Ever there was a case of “Proof is in the pudding” then this is it. Matt Cutts from Google, has been warning those who use blackhat search engine optimisation techniques for ages that Google are clamping down on webspam content. So the sudden removal of BMW.de from the Google index puts out a strong signal that the top search engine will no longer tolerate such practices.
Apparently there were a large number of pages on the site using JavaScript redirects. Viewing the page with a JavaScript enabled browser, the user would see a neat, clean, content lacking page which mysteriously was able to climb to the top of the rankings. However, viewed with JavaScript disabled revealed a completely different page pumped full of keywords, your archetypal doorway / portal page. It’s this deception, in direct contravention of the webmasters quality guidelines which has resulted in Google protecting the quality of its search index by removing the offending web site. Don’t display different content to your users to that which you show the search engines.
Before Google will reintroduce the web site into the index they will probably need a reinclusion request. This will need to detail who created the doorway pages and will also require assurances that the pages or anything like them won’t appear on the site again. Only when they are happy with this will they reinclude the site.
More details of the offence are available at Matt Cutt’s blog, Ramping up on international webspam.
The bottom line is, if Google are prepared to knock the big players out of their index, they won’t think twice about removing the sites of other smaller businesses, organisation or personal web sites. This action has proven to be the “death sentence” for many smaller businesses, don’t let it be yours. It is incredibly important to optimise your web site in-line with the guidelines laid down by each of the search engines. Spam content is a big no-no. Take a look at our SEO packages and advice on the dos and don’ts of search engine optimisation.
