How to explain an odd seo/serps phenomenon?

[JesseQuinn]

Hey y'all

I have a question about a site I'm come across in my obsessive serps checking. All the sites that rank well for my target keywords are sites with meaningful content, normal backlink profiles...they follow all the rules of seo, as I'm aware of them at least.

That said, there's one site that's doing well for most of my target key words and I can't figure it out...the site has incredibly paltry content (I'm talking 20 words per page max, including tags) and the backlink profile is bizarre. The site has over 100k backlinks, but they mostly link to sites that don't actually exist...the few sites that do exist are mostly mainstream sites (eg: a non-profit anti-smoking website and a website that sells wrist watches). Further, the link URLs on the sites that do exist have been removed...from the set-up of the pages it looks like many were comment spam.

Is it normal for sites with little content and a bizarre backlink profile to rank well or is this non-white hat seo in practice? I'm really curious...I know panda and penguin were supposed to crack down on sites with little relevance to the purported keywords so there's either some good legit seo to this site that I'm missing or it's slipping through panda/penguin somehow. The site was built in Dec of 2012 and it started climbing in the serps a few weeks ago. I rank above this site so this isn't a jealousy thing...I'm genuinely curious as to what's going on mainly because I don't understand the situation and I like puzzles.

Anyone encountered anything like this before? Basically a site with a sentence or two per page, a bunch of tags and a profile of backlinks that don't actually exist that ranks really well in a niche that's growing increasingly competitive?

[sarettah]

I have seen stuff like that before but without looking at the site in question I could not tell you how they are doing it. It could be blackhat, it could be a lucky accident and it could be a google screwup.

Probably getting oomph from someone else's juice along the way somewhere.

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[JesseQuinn]

Originally Posted by sarettah

I have seen stuff like that before but without looking at the site in question I could not tell you how they are doing it. It could be blackhat, it could be a lucky accident and it could be a google screwup.

Probably getting oomph from someone else's juice along the way somewhere.

.

^^^thanks for your reply, your sig is wicked btw

Yeah, it occurred to me when I was writing that my OP was a little vague. I didn't want to post the name of the site because a) if it's not BH (I'm not an expert so there could be something I'm missing) I don't wanna put the site on blast unfairly and b) if it is BH I don't wanna give them extra exposure

it does look like it's getting it's juice from somewhere...I just can't tell where cuz there's no outbound links aside from links to other pages of the same site and the vast majority of backlinks are non-existent.

From the looks of the site it's a cam site white label with a home page chat bot, dating site pop-up style. The keywords the site is using that relate to my niche have nothing to do with what the site actually offers.

The site also has an unusually high number of google/fb likes (particularly for an adult site so young), that as much as the lack of content was what initially made me curious. My niche is a pretty tight community, we all work together and know each other, so when this site popped up unrelated to anyone/any other site in the niche I noticed it immediately.

I find seo fascinating so I'm curious to see how the site's position in the serps moves over time. It's a small niche that relies heavily on personal interaction and return business so I doubt the strategy of advertising something it's not selling will be lucrative even if the site is WH or isn't but doesn't get caught (wow I anthropomorphize google, I picture it like some tyrannical parent who smites all that displeases it). I'm def gonna keep watching to see how it plays out.

thanks again for taking the time to write

[Tent Pitcher]

You mention that your site has an unusually high number of Google and Facebook likes...this might very well have something to do with the high ranking as a more visible site tends to perpetuate its ranking initially in such a fashion. How long have you owned the domain and what type of site was it before?

I would be interested to see if the site continues to enjoy its high ranking for more than a month or so. Don't forget the "new site bump" that you will get with Google for the first few months after a site is visible. I have seen a site rank on the first page for a few months, then disappear for a few, then reappear.

Like sarettah said, I need more specific info to be sure, but I don't think your site is "slipping through" the engines.

[Kostly]

Google and the other search engines are now horrible black boxes that are becoming increasingly hard to understand and/or manipulate.

[JesseQuinn]

Originally Posted by Tent Pitcher

You mention that your site has an unusually high number of Google and Facebook likes...this might very well have something to do with the high ranking as a more visible site tends to perpetuate its ranking initially in such a fashion. How long have you owned the domain and what type of site was it before?

I would be interested to see if the site continues to enjoy its high ranking for more than a month or so. Don't forget the "new site bump" that you will get with Google for the first few months after a site is visible. I have seen a site rank on the first page for a few months, then disappear for a few, then reappear.

Like sarettah said, I need more specific info to be sure, but I don't think your site is "slipping through" the engines.

The site I'm curious about isn't mine. I'm watching it because it seems so....odd compared to all the other sites I see ranking for those keywords. I really can't figure this one out, which is why I wonder if they're using something other than white hat techniques.

I def think you're on to something with your comment about social media. This site is listed in a ton of facebook groups that feature nothing but long lists of random links so it does have a huge social media presence, if not a very meaningful one.

You could be partially right about the google 'dance' part as well, the whole thing is just weird though because of the lack of content (all the pages that rank feature nothing but a handful of pics lifted off Chive and sparse lists of keywords) and the ton of backlinks that don't exist. There are a ton of new sites in that niche so the google dance doesn't explain why this particular site is ranking over other new sites that do feature meaningful content, have legit backlinks, etc.

Beyond reading about it, part of the way I've taught myself seo is by observing other sites (particularly those that rank well) to see theory put into practice. All the other sites I've observed make sense, whereas this one is just...huh? My sites still outrank it so this really isn't sour grapes on my part, just theoretical curiosity from someone still learning the ins and outs of seo.

Originally Posted by Kostly

Google and the other search engines are now horrible black boxes that are becoming increasingly hard to understand and/or manipulate.

^^true say. It def is a challenge to abide by rules upon which I'm not always clear, but on the other hand that does make seo a bit more fun.

thanks for your replies guys, much appreciated