identify which ranking factors Google may be weighting for a given query or industry? For example, are there any tools that provide correlative analysis of Google's rankings for a given keyword?
On-Page Optimization | | AdamThompson0 -
Is it better to keep a glossary or terms on one page or break it up into multiple pages?
We have a very large glossary of over 1000 industry terms on our site with links to reference material, embedded video, etc. Is it better for SEO purposes to keep this on one page or should we break it up into multiple pages, a different page for each letter for example? Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | KenW0 -
Why does keyword fluctuate in Google - I.E rank 48 - 13 - not ranked
Hello, I would like some advice on Google ranking, my site sportingdesires had a few keywords rank and now their not ranked for those keywords. Am still in the process of on-page and am not too bothered about them ranking high, more of a curiosity I suppose. am not expecting them to reach any where near top due to tough competition. Am just starting from top of website down to individual products ( this will take about 10 years lol ) sorting out seo issues. then will concentrate on link building & content engagement maybe i over optimised the page take a look at AC Milan club shop for example Kindest Regards, ste
On-Page Optimization | | sportingdesires0 -
Page Layout Updates and Mobile Pages with Ads
I have been trying to do some research on the Page Layout Algorithm and Top Heavy Ads and much of what I read does not mention about mobile pages as apposed to desktop. I am curious if the Page Layout updates can be effected by mobile pages as well and if there is any good articles on this subject. Also is this Algorithm been incorporated into its regular algorithm or do we still have to wait for refreshes to see the impact? Cesar
On-Page Optimization | | cbielich0 -
What's better for SEO a page per review or a page with all reviews?
Was wondering what's better for SEO. We have a platform where consumers can read and write reviews. But the question is: is it better to give one page per company with all the reviews on it? Or should we have different pages for the specific company? Example: Itunes has a company page with all reviews on the page, but not the whole review. You have to click further to view the whole review (new page), at the moment this the current situation. What if we place the whole reviews on the company page, so you don't have specific pages for the reviews? Hopefully can someone help us out. Contact me if it's not clear or you want more extended information. Kind regards
On-Page Optimization | | MozzieJr0 -
Category listing page coming above product pages
A new SEO client we have taken on seem to be hitting most of the points right on with their site and SEO. However one thing that is bugging me is that their category pages i.e. "Footwear" which title tag includes the brands they stock. Is almost always coming up above (if they are ever even found) the product individual pages. Anyone seen this sort of things happening? Very frustrating.
On-Page Optimization | | iboxsecurityltd0 -
Can't canonical, but need pages to show in Google News
We are a news media site in which much of our content is third-party, and already published by several other sources. Our current version of our CMS doesn't expose head tags, so I can't canonical to the original and avoid a duplicate content penalty. Is it ok for news sites NOT to use canonical, or do I have to NOINDEX until our CMS is fixed?
On-Page Optimization | | Aggie0