Google is Trying to Kill Toy Bender
If you don’t care about the inner workings of the site and only want toy updates and boob jokes, then stop reading. The rest of you, bear down for a super rant.
Thanks to Google cracking down on blog networks and webmasters who don’t do exactly as they want, Toy Bender has taken another hit in it’s page rank. In case you don’t know what a Google page rank is, it’s a measure that Google applies to websites that gauge their “importance”. Back in the glory days, Toy Bender was a 5/10. When Google decided to punish blog networks (like the blog network that Toy Bender is on) it dropped to a 4/10. The hit in my traffic was substantial, because the lower the page ranking the lower Toy Bender comes up in searches on Google.
Now Toy Bender has dropped yet again to a 3/10 and I can’t comprehend why. I’ve got more links coming to Toy Bender from outside the network than ever before. I’ve got more regular readers than ever before. I’d like to think that my content has remained relatively the same, so it feels like Google is slapping my hands for no reason whatsoever. Going in to see that my traffic has dropped substantially is a terrible blow to my ego, simply because I feel like I’m doing something wrong.
Not only does my ego suffer when traffic drops a couple of hundred page views a day, but my revenue share drops. I love toys and I love you guys, but I can’t do everything I do here for free. There’s a certain point where the magic math equation of time spent vs. monetary gain equals trying something else with all the time I pour into the site. Even worse than that, is that the revenue drops for the blog network. If 451 can’t afford to stay afloat (less page views equal less ad clicks), then Toy Bender won’t be around despite my desire to stay on writing.
What can be done about this? Not a whole lot. Google is an unstoppable monster. The backlash against Google’s methods of ranking is in it’s beginning stages, and as much as webmasters and bloggers are mad there’s not a whole lot they can do. The only thing I can do is just keep writing and hope for the best. If you enjoy this site and wouldn’t like to see it disappear, then please link to it whenever you can or recommend it to others. Your support is invaluable now!
UPDATE: I guess whining helps. The same day I bitch about the lowered ranking and the drop in traffic from the previous week… I have my best day in months. Not sure what happened there, but I guess I should bitch every day.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Hmmm…according to my Pageranker widget, Michael Crawford’s only a 4/10. Maybe they reworked the entire rubric, rather than just lowering certain ratings? Wizard Universe only rates a 5/10.
For the record, PGPoA is a mere 1/10
January 28th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I used to obsess over page rank and Technorati rankings.
Then I stopped. Not much else to say on the subject really. I love google’s apps and mail but their search results are becoming increasingly useless. Too many people pouring money into “SEO” and not enough into worth reading content.
So your page rank is 10/10, Too bad your content isn’t worth looking at for more then 10/10 seconds (Not directed at you or Toybender but websites/blogs in general).
January 28th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
thanks for the input fellas.
I wouldn’t care if my page rank was a 1 or a 10, but when I have such negative consequences for a lower page rank that’s when I care. I agree, it doesn’t matter if your content sucks, but I feel that my content is the same as it was when it was “good enough” to warrant a 4 or 5.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
That sucks. Not much you can do about it though.
I have a link to Toybender on my site for what it is worth…
January 28th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I think Google’s plan is to devalue the site, then swoop in and purchase it at a discount and save millions!
(Keep writing and hope for the best. That’s the only part that is under your control. That is unless you buy Google first…)
January 29th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Sorry to hear that. I’m a fan of Toybender and I don’t see why your page rank should drop.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Paul don’t be disheartened, do go to alexa.com if you haven’t heard of it. I’m sure you’ll be quite pleased to see the results for your site.
hope it helps.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Thats not cool at all, but keep at it!