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It is not at all uncommon to have the category taxonomy run three levels deep like this. What page should I land on if I search for "Volunteer Firefighter Patches"? If it's /fire-patches/ you may have trouble targeting "Volunteer" while also targeting Ambulance, Hazmat... I think pages specifically targeting topics like "EMS Patches" are necessary for this site and would not recommend removing them. While you're rethinking the taxonomy though, I would change /fire-patches/ to /first-responders/ because at the moment the site has EMS and Ambulance under "Fire". Really, all of these professionals are "First Responders". Then /first-responders/fire-patches/ may even continue another level deep, such as /first-responders/fire-patches/volunteer/ .

Still the same for me. The expanded text ads are converting at half the rate of the regular.

Yeah, expanded text ads are out. I jumped on those the very same day. Anyway, good to see I'm not the only one with the problem and that Wordstream probably jumped the gun.

It's absolutely possible to exclude converted visitors from remarketing in Google Adwords. We do it every day, it would be the best to connect your Google Analytics account to your Google Adwords account. By doing this it will make it possible to use your segments as remarketing lists. This will make it possible to create a segment for converted visitors and use it as an audience within targeting to exclude them.

I have used conversion optimizer a few times, and each time, it basically destroyed everything. Enhanced CPC sometimes makes things MINIMALLY better. I think conversion optimizer would work better if I had ads that were long-running, but I tend to be constantly pausing things and changing things.

Wow, that was ridiculous! Thanks.

Just wanted to send some love to all those that go beyond page 1  As the owner of a small ecommerce business who has been pushed off the first page by all the big box store (Sears, Walmart, Costco, etc) results, I'm always overjoyed to hear about those who have made it a habit to go beyond page 1. Maybe there should be some sort of Go Beyond viral campaign like "Google Beyond page 1 for the good stuff!"  (pretty awkward, needs some work, where are all the bright copywriters?...)

No, I've not received a notification. Thanks, Sean.

I have heard others complain of drops after starting ads to promote posts but i have never seen any data to support it.

I have absolutely no idea. I don't think they really need to at this point.

This is nothing new .. this is like playing Russian roulette .. they are taking the risk and they are enjoying the benefits while the sun shines. I do not think we can do anything to change this situation.. hope Google is listening and will come up with something and believe me this tool will not make any difference - https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/spamreport?hl=en I have tried this many times and of course no result so far.

Thanks for the code. It worked! And thanks for providing the link to the server header check so I could properly test it.

Agreed

These are good ideas. I was thinking too small. I'm talking #RCS but still thinking about the number of Facebook likes. What you've suggested really is #RCS. Getting customers involved definitely seems like the way to go. Thank you.

Thanks for expanding on that! a) There are no pages in these folders; they're just directories full of Wordpress config stuff b) I already have Yoast and have tag pages noindexed. All the directories I'm referring to are similar to the path I showed above. c) If I request removal of specific folders, will it also remove all the files within the folder?\ Thanks!

That's a good theory. It's not like I've loaded internal links in every other sentence of every blog post. I only did it where it would help the customer by giving them more information. Between all my blog posts, I think each post ranges from 0-4 links, 4 being a rare occasion, one or two being the most common. I guess I'm not too worried, since post-penguin we are now #1.

Wow, I didn't know you could still contact domains with private registration. Now if I can just convince him to let me devote time to this, there will be hope! Thanks for all your help!

Honestly, I think this kind of thing happens fairly often. The one paid link Google will never catch is the one that we agree to at the bar at the end of the day at SES/SMX/Pubcon/Mozcon/etc. On a less manipulative level than paid links, the best exchanged links come from relationship-building. If there's a site that's relevant to your site and where a link would benefit the users, reaching out to that site is just good, white-hat link-building, IMO. I guess the problem comes in when you try to systematize it. Practically speaking, you end up with a lot of people looking for low-hanging fruit and submitting junk. Plus, as soon as you build a link network (no matter how good your intentions), you have to market it - once you market it, it's bound to get on Google's radar. I think there are sites that skirt the edge of this, but it's tough. MyBlogGuest is a great example - it's a marketplace for guest bloggers, and often people guest blog for traffic/links. The site is just setting up that exchange and relationship, though - it's not directly driving link purchases or exchanges.

Since Penguin, I have moved to the #1 position for the KW embroidered patches Nice work!  WooHoo!