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I, Brian · 12-26-2003, 12:50 AM

There are two things working againt you here:

1/ Google has almost certainly implemented the Hilltop algo for it's general search terms. What this means is that links are rated in a very different manner - simply having lots is not good enough. You now need links from "expert pages" and "authority" sites. In simple terms - you *need* links from directories and from any site covering the topic (that's why you should aim to link exchange only with related content sites).

2/ The second issue is that cross-linking the same IP falls foul of LocalRank. I've seen claims of this alerady having been implmented some time ago, but that the screw was turned tighter in Florida. Effectively, LocalRank means that links on the same IP subnet are devalued. So if you want to cross-link sites, you need to host on different IP blocks, ie, "xx.xx.xx.different" is classed as "xx.xx.xx.same".

Now, before you rush off and move a site elsewhere, note the above comments about Hilltop. What that means is that the cross-linking of sites with unrelated theme and content is not going to do you a great deal of good, no matter what IP block you're using.

As a general point...

You've lost your rankings due to Florida, and so have lots of other sites. A lot of Google's general search terms are quite ridiculous at the moment. You're more likely to find directory listings in search results than eral on-topic pages. However, the way you can immediately try to counter is by aiming more for specific search terms. So far as I can tell, Florida affects general searches, rather than detailed searches - so one way to try and offset your loss is to aim for more specific terms. Individually, they may only gain smaller traffic (hey, but if it's targetted that's great), but together in large numbers detailed searches can really draw the traffic in.

12-26-2003, 12:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
I, Brian Inactive Join Date: 10-26-03 Posts: 2,466 iTrader: 0 / 0% Latest Blog: None	There are two things working againt you here: 1/ Google has almost certainly implemented the Hilltop algo for it's general search terms. What this means is that links are rated in a very different manner - simply having lots is not good enough. You now need links from "expert pages" and "authority" sites. In simple terms - you need links from directories and from any site covering the topic (that's why you should aim to link exchange only with related content sites). 2/ The second issue is that cross-linking the same IP falls foul of LocalRank. I've seen claims of this alerady having been implmented some time ago, but that the screw was turned tighter in Florida. Effectively, LocalRank means that links on the same IP subnet are devalued. So if you want to cross-link sites, you need to host on different IP blocks, ie, "xx.xx.xx.different" is classed as "xx.xx.xx.same". Now, before you rush off and move a site elsewhere, note the above comments about Hilltop. What that means is that the cross-linking of sites with unrelated theme and content is not going to do you a great deal of good, no matter what IP block you're using. As a general point... You've lost your rankings due to Florida, and so have lots of other sites. A lot of Google's general search terms are quite ridiculous at the moment. You're more likely to find directory listings in search results than eral on-topic pages. However, the way you can immediately try to counter is by aiming more for specific search terms. So far as I can tell, Florida affects general searches, rather than detailed searches - so one way to try and offset your loss is to aim for more specific terms. Individually, they may only gain smaller traffic (hey, but if it's targetted that's great), but together in large numbers detailed searches can really draw the traffic in.