First of all I am an avid fan of your newsletter. Please respond to this crazy scenario if you can. I do understand you are busy.

I am the Webmaster for seasidegolf.com. We have been number one or two in Google for our keyword phrase for almost 3 years now.

I checked Google today and to my surprise someone copied my entire web site and the link from Google to my site is now pointing to this person's stolen version of my site. I followed the links and found my entire site recreated, each image copied from my server and put onto theirs.

I tried to contact Google through webmaster@google.com but I have not received a reply. If you know what I should do, please let me know. All of the traffic from Google to what should be my site is now being redirected. How is this possible? If anyone can do this then why haven't I heard of it before?

You can go to Google and type my domain into the search box. You'll see it goes to another site when you click the link.

The crazy part is that I checked Google's cache of this copied site and my site appears there as the cache. I understand how to copy sites, but how in the world can you get Google to link to your copied site instead of the original. If it is that easy, I say we copy all of the top sites on the net, sit back and watch the traffic come in. : ) Just kidding, I would never put another Webmaster through this.

Please help and thanks.

Anthony

~~~Jill's Response~~~

Wow, this is really a strange one. When I first read Anthony's message, I thought it was just a case of copyright infringement, with another site copying and pasting Anthony's text and graphics onto their own domain. My friend Debra and I were finding lots of that this week with our own sites, in fact. So I was gonna write about how Debra contacted Google, and they sent her a very nice response on how seriously they take copyright infringement.

But when I read Anthony's email again and actually looked for his site in Google, I realized we were talking about a whole 'nother ballgame. Anthony was quite right that a search for his site actually brings up a different site's domain. In fact, it's his biggest competitor's site. And yet, if you type Anthony's domain directly into your browser, you can get to his actual site just fine. No redirects to the competitor site.

It seemed to me that this situation was some sort of newfangled cloaking thingee, so I decided to ask the master of cloaking himself, Mr. Ralph Tegtmeier, aka Fantomaster.

Here's what he wrote back:

Two possible scenarios (for want of more information I'll have to speculate a bit here):

1. Your subscriber can access his domain as usual by entering the URL in his browser's address field.

In this case, it's most probably a Google issue. We've seen this before when Google pointed to an old, expired domain that wasn't active anymore, redirecting visitors to another, entirely unrelated one.

This false linking can only be remedied by Google.

2. Your subscriber is being redirected to that third party's setup even when entering his own URL in the browser address field.

2.1 This could indicate a nameserver issue, possibly on TLD level. The reasons could be manifold, with domain hijacking being the most likely, seeing that his content seems to have been stolen, as he reports.

This could only be remedied by the nameserver service employed.

2.2 Alternatively, the hijacker might have manipulated the domain's nameserver IPs with the legitimate owner's domain name provider. He might even have transferred ownership of the domain to himself. (E.g. if the culprit got hold of his access codes.)

This could only be remedied by the domain name provider employed.

(There've been legal precedents indicating that this would also make for a pretty good case in court, but of course only an expert lawyer could tell your client what to do and what his chances in a lawsuit would be.)

All of the above are, of course, under the assumption that his domain hasn't expired and been taken up by someone else in a regular manner.

As for copyright infringement issues, the usual rules apply: if he can prove that his copyright has indeed been violated, and if he can pinpoint the perpetrator, legal counsel is advised -- generally, I'd assume that his chances in court should be pretty high.

- Ralph aka Fantomaster

Hmm...it appears that Ralph's #1 scenario is the likely culprit, as the site can be reached through the browser. (I left Ralph's #2 info in there because it's good stuff and it may come in handy for anyone who runs across a similar situation with their site.)

So if it's Ralph's answer #1 that means it's some sort of Google mistake. But is that really possible? Can Google mistakenly redirect your site to your competitor's site?

If it's not a mistake and somehow someone could manage to trick Google into thinking the two sites were one and the same, how the heck did they do it?

Anyone have any ideas? Google, if you're reading, you might want to take a look at this one!

In the meantime, I suggest that Anthony email Google at spamreport@google.com and let them know about the situation (just in case they forget to read my newsletter this week -grin-). As I said at the beginning of this post, Google does take copyright infringement very seriously. So if it somehow turns out to be that, they will act upon it when provided with the proper documentation. And if it's a major screwup by them, I'm sure they'd want to fix that as soon as possible.

From: Brian Stevens

Hi Jill,

Your newsletter is a godsend. Finally, information on search engines I can understand. Keep up the good work!

I have some quick questions:

1. What's the minimum number of words per page that you recommend to get a good ranking on Google?

2. Do mouse-over navbars affect Web site rankings on Google?

3. Does Google require an external Web site link to get listed on their site, and if so, what's the best way to get one?

Thank you,

Brian Stevens

~~~Jill's Response~~~

Hi Brian,

Glad you like the newsletter and can easily understand the information provided in it. That's definitely the goal!

Thanks for some great questions that I'm sure are on the minds of many readers. I'll answer them one by one to the best of my ability.

1. What's the minimum number of words per page that you recommend to get a good ranking on Google?

For Google and any engine, there is no minimum number of words. It all depends on what's best for your page and the particular keyword phrases you're optimizing for. I don't believe in counting words or trying to create some perfect keyword density. Every page of your site is unique, and each will have different requirements for its length. Write as much or as little as is necessary to say what you need to say.

That said, for SEO purposes, I generally like to work with pages that have approximately 250 words in them. Certainly 150 words can also work fine, and so can 400 words. But with 250 words, I've found that it's just about the right amount to have a good balance of sales copy and keyword phrases. In other words, 250 words gives you enough copy to use your top two or three main keyword phrases a number of times without sounding dopey. It also gives you enough copy to pique your readers' interest and get them to take the action you intend them to take. That action may be as simple as clicking to an inner page to learn more or signing up for your email newsletter. Whatever the goal of the page is, you need copy to convince people to go for it.

To learn more about copywriting in general, you might want to check out Karon Thackston's Step-By-Step(tm) Copywriting Course. (You can read my full review of it.)

2. Do mouse-over navbars affect Web site rankings on Google?

Perhaps you missed last week's discussion of this very issue. If so, you can read it here: http://www.highrankings.com/issue039.htm#seo5

One thing I didn't mention last week is that it's best to place all JavaScript code into a separate .js file so that the search engine spiders have an easier time finding the meat on your page. For more information on how to do this, see my old Rank Write article, "Design Guidelines for a Search Engine Friendly Site,". There's a whole bunch of other info in that article that may also interest you.

3. Does Google require an external Web site link to get listed on their site, and if so, what's the best way to get one?

Generally, yes. Occasionally you will find a brand-new site or page that's been indexed even though it has no links pointing to it. However, these don't last long if the page continues on as an "orphan" page. Again, this is generally true for all engines, not just Google. Part of the reason is because it helps keep doorway/gateway pages (what I call "zebra" pages) out of the engines, since it's harder for pages that are created solely for search engine rankings to get outside links.

The best way to start getting links is to submit to some general directories. I recommend DMOZ, JoeAnt (you'll need to register as an editor at JoeAnt), GoGuides, and Gimpsy.

DMOZ is free, but can take a while to get listed. JoeAnt and GoGuides have recently instituted an express-submit option for a small fee. They're still listing sites for free, but if you're in a hurry for a link, you might want to go with the paid-inclusion model. Gimpsy also offers a paid option to be considered a featured site. They're a bit different from your average directory so be sure to read their help section.

While we're on the subject of directories, last week I suggested that if you don't find your site listed in DMOZ within four weeks, you might want to resubmit it. Two DMOZ editors wrote to tell me that in reality, resubmitting actually puts your site at the back of the queue, and you'll have to wait even longer for your site to be added. Seems like an odd way for them to do things, but that's the word on the street. It seemed like important information for you to know, so there you have it!