Post Penguin 2.0 Analytics for My Site & my SEO Thoughts & Future

[Frank Benjamin]

So Penguin 2.0 has come and gone and I worked hard getting my site back in the SERPs after 1.0 slapped me silly. I definitely wasn't unaffected and did take a hit, but I am looking at my GA account and saw some promising things as well.

I took a snapshot of equal time before (May 4-21) and after (May 22 - June 8th) the release of Penguin 2.0.

While the total visits decreased 22.66%, the unique visitors increased 6.22%. Another positive was the bounce rate decreased. My bounce rate is usually under 5% anyways, but it decreased more since 2.0. But I think I really need more time post-2.0 to really look at bounce rate.

When I look at the SEO section, there is more give and take there as well. My impressions and clicks increased 2.56% and 15% respectively but my overall position decreased 11.36%. But I don't really think that is a great number to look at since it takes in account of all keywords that I am ranking for. The KY's that I actually optimize for have either stayed the same or increased since 2.0 was released. My CTR also has gone up 12.13%, which I think is more indicative of my focused KY's and the longtails that I am ranking for.

All in all, I don't think 2.0 hurt me very much. I also don't think it helped either. But there are some factors in these numbers post 2.0. I actually closed on my new house May 22. As I was getting ready for the move, I was already unplugged and hadn't been regularly posting new content. That is now going to change as the dust is settling here and my wife's To Do List is decreasing.

So why do I think I came out relatively unscathed?

First I worked on escaping 1.0 by migrating to a new server and redirecting my site to a subdomain. That seemed to have gotten me out of from under 1.0.

Since then I have focused highly on on-site SEO. I created custom tag and category pages and interlink every new article to one or two old articles or even a category page. I also started a new daily picks section where a blog post is updated daily on a weekly basis. I also brought on a writer to help with regular content on a weekly basis to add to the content I also create.

My off-site SEO has improved too. Before 1.0 I was just learning how backlinks help and purchased some seedy packages/services. I had backlinks on very low quality, irrelevant sites. I know that had to be the primary reason I was slapped by 1.0.

Since 1.0 I have started to build my own network of regular sites as well as a nice Web 2.0 network. Each site and Web 2.0 platform is customized in look and content. Also, each of my new sites is of a different element in the niche of sports betting: Free Picks, Betting Products, etc. So they aren't just a rehash of every other site.

On this network, I don't only link out to my site, but I have posted articles with links to other sites. Most of these links are from members here that have provided a quality article. I also rarely use any spun content on this network. I might rewrite an article, but typically each and every article on each property is unique.

I have acquired backlinks from other sites, but I now make sure each and every site is relevant and of good quality. However, I am trying to do less of that and focus on my sites and my network. I think the time and money spent developing this network to something more than just an SEO thing will be much more beneficial on its own.

So where I am going from here? Like I just mentioned, I want to develop each site in my network. I want them to be of quality and stand alone on their own. I will optimize them for certain KY's and such. So at the end of the day, they won't only be properties to help the SEO of my flagship site, but, hopefully, revenue producing sites that help my bottom line.

I am also working on a network of 2nd tier Web 2.0 sites. These will be lesser customized properties pretty much solely for SEO pointing towards the 1st tier sites.

One thing I have realized over the last year or so is that quality is more important than quantity and my focus is on quality in every aspect of my sites.

Any thoughts or feedback would be welcomed.

[edgarf76]

Great information! This hopefully will be helpful for the site that got hit by 1.0. I have been going back and forth between registering a new domain for ufc/mma or using a subdomain. I don't plan on redirecting traffic, I just want to build a specific sport on a sub domain rather than continue to use the review site.

[Frank Benjamin]

Great information! This hopefully will be helpful for the site that got hit by 1.0. I have been going back and forth between registering a new domain for ufc/mma or using a subdomain. I don't plan on redirecting traffic, I just want to build a specific sport on a sub domain rather than continue to use the review site.

That is definitely a reason to use a subdomain. However, having a separate site will allow you to use it for backlinks to your review site. It is like how I use my other sites in my network. They are stand alone site but also provide backlinks to my main site. Not sure if you will get the same benefit linking from a subdomain on the same server.

The thing is that you wouldn't want to make the site on your current server. It would be best to have it on a completely different server. I use a company that has a shared-hosted SEO Server solution and is very reasonably prices. I purchased 5 servers and they are all on different shared servers with completely unique IP's distributed across different data centers. If you are interested in more info, PM me and I will provide you with the details.

[edgarf76]

I have my mlb site on a different hosting plan and in less than a month I am getting more hits than the review site which is 1-2 years old. I tested my nba site on the same hosting plan as my review site and it seems to be doing well as the mlb on a different IP.

I figured if the nba site wasnt performing well I can switch it to a different hosting plan. I can use the subdomain to link to my main site and go back and forth, I have heard that it is good to interlink the two(depending on the niche)

[Frank Benjamin]

I have my mlb site on a different hosting plan and in less than a month I am getting more hits than the review site which is 1-2 years old. I tested my nba site on the same hosting plan as my review site and it seems to be doing well as the mlb on a different IP.

I figured if the nba site wasnt performing well I can switch it to a different hosting plan. I can use the subdomain to link to my main site and go back and forth, I have heard that it is good to interlink the two(depending on the niche)

Definitely want to interlink where it makes sense, especially with a subdomain. That is good on-site SEO, even though Google seems to treat the subdomain as a separate site.

Having add on domains on the same server probably won't do the same for off-site SEO as it would if it was on a completely different IP address. Matt Cutts even said as much years ago in a video. I would have to search for the video but he essentially said that having multiple domains that are all related doesn't make sense and doesn't help user experience. That is why I went the route I did.

I will look for that video.

[Frank Benjamin]

found the video I was referring to. I was mistaken what Cutts said in the video such as user experience and related sites. If you have a small number of related sites, he says it would be ok: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=RlNPRonDxuU

So, if you are looking to build a nice network, add-on domains probably isn't the best idea. But if you are doing a few sites it might not hurt. That video is a couple years old. Because I never know how Google will treat add on domains interlinking in the future, I feel safer having my network domains all on unique IP's, even if my network is still small (3-5 sites). Just my preference.

[edgarf76]

They are most likely better back links like that with unique IP's. I look into other people's back linking techniques using the rank tracking section of market samuri. I see a lot of sites use buffer/satelitte sites as back links. For instance (It looks like this to me) Seo's will find good sites on go daddy auntion for instance. They get a seperate hosting plan, make a decent site with some content and link it to their money site.

I am not an expert this is what I have seen from researching other sites back linking techniques. Also now it seems that the DA & PA are more important that the PR. When I look at these sites I see a site with a high page rank but very low alexa score which shows very little traffic ( From what I have learnt). The sites may provide excellent link juice but they are not "money makers"

[Frank Benjamin]

That is exactly what people do. I recently used Market Samuri to search the backlinks and KYs of a competitor of mine last week. I found a couple sites that are obviously satellite sites. But that is exactly what I am doing with my network, but I am also adding value to it to make it a stand alone site as well in hopes they become revenue producing sites. If not, at least they will be good SEO sites to pass link juice to. Kind of a best of both worlds senario.

[edgarf76]

Are you using Godaddy Auction? I found this http://youtu.be/Exa86M3iT1Q it is a plugin that checks the page rank automatically. The sites that I bought, i focused on the age of the domain and the least amount of back links. When you are picking domains which do you consider the most important, rank, age of domain, keyword is name, least amount of backlinks? I have been thinking of doing this with very general gambling tips so I can link to sports, poker, slots ext..

[Frank Benjamin]

Currently I have built every site from scratch: did KY research and purchased new domains. I wouldn't be apposed to an auction but this just seems more budget friendly. I have gotten a one year old site to rank before, so I don't know if I put much weight on it. However, it probably does have more in the realm of authority. But I am in for the long haul for these sites, so I don't mind aging with the, lol. Also, some of my domains were purchased a few years prior for other projects that I either never started or scrapped.

I haven't tried to pigeon hole myself by giving a site a myopic focus. All my sites are sports related and I have tips on each of them. I only have currently have three with two more to be built. Two of them have sports tips in the domain the other is a picks review website with a blog.

One thing I would like to dive into is Drupple and other platforms just to have the sites on different platforms. But right now I am too comfortable with WP and getting these first 5 sites of my network up and going is a little more important. Maybe I will think about that for the next five...if I go that far.

[edgarf76]

I have heard that Drupple is a lot harder to work with than wordpress and does not have the plugins. I am tossing back and forth whether I am going to get a nfl football domain. I recently bought an MLB and NBA and I have a lot of work to do on it.

Did you see any postings on the new spam algo that google launched last week. There has been a lot of talk on SEO blogs about how powerful it was. I didn't see changes. On one SEO blog (SEO Roundtable) they said that it targeted specific keywords such as payday loans, as well as casino and adult keywords. Have you noticed any changes on your sites serps?

[Frank Benjamin]

The only reason I want to dapple with Drupel is to diversify the platforms in my network. I figure one site should work.

As for the Payday Loan Algo Update, I did see some changes - All positive for me! I climbed 10-15 spots on a particular keyword that I am targeting. I haven't even started my SEO campaign for this KY yet. I am also noticing a few more longtail terms that visitors are using to find my site. So, as far as I am concerned, the update was great.

I believe, as long as you toe the line and ensure your backlinks are on trusted and relevant sites along with diversifying your anchor text, you should be good. While some will argue that your content has to be quality, I believe it is better to provide good content that is linking back to your site. My entire idea of SEO is more marketing where my network properties (domains and Web 2.0) can stand on their own and provide the visitors with the information they are looking for. The better the quality a network is, the longer it will last and you can benefit from it. Here is a post about this.

[BFBUK]

Drupal isn't that hard to use, it's just different but no more complex than Wordpress. In my opinion it certainly makes sense to vary the CMS platforms if you are using a self hosted blog network.

[edgarf76]

Drupal isn't that hard to use, it's just different but no more complex than Wordpress. In my opinion it certainly makes sense to vary the CMS platforms if you are using a self hosted blog network.

How are the plugins for Drupal? The reason I thought it is harder to work with is from the Go Daddy ratings in the hosting panel. Many of the users have found it harder to work with. Is there more coding invloved?

[edgarf76]

The only reason I want to dapple with Drupel is to diversify the platforms in my network. I figure one site should work.

As for the Payday Loan Algo Update, I did see some changes - All positive for me! I climbed 10-15 spots on a particular keyword that I am targeting. I haven't even started my SEO campaign for this KY yet. I am also noticing a few more longtail terms that visitors are using to find my site. So, as far as I am concerned, the update was great.

I believe, as long as you toe the line and ensure your backlinks are on trusted and relevant sites along with diversifying your anchor text, you should be good. While some will argue that your content has to be quality, I believe it is better to provide good content that is linking back to your site. My entire idea of SEO is more marketing where my network properties (domains and Web 2.0) can stand on their own and provide the visitors with the information they are looking for. The better the quality a network is, the longer it will last and you can benefit from it. Here is a post about this.

The post is interesting, thank you. So you are using sites like squido and making lenses and using them as regular sites (as well as buffer/satellite site)? I use sites like xanga but I use it to bookmark my pages not as a weblog.

[nameeta26]

Oh great again.."Post Penguin 2.0 Analytics for My Site & my SEO Thoughts & Future ". And my friend reply on this post "The post is interesting, thank you. So you are using sites like squido and making lenses and using them as regular sites (as well as buffer/satellite site)? I use sites like xanga but I use it to bookmark my pages not as a weblog. " Good.

[edgarf76]

Oh great again.."Post Penguin 2.0 Analytics for My Site & my SEO Thoughts & Future ". And my friend reply on this post "The post is interesting, thank you. So you are using sites like squido and making lenses and using them as regular sites (as well as buffer/satellite site)? I use sites like xanga but I use it to bookmark my pages not as a weblog. " Good.

What was the purpose of your reply to my response?