Sudden drop in ranking

[WallerD]

Hi,

I have been on page 1 (around 5-7th) for an area specific phrase (liverpool wedding photographer) for most of last year. I wrote a 2500 word article which was about documentary wedding photography which was meant for a landing page of its own, I decided to put it on my home page. A week later I was second position page 1. This was last November and within a week or at most 14 days I was suddenly dropped to bottom page 1 (9th 10th), then a week later half way down page 2 (14th, 15th) and ending at the bottom of page 2. I had a bad SEO company a few years ago who got me a lot of spammy links so I ended up disavowing a lot of links I had. What are peoples opinions on links now? Do I disavow all directory links, and non wedding or photography related links? Did something major happen to the google algorithm in November?

The only other thing I can think of which might cause a penalty is using the keyword "Liverpool wedding photographer" as a link from at leat 10 blog posts back to my home page which is optimised for those keywords. This was something I copied from someone who was ranking nationally for phrases. Just looked at their site now and they are still using this technique and are No1 nationally for their chosen phrase????

I do try and get as many 'good' links as I can (featured weddings on wedding blogs and credits for photography work) but I am totally confused. I thought google likes a lot of content? Very gutted as it could not happen  at a worse time as January is the busiest month for bookings and I have been nowhere.

any help will be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes.

David.

[Hurf]

Overall, David, your inbound links don't look too bad. You have a Moz Spam Score is 1/17 which is positively saintly. But, as you say, the worst of them are all based around the 'Liverpool wedding photographer' anchor text.

http://www.submit.biz/23/Photography/ - a bit nasty

and

http://marieosmondwedding.com/find-the-best-wedding-photographer-in-liverpool/ - positively stinky.

All too often, when people find they have fallen foul of less than pure SEO practices they start start disavowing directory links despite the fact Google clearly says they probably don't need to:

"This [disavow tool] is an advanced feature and should only be used with caution. If used incorrectly, this feature can potentially harm your site’s performance in Google’s search results. We recommend that you disavow backlinks only if you believe you have a considerable number of spammy, artificial, or low-quality links pointing to your site, and if you are confident that the links are causing issues for you. In most cases, Google can assess which links to trust without additional guidance, so most normal or typical sites will not need to use this tool."

This page is worth reading:  https://www.bowlerhat.co.uk/penguin-4-0-business-directories-yay-nay/

However, I don't think this is where your problem lies:

Compare the site in the number one spot (with next to no inbound inks): http://www.theliverpoolweddingphotographer.co.uk/book-online

to your site:

http://www.dwliverpoolphotography.co.uk/contact/

Can you see the difference (or, more to the point what's missing)?

AN ADDRESS!

Google knows where 'Merseyside, L37 4AL' is but even the Mighty G will struggle to locate  "David [who is] a wedding photographer based in liverpool." In fact, you don't even use the word Liverpool on your contact page!

I hope that helps you, David. You're work looks great. Correct that address issue and see how that changes things for you.

Also, I noticed your AdWords (down the bottom of the page) I'd urge you to get 'Liverpool Wedding Photography' in your Titles along with some ad extensions: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2375499?hl=en-GB and a compelling call to action.

Compare:

1. Liverpool Wedding Photography - £500 for 2017 Weddings‎

   Ad<cite class="_WGk">www.stevechaplinphotography.com/special-offer</cite>‎If you're getting married in 2017, I have an amazing offer for you - 50% OffBeautiful Albums · Great Client Reviews · Professional · Creative · Special OfferSouthport‎ - 07769 998166‎ - Closed now · Hours

against your ad:

1. NorthWest Wedding Photographer - Natural Relaxed Unobtrusive‎

   Ad<cite class="_WGk">www.dwliverpoolphotography.co.uk/</cite>‎David Walters captures moments as they happen, relaxed unobtrusive - no fuss.

Good luck!

[WallerD]

Hi Hurf,

Wow what a response! I have an old copy of toast local so have contacted them, hopefully they will give me a good deal on the new version. Doh!!! I had forgotten the importance of having the address in your website!

Thank you also for pointing out the uninspiring adwords text. to be honest another photographer completed it for me and it has been performing very badly, I need to sit down and think of something more compelling.

Will let you know how I get on!

Best wishes.

David.

[WallerD]

I meant Yoast local!

[Hurf]

Sometimes it's easy to be blinded by the technical aspects of SEO and overlook the most basic things. Put it this way, my troubleshooting started from the links down, rather than the site up, so don't feel too bad - there's a lesson there for all of us, I'd say.

P.S. I think I preferred Toast

Good luck and happy snapping!