Why is our website absent from Google listings?

[bongo33]

We have a website (not e-commerce) that is strangely absent from anywhere in Googles index, even if we search precisely by company name or domain name. It ised to be listed until recently when a client pointed it out. Our business doesn't rely on the internet for new clients.

It's still listed #1 in other search engines such as Yahoo, MSN Bing, Virgin Media etc.

We have a sister site (different product different company - unrelated to each other apart from me) which is almost identical in design, and that is #1 in Google when it is searched by name and position #3 when searched by product.

We have tried submitting the website to Google and that produces strange results. No name or product search reveals our website, but if you enter our domain name precisely into Google, it points to images and objects buried in the pages of the website, nothing close to the homepage and its listed alongside other websites not remotely close to our name or product.

Both sites have identical Search engine optimisation, both hosted from the same hard drive (in different directories) and neither domain name has been used before.

We have tried contacting Google via its website and by email but we only get computer generated automaton replies.

Does anyone know what is going on? And how we can fix it?

 

[DesignerNick]

What happens if you do site:yourdomainname.com into Google?

 

[bongo33]

Google lists URLs to images and objects buried in the pages of the website.

Nothing close to the homepage and its listed alongside other websites not remotely close to our name or product.

 

[DesignerNick]

If you are doing site:domain it should only show indexed pages from your website.

What is the domain?

 

[bongo33]

jd-estateplanning.com

alias willwritingadvice.co.uk (same problem)

lawsuite.co.uk is unaffected.

 

[Posilan]

All three domain names are in the google index, however you are probably getting punished in ranking for having duplicate content.

You would be better using one of the domain names as a "main" address and ding a 301 redirect for the others to it. That way Google does not see it as duplicate content.

Steve

 

[Posilan]

Just to add - it seems you are doing redirects for error 404's too - would be better to show a personalised 404 error page instead of redirect to index.

Maybe also add a sitemap.xml too.

Steve

 

[astutiumRob]

You'l need to implement a combination of

* have different initial content on one site to the others, and all links going to the "main" site
* use the canonical meta tags to tell google they are the same site
* 301/redirect the url

 

[bongo33]

There is no duplicate content, its two domains pointed at the same site.

Lawsuite is the same arrangement but does not appear to be 'punished' by google.

What are canonical meta tags?


How do I get google to list the actual website homepage, both as product search, and company name search?

 

[Posilan]

There is no duplicate content, its two domains pointed at the same site.

Yes, I understand that - but to google, it's duplicate (the same content under two different domain names). You should use a 301 redirect from the secondary domain names to just one "master "domain name to avoid the problem.

Steve

 

[bongo33]

what is a 301 redirect?

do you mean a forwarding url?

 

[Posilan]

what is a 301 redirect?

do you mean a forwarding url?

Yes, but with code 301.

A 301 redirect tells the visitor (or Google) the page has permanently moved to the new location.

Have a look here for some "hows to's" for different ways of doing this:

http://www.webconfs.com/how-to-redirect-a-webpage.php

Steve

 

[bongo33]

I have a feeling this wont fix the Google problem because lawsuite is aliassed using multiple domains.

I really think its something else, maybe a blacklist, but Im really screatching my head what it could be, and why google is so unresponsive.

I have tried getting it listed under Google tradesman but still to no avail. Its as if the website has the lurgy.

 

[Posilan]

It's definately not blacklisted, otherwise "site:jd-estateplanning.com" would show no results.

Change all the "secondary" domains to 301 redirects to the master and create a sitemap and it should fix it.

Steve