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    4. Why am I not ranking for my main keyword?

    Why am I not ranking for my main keyword?

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    • hattieyoung
      hattieyoung last edited by

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      • Dr-Pete
        Dr-Pete last edited by

        You seem to be ranking for more exact-match brand terms, so I'm not seeing signs of a broad penalty, but I do suspect something a bit more targeted. You've got a lot of links with variations of "VR porn" in the anchor text, and quite a few links that appear outright spammy to me, such as blog spam like this:

        http://glutendude.com/celebrities/rachael-ray-ignores-celiac-disease/

        Post Penguin 4.0, it's possible you're just looking at a lot of devaluation, which is making your link profile weaker than it might appear at first glance.

        It's possible it's just a targeting issue, too. You seem to be ranking well for terms that include "mobile", but the broader terms, like "vr porn", may just be too competitive. If you're also seeing some link devaluation, then you may just not be competitive enough for those terms at the moment.

        I'm not seeing any signs of technical issues or index issues. Google seems to be caching major pages and returning them for long-tail terms.

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        • hattieyoung
          hattieyoung last edited by

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          • Dr-Pete
            Dr-Pete @hattieyoung last edited by

            Ranking an inside page higher could be a sign of a page-specific or term-specific action. This may tie-in to anchor text over-optimization, since a lot of those links may be pointed at the home-page.

            I find social comparison of link profiles, so to speak, is rarely useful. We all overestimate the mischief or our competitors and underestimate our own. At the end of the day, though, your link profile is the only one you can control.

            That said, obviously, adult site link-building is very competitive, very difficult, and often spammy, and the reality of any given industry doesn't always match "best" practices. Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with how to build links in your industry. You've got the advantage of some novelty and a growing interest in VR, but I'm not sure which sources talk about those developments. In many ways, it seems more like a PR challenge.

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