Google smacked my site and dropped all rankings, can't find out why

[s-s]

David,

thank you so much for your time and detailed explanation. It is very much appreciated.

For the first point, we don't only sell rifle cases, we sell all cases, be it rifle, pistol or revolver.

I will look into everything today and keep everyone posted. As far as I know the 99 urls, are actually only 45, since I have some no index in there and have removed "empty" pages from google a few months back to make sure not to get penalized for thin content.

[David-Kley]

Not a problem! I'm aware that you sell more than one type, I just used the rifle casings as an example. Also, looks like the SSL redirect is working now. Once you get some of the items fixed and resubmitted in webmaster tools, you should see some fluxuation in your rankings. Glad I could help

[s-s]

I know this is a stupid question to ask, considering that every little bit makes a difference with Google, but do you believe that the redirect would have been such a huge influence in the rank drop?

[David-Kley]

It could be, if the redirect was not done correctly. Also it can take time for Google to realize a change has been made. I remember when we redesigned our whole site, and saw a ranking drop for about 2 months, then we came back stronger than ever. The one thing you don't want to do is freak out and change a lot of things at once when you are still unsure what caused the drop. It might be a good idea to take a hard look at the competitors sites that ranked up for your keywords, and do a backlink profile on their domains. It's one easy way to see why Google is ranking them so well.

I would make sure that all the old pages have a place to go, even if that means going through the site search in google and clicking on each URL. This will tell you if you have any dead or 404 pages not covered by a redirect. I know that people are changing to the SSL to try and rank since Google announced it could help, but you still have to make sure your pages redirect properly. Drop this in your URL bar and see what pages dont go anywhere: site:eastcoastarsenal.com/

Depending on your location focus, I would also look and see what citation profiles your competitors have.

[David-Kley]

Its cool, we're still bros lol. I understand what you mean, I was just giving him an example of what to look for, or how to optimize for his search audience. Honestly the best way would be to run an Adwords campaign for a month, and look at the Dimentions>search terms to see how people are searching for his products. Could also use the keyword planner, but I have found that to be...lacking in some areas.

I agree in that one of the most important areas to look into would be the backlink profile, as it seems that he is losing authority to his competition.

[s-s]

David,

you are right, an Adwords campaign would help me find the right terms and also get me much more traffic, but unfortunately Google does not allow us to advertise on their platform due to our products being prohibited (google policy).

I even had build up an automated feed for google shopping, but again they don't allow us to be a part of it. Even for google trusted stores, we were declined.

So I am fighting a battle like others, but I am not allowed to use all the same tools.

[David-Kley]

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=used%20shell%20casings

There has to be a way. If you search for used shell casings on Google, other sites show ads and product feeds. What was the exact error message you received when trying to submit your ads?

[s-s]

David,

you are absolutely right, there are ads popping up here and there. Mainly people selling over amazon.com and etsy, but very rarely are there any direct ads from my competition.

There was no error message, as we did not even go ahead and submitted it due to this:

https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/6014299

It has gotten so ridiculous that even if one day I want to run a blog with info only and place ads, I'm not allowed to show any adsense ads

[David-Kley]

I would try it anyway, but maybe I'm just stubborn, lol.

http://searchengineland.com/google-weapon-listings-shopping-search-126487

Perhaps since you are selling casings, and not "ammunition" per say, you may be able to get your ads showing. Either that or just spend 5 minutes on the phone with Google adwords help. I'm sure they would be able to let you know what your are eligible to advertise. 1-866-246-6453

[s-s]

You might actually be a little stubborn me too, tho.

I called months ago, spoke to different people, legal team even called back one day and they said, unfortunately they don't allow that type of product, even it not being loaded rounds.

I said... well if you don't want my money, what can I do. 

[s-s]

Moosa,

I am currently looking into it.

One thing I know for sure is that a lot of my links dropped, because I stopped using the individuals that were building links for me.

I know what needs to be done on that end.

Thank you for your insight