Google's semi-admitted -60 penalty

I am 95% sure I got the -60 penalty which is why my site links are showing up at position 61.

I've already changed some content I found, that was duplicated elsewhere on the internet, and have continued to bounce around between 41 and 61.

I have not hidden links, I have some outgoing links, but they are under a header that says "Our Advertisers" (implying these links are here to share traffic, not LJ or PR).

I just wanted everyone to share their thoughts and opinions on what they believe the factors to be of the "-60 penalty".

lol.. How do you semi-admit something....

I think you are going to be forever haunted by your previous life as a black hatter....

Penalties + Google = Links

I'm sure it's not always the case... but it is always the first place to look.

Cut them.

No No No,

GOOGLE's "semi-admitted" - 60 penalty... I was referring to Matt Cutts addressing a question from a post in google groups about the "-60 penalty"... LOL

I don't semi-admit things...well not openly anyways ;)

I'll give it a shot...thanks, however, if i do, and it hurts my rankings worse, do you suppose i can get my "pre-link removal" ranking back by simply putting them back up?

The horse's mouth moves in a Zen like manner [the rest of the world sees it merely chewing on hay] but the movement matches the words you wish to hear and it becomes gospel...

If you thought you saw Jesus's anus in a chip... would that mean it's a sign or possibly the chip just smelled bad and your mind made the illusion up that it was a holy-hole.

I'm reminded that your domain gained ranks in MSN from SEO forum links... Google can pattern recognize over time... so you get "great ranks" before it patterns you and once it has determine this is purely "non-votes and totally unrelated to you topics... you drop to where you would be would those links.

That's a guess... but I guarantee if you got a change to ask Matt specifically on pattern processing [link recognition] it would be something like I noted...

And why I don't have sig links... they're not reliable.

Fathom! Are you and the other guys serious? This must be the 8th reference to my sig link (in the last 15 days), with many of you under the assumption its the only domain I own (or do SEO on for that matter!!! )! My sig link is ONLY and STILL ONLY an experiment!!! I have not taken it down yet, because its still climbing the ranks...

In this thread and any others I've created in the last 60 days I'm talking about two or more completely different domains and topics/genres.

You should know me better than that by now Come on...

I can't comment on what you don't say only on what you do say and have said [in the past].

There is no "Your #1 and now you're #61 -60 penaly"... there is only "1 way" [with 2 versions] for your problem to occur - so this is the rule of thumb

1. Loss of links that use to count and don't now (or aren't there anymore) or 60 competitors are all getting links faster than you.

The other version of this is Google changed a link value that you had "lots of" that your competitors didn't... and you drop to where you are suppose to be in the new mix. [that could be anything, footer links, sitewides, directories links, and YES sig links -- not saying this is it but it's something you have lots of and the general competition don't.]

"A PENALTY"... you're gone... you don't just drop a bunch of positions.

This post is in reference to this thread http://forums.seochat.com/showthread.php?p=569804#post569804

where channel 5 and doodlbug, brought this "-60 penalty to my attention" and I do believe it is real. I have seen a number of other sites show their "Google SITE links' in the number 61 position, and there was a big jump in complaints about this issue in recent months. I believe it to be real and Cutts IMSOWO (IN MY SHARED OPINION WITH OTHERS) also commented on the original GG post, because he was getting so many personal inquiries about this -60 drop.

see the following please...

http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/2008/05/06/googles-minus-60-penalty
http://searchengineland.com/080505-083007.php
http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/017041.html

or google it http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS252US253&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=%23+60+penalty+google&spell=1

It will always be a valid argument that when you drop in ranking its because of your competition doing better (increasing their BL's etc.), but this is not always the case, and too assume it with no evidence on a particular situation, in my mind is silly.

Fathom wrote:" "A PENALTY"... [/B] you're gone... you don't just drop a bunch of positions."

PENALTY does NOT = BAN, you are referring to a BAN (something I have experienced long ago, and for good reason, not like in this case)

...a page(s) can be gone from primary ranks and still be indexed in Google for supplemental 'longtail stuff"... that's a penalty.

If you drop X-positions for a specific term - that tends to be 99.99% of the time link related... since links are the only thngs that make meaningful ranks [#1 - #20 on moderately competitive phrases or better] the reverse is also true.

So with any penalty - that means you are NOWHERE in the searches - not even 900th position back? I'm asking because my site ranks 900th position back for some of my terms and it is over 3 years old. Some people have told me I might have incurred some sort of penalty. Are you saying that I'm not penalized if I'm shown 900th position back?