The Update on MalcolmsWeb.com
Argh...I'm up past my bedtime because I'm thinking about this one. Thinking really hard. So, I thought instead of pondering alone, I'd share my thoughts with you...since I promised you an update anyway.
I'm talking about the MalcolmsWeb.com Revival Project that I embarked on after the site was banned by Google. FYI - the site is still not listed in Google. However, every few weeks or so, it gets a cache of the home page and then it drops it again a few days later. Enough about Google. Let me share what's been happening on this project.
In order to generate more non-Google traffic, with the help of my assistants (Thank you!), I've been adding original content, distributing articles and we also did a couple press releases. The results have been half-decent. Adsense income is up over 30% from June...and traffic is up about 2000 visitors per month. Not a huge deal, but I also haven't put as much work into it as I could. I also need to make sure this all fits into my semi-retirement plan (which is going very well by the way...except tonight when I can't seem to get to sleep!)...but really...
I guess I've been holding myself back.
Over the past 3 years that I've owned the site, I've learned quite a few things that generate extra viral traffic to the baby and toddler site, but I dropped a lot of them along the way. I dropped them because they were time-consuming. Now that I understand more ways to automate things (or...err...at least my programmer does - Lynette doesn't take new clients, but she has a great newsletter you'll be interested in), I'm ready to give some of these things a go again. This includes accepting article submissions, sweepstakes, coupons, etc. I have a bunch more things up my sleeve, but I'm not quite ready to share them yet.
I thought about adding all these things back onto the malcolmsweb.com domain, but I realized it might be time to start fresh with a new domain because:
1. Google hates this one. Even though it's possible to live without Google, it's much sweeter to have the almighty search engine on your side. ;-)
2. This domain name is actually quite personal. It's also difficult to spell and remember. Malcolm is my son's name (he celebrated his 4th birthday earlier this evening, by the way). If I want to really grow the traffic and exposure, I'd like to use a more memorable and appropriate name.
3. The site is an organizational mess. I've gone through this with internetbasedmoms.com already and I'd rather not go through that again. I created both malcolmsweb.com and internetbasedmoms.com when I had NO CLUE what I was doing with websites. Articles and content are all over the place and it's tough to make your way around to all the content. I've resisted changing internetbasedmoms.com because the SE traffic is good and there are so many incoming links to the site...and the site is just too darned huge to mess with. However, I can risk starting over again with malcolmsweb.com since the site isn't as large and well...as I already said, Google hates it.
I hope you don't find my report to disappointing thus far. I asked you to give me a few months to report some results to you and it's now been 2 months since I said I was embarking on this project. I really want to do this the right way, so I'm taking some time to restructure everything. I want to make the most of the great content at malcolmsweb.com and to re-introduce some old ideas in a more efficient way.
So, I have a question for you. I am not a fan of "giving-up", but I'm also not a fan of throwing more time and money at some that can be done a whole lot better. Is there something you've been working on that could be a whole lot better if you step back, re-organize and create a new plan?
I'm talking about the MalcolmsWeb.com Revival Project that I embarked on after the site was banned by Google. FYI - the site is still not listed in Google. However, every few weeks or so, it gets a cache of the home page and then it drops it again a few days later. Enough about Google. Let me share what's been happening on this project.
In order to generate more non-Google traffic, with the help of my assistants (Thank you!), I've been adding original content, distributing articles and we also did a couple press releases. The results have been half-decent. Adsense income is up over 30% from June...and traffic is up about 2000 visitors per month. Not a huge deal, but I also haven't put as much work into it as I could. I also need to make sure this all fits into my semi-retirement plan (which is going very well by the way...except tonight when I can't seem to get to sleep!)...but really...
I guess I've been holding myself back.
Over the past 3 years that I've owned the site, I've learned quite a few things that generate extra viral traffic to the baby and toddler site, but I dropped a lot of them along the way. I dropped them because they were time-consuming. Now that I understand more ways to automate things (or...err...at least my programmer does - Lynette doesn't take new clients, but she has a great newsletter you'll be interested in), I'm ready to give some of these things a go again. This includes accepting article submissions, sweepstakes, coupons, etc. I have a bunch more things up my sleeve, but I'm not quite ready to share them yet.
I thought about adding all these things back onto the malcolmsweb.com domain, but I realized it might be time to start fresh with a new domain because:
1. Google hates this one. Even though it's possible to live without Google, it's much sweeter to have the almighty search engine on your side. ;-)
2. This domain name is actually quite personal. It's also difficult to spell and remember. Malcolm is my son's name (he celebrated his 4th birthday earlier this evening, by the way). If I want to really grow the traffic and exposure, I'd like to use a more memorable and appropriate name.
3. The site is an organizational mess. I've gone through this with internetbasedmoms.com already and I'd rather not go through that again. I created both malcolmsweb.com and internetbasedmoms.com when I had NO CLUE what I was doing with websites. Articles and content are all over the place and it's tough to make your way around to all the content. I've resisted changing internetbasedmoms.com because the SE traffic is good and there are so many incoming links to the site...and the site is just too darned huge to mess with. However, I can risk starting over again with malcolmsweb.com since the site isn't as large and well...as I already said, Google hates it.
I hope you don't find my report to disappointing thus far. I asked you to give me a few months to report some results to you and it's now been 2 months since I said I was embarking on this project. I really want to do this the right way, so I'm taking some time to restructure everything. I want to make the most of the great content at malcolmsweb.com and to re-introduce some old ideas in a more efficient way.
So, I have a question for you. I am not a fan of "giving-up", but I'm also not a fan of throwing more time and money at some that can be done a whole lot better. Is there something you've been working on that could be a whole lot better if you step back, re-organize and create a new plan?
8 Comments:
I think it's a great idea, Alice. You may as well maximize what you're working with.
Happy birthday, Malcolm.
Hi Alice, I had the same problem with google. Its much harder to get back in google when they dont "like a site" and starting fresh is a good idea as im in the process of doing so. With the knowledge we obtain from the do's and dont's, we can establish a better site.
Thanks Alice. I don't think it's a dissapointing report. Shows everyone is prone to "I'm not sure what's best next" moments. To answer your question. Yes. This whole year I've had to unlearn so many things because they just weren't working. In that process I've had to sit back and take inventory of some personal issues, some with the way I work and pretty much re-wire my brain LOL It's been painful. Had to completely drop some things, start afresh elsewhere. Good luck girl, have a site I dunno what to do with either hope to learn a few things.
Yes, I'll be starting a new domain and forwarding certain pages to the new domain...but I am starting from scratch. That's why I hummed and hawed. A lot of work needs to be redone, because I am not going to just reload the old site on the new domain. If there's something wrong with the current MW.com site as far as Google is concerned, I don't want to duplicate that.
Anyway, the domain has been purchased and plans for the move are underway. My programmer is helping me devise just right (and search engine friendly) CMS and my assistants are helping me rebuild everything.
Here is a question I haven't seen answered, and I know I probably do it the hardest way possible, but how do you move web content from one site to another? Is there a program for that?
I do it by copying and pasting the html code in frontpage to the new web page, but then I have to change all my themes and such if I want a different look, let alone the navigation.
Tracy Robinson
Writing Zen
Hey Alice. I, too, have one of my sites that google HATES! It's got over 200 pages and it's got original content, but I managed to tick them off in some way and have no idea how to get them to love me. ;) I'm facing the same issue. Do I keep throwing time and energy at a dead horse ... or throw in the towel and start over again?
Hmmm.... decisions, decisions. I'm sorry you're facing the same thing.
It is reassuring, though, to know that my mentors go through similar things, and that it's not just me.
Do let us know if you can get google to love your MW again!
And, Happy Birthday to Malcolm!
Nicole
Tracy...if you use an editor like FrontPage or Dreamweaver, all you'd have to do is republish the site to a new location.
However, if you're trying to fix any potential problems you may have had with search engines, I would start from scratch. We are in the process of starting to move our content. We are copying and pasting text, but everything else will be from scratch. Yes, much of the content will be the same...but the navigation and other footprints will be removed.
Your site might have been hijacked. Google has a MAJOR bug where an owner of another site can hijack your website with a 302 redirect and then Google will ban your site and not theirs. You can read about this all over the web. You might want to ask Google if that's what happened. It could be one of many other potential issues, as mentioned by others. Hope it gets re-included.
I did find another site with the same content on the home page (minus any links), but I assume it is the one you are creating.
BTW- You have a nice blog. I came across it when searching for something marketing related.
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