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"If you have a blog, you can improve my chances by linking to PainScience.com." Google doesn't take well to people asking for links to their site. Asking for

"If you have a blog, you can improve my chances by linking to PainScience.com." Google doesn't take well to people asking for links to their site. Asking for links, buying for links, or spamming your link is something that Google doesn't like. Just from this, I can already see your expertise in SEO. Although having this post at the top of Hacker News is going to help this a bit. Anyone with basic SEO knowledge could have told you the pitfalls of transferring domains. This reads closer to trying to blame Google for your lack of traffic, rather than what you learned from the experience. From my experience, Google's algorithm is finicky, but if your site is sound and has good content you have little to fear.

mikeg8 11y ago
> Anyone with basic SEO knowledge could have told you the pitfalls of transferring domains nope. A lot more people have "basic" SEO knowledge than could execute a seamless TLD transition.
- trifecta16 11y ago
  I think we would want to redefine the term basic SEO knowledge here. When I say basic, I mean an SEO coordinator could tell you what's wrong. From reading the article, the user clearly doesn't have basic SEO knowledge. Knowing what a 301 redirect hardly counts as basic SEO knowledge. Having access to your webmaster tools doesn't count as basic SEO knowledge. My view of basic may be flawed, as I do work in the industry, but I can say that running around complaining about how it's Google's fault and asking for "link donations" isn't going to get you your results.
paulingraham 11y ago
I agree, asking for links in that context was unwise: I was focussed on the wrong thing. I’ve now removed that. (Note that I also nofollow most links between my sites. I do not use one domain to promote another.) I don’t know if Google should be blamed or not.
austinhutch 11y ago
Your contribution to this thread was to mock the author's efforts and then to make some claim about what "basic" SEO knowledge is. HN is a place where experts, apparently like yourself, come to share their expertise. I hope you'll consider that in your future comments.

mikeg8 11y ago

> Anyone with basic SEO knowledge could have told you the pitfalls of transferring domains nope. A lot more people have "basic" SEO knowledge than could execute a seamless TLD transition.

trifecta16 11y ago
I think we would want to redefine the term basic SEO knowledge here. When I say basic, I mean an SEO coordinator could tell you what's wrong. From reading the article, the user clearly doesn't have basic SEO knowledge. Knowing what a 301 redirect hardly counts as basic SEO knowledge. Having access to your webmaster tools doesn't count as basic SEO knowledge. My view of basic may be flawed, as I do work in the industry, but I can say that running around complaining about how it's Google's fault and asking for "link donations" isn't going to get you your results.

paulingraham 11y ago

I agree, asking for links in that context was unwise: I was focussed on the wrong thing. I’ve now removed that. (Note that I also nofollow most links between my sites. I do not use one domain to promote another.) I don’t know if Google should be blamed or not.

austinhutch 11y ago

Your contribution to this thread was to mock the author's efforts and then to make some claim about what "basic" SEO knowledge is. HN is a place where experts, apparently like yourself, come to share their expertise. I hope you'll consider that in your future comments.