Completely lost Google Local rankings for main keywords

[BCB1121]

Hi there,

Our website, petmedicalcenter.com, used to rank very well in Google in the local section - usually within the top 3 spots for 8 or so keywords. Then last fall our rankings started to diminish. We would rank really well for a few days and then would be no where to be found in the local section - this cycle kept going for a few months. Now, within the last few weeks our website is nowhere to be found in local for our usual keywords.

After a few years of success with SEO, I know the landscape is really starting to change. My problem is that I don't even know where to start to try and get us back on to the top spots. I know this question is rather broad, but I am really at a loss here. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

http://www.petmedicalcenter.com

Main Keywords: veterinarian las vegas, vets in las vegas, veterinarians las vegas, las vegas veterinarians, vet las vegas

Thank you for your help!

Brant

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Hi Brant,

I see a lot of this and I am going to guess Penguin (bad link profile) over Panda. Just a cursory glance at your site would suggest this, although I reserve the right to change my mind if I was to spend any time looking at this

Happy to run a quick scan and give you a better idea if you wish?

-Andy

[BCB1121]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your help! This has really been stressing me out so it is nice to have another pair of eyes looking at it. If you wouldn't mind taking a quick scan I would really appreciate it!

Brant

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Of course Brant  - And the link profile is in a bit of a poor state I'm afraid. Lots of random directories and non-related site links.

Before I would even suggest looking at other possible on-page issues, I would get this link profile cleaned up. There is no doubt that some of these links will be hampering efforts.

-Andy

[KempRugeLawGroup]

Andy,

Quick follow-up: When you wrote "just a cursory glance at your site would suggest this" what jumped out at you? (I'd like to have better 'first glance' skills, but I really don't even know what to look for until I run the site through OSE or something like that). Is there some specific icon/layout/spacing, etc that made you think "Penguin" that you would suggest people to look out for?

Best,

Ruben

[Andy.Drinkwater]

Hi Ruben,

I only looked over a half dozen pages quickly and couldn't see anything that stuck out, such as empty pages, thin content, spammy use of keywords, etc.

The pages appeared to be a decent length and didn't seem to be trying too hard.

That said, I would need to do a complete scan of the site to check for other issues that you can't just see with the eye, such as duplication and canonicalization, spelling, plagiarism (I'm sure there is none).

-Andy

[MiriamEllis]

Hi BCB1121,

Troubleshooting local ranking failures and fluctuations typically requires several hours of work. As I can't offer to do this within the space of the forum, I'd like to share a simple list with you of things I initially check for:

1. Violations on the Google+ Local page

2. Duplicate Google+ Local listings, including old listings, main listings, partner listings, etc.

3. NAP consistency issues across the Internet

4. Thin or duplicate content on the website

5. Known bugs or penalties reported in the Google And Your Business Forum that date from around the time you saw rankings change

6. An inequality of reviews (competitors have more than you)

7. Location of business in respect to the local business cluster (are you near the cluster or far from it)

8. Resolution of the Google MAP changing from search to search so that some businesses are showing when the resolution is broader and some are falling out when it narrows (learned this one from Linda Buquet!)

9. Are you standing still while competitors are moving aggressively forward with their marketing?

10. Sheer citation count of your business vs. competitors.

These are good places to begin your research. Hope this helps!

[tdawson09]

Might be a little spammy in your title tag with "Las Vegas"

[BCB1121]

Thanks again for taking a quick look! I found that there is a website - justinchina.co.uk - that has copied our entire website - images, content, template, everything. All the links on the site point to our real site - so I am not sure the purpose of it. Do you think that this could be hurting our rankings on Google?

[asbchris]

To add, yes maybe if you put Las Vegas, NV as there is also a Las Vegas New Mexico might help

[MiriamEllis]

Yep - that could certainly be hurting. Duplicate content of this type can definitely harm Google's ability to trust your data. I think you've uncovered a big piece of the puzzle. Hopefully, you can also take a look at the list of other issues mentioned in my reply.

[BCB1121]

Hi Miriam!

Your list is awesome and am starting to comb through it now. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!

Brant

[MiriamEllis]

Brant - You are welcome. Check this out:

http://searchengineland.com/google-scraper-tool-185532

Seems like that may be totally relevant for you right at this moment!