FPD, this is the easy way to weed through your results:

Go to Google Preferences (next to the "Search" button) and set the Number of Results to display to 100.

Now do your query. The results change. There are actually 20 sites to weed through.

At the bottom of the page, you will see "repeat the search with the omitted results included." Clicking that will bring up all the hits within these 20 sites, and return the stats back to the original results you got.

The number of true, uniquely linked sites is often dramatically different than the number of times a term is mentioned.

FPD, keep in mind that when google says they have 5,000 results, or even 5,0000000000 results that doesn't mean that's the exact number. When google generates that, they usually give a guesstimate.

How do you get Google to unlist your sites?

I have a good ranking on Google for low key work usage.
In other words, my sites and key words are not extremely poplular.

But doing a specific search brings them up.

Most of this is extremely beneficial to my ecommerce business niche marketing campaign.

The problem is that many of my old sites still show up on Google searches... some as old as 3 years.

Some of those sites are not even hosted anymore.
When I click on them... I get the can not be displayed for a variety of reasons page.

I do not want my potential customers, scrolling down from the top listings to experience that.

Any comments?

on a regular basis I submit my links to google, yahoo, and the other major search engines. I find that my ranking has increased quite a bit. I also use some of those free search engine submission sites it's great and you don't have to find all the obscure ones out there because they do it for you!

LurkeyLou wrote (View Post): › At the bottom of the page, you will see "repeat the search with the omitted results included". Clicking that will bring up all the hits within these 20 sites, and return the stats back to the original results you got.

I recently learned a "shortcut" for this (especially useful if the "repeat with omits" is hundreds of pages away).

Add &filter=0 onto the end of the url in the address bar and Go or Enter to repeat the search with all results included.

To get a site unlisted from Google? I don't know how, but there ARE support forums for Google and their search products. You might try searching Google for that particular question, maybe adding google forums to the search.

purple_reading_giraffe wrote (View Post): › LurkeyLou wrote (View Post): › At the bottom of the page, you will see "repeat the search with the omitted results included". Clicking that will bring up all the hits within these 20 sites, and return the stats back to the original results you got. I recently learned a "shortcut" for this (especially useful if the "repeat with omits" is hundreds of pages away). Add &filter=0 onto the end of the url in the address bar and Go or Enter to repeat the search with all results included. To get a site unlisted from Google? I don't know how, but there ARE support forums for Google and their search products. You might try searching Google for that particular question, maybe adding google forums to the search.

Good tip, but my from last year was an attempt to help FPD narrow query returns.
FPD was getting over 5K returns but they were being generated from 20 sites:

frontporchdreaming wrote (View Post): › I guess I did something right someplace because when I google my ID I get over 5000 returns. A good many (top ones too) are for my site. Some from ecrater, plunderhere, blujay & half.com where I also have stores active. Some from feebay that I very rarely ever list anything anymore & other sites that I no longer belong to.

It made sense for FPD to do a narrowed search so they could see that the 5K query return was generated by relatively few TLDs. The expanded results were mostly based forum posts within about 20 TLDs. Toggling via "omitted results" seemed the easiest, least confusing way for FPD to see review the TLDs and then see why the results expanded to 5K.

troutcannibal, you might want to try Google's Submit a Removal Request. I've not used the tool and other webmasters I've talked with have had mixed results.

A shortcut would be to contact the previous host(s) and ask them to flush your site(s) from their server cache. My experience has been that a hosting company will close an account - I no longer have access - but the site remains on the server. So long as the site is accessible to search engines they will crawl and catalog. To give the host(s) a little extra incentive to remove the site(s), tell them that your request is most urgent because you've been informed of potential copyright violations - you may see the site disappear right before your eyes

Oooooh, Lou! Clever tip

Also see PSU Threads:
Do-It-Yourself SEO: A Beginner's Checklist
SEO That Works! Keywords, Content and Links

Quote: › Oooooh, Lou! Clever tip Also see PSU Threads: Do-It-Yourself SEO: A Beginner's Checklist SEO That Works! Keywords, Content and Links

Thanks so much for the recommendations, purple. Do you advise to use these because you use them when you list your auctions? Have you had much luck with them and what do you find most useful when listing your sales? BTW, where do you sell and what do you sell?

innerpuppie wrote (View Post): › BTW, where do you sell and what do you sell?

innerpuppie wrote (View Post): › purple ... doesn't sell

You say

innerpuppie wrote (View Post): › I find it remarkable that people get all tangled up in this stuff which is/was the point of my original post. For one reason or another, people, AGAIN, are making and taking this personal.... And, it appears, that to get along in a forum one must dumb down. Sadly, that is not my intent or style. I CAN READ AND I CAN COMPREHEND AND I WILL NOT ADDICT MYSELF TO SOMETHING AS IRRELEVANT IN LIFE AS A FORUM DEDICATED TO INTERNET SALES.

*nodding in comprehension*

innerpuppie wrote (View Post): › Do you advise to use these because you use them

No, I remark that they exist and relate to the original topic and by implication may be of interest to those reading this topic.

purple_reading_giraffe wrote (View Post): › Also see PSU Threads: Do-It-Yourself SEO: A Beginner's Checklist SEO That Works! Keywords, Content and Links

I have also said

purple_reading_giraffe wrote (View Post): › As I don't sell, and as I don't buy a lot, and as I have no inclination to start my own 'next big auction site', it seemed to me that the best way I could help the migration to alternative sites was to try to 'move' good information from one place to another, and to find ways to access more information that seemed lacking (my 'custom' searches). That, however, is how I choose to donate my time and efforts, and I believe I have helped here and there.

For those who create and sell handmade or handcrafted products, they need to check out The Hand Made Product Directory

Thanks LurkeyLou!

troutcannibal wrote (View Post): › How do you get Google to unlist your sites?

If you're still looking for a way to do this, sign up for Google Webmaster Tools and there are ways there to request removal from individual pages or entire sites.

If those old sites are still accessible you might want to redirect the pages to current pages instead. (301 redirect in .htaccess file) That way you can transfer the page rank from the old pages instead of just losing it.

agree with enellyq !

frontporchdreaming wrote (View Post): › Elgato, I was just under the understanding that you put your url's into msn, google, etc & they stayed there forever working their way up on the list. LOL Guess I misunderstood? Feebay finally got to the point that I felt it intolerable to keep my store open but at least I felt like my listings did show up fairly well in google (One of the very few features of feebay I was satisfied with). Oh well!

I've been reading a lot about this on the Google web developers pages.
It's not enough to make metatags, submit your site and then forget about it. The most important things so far as moving up on the search engine list are Quality Links to your site and Content.

You need to check your links to other sites periodically and make sure they're still working. A portion of your links should be to sites that have established themselves. You also need to get them to link back to you. And your links should have something to do with your own content.

Search engines don't like link farming - which is when you pay or join to exchange links with just anyone. This can put you down on the list. Try to get links with other sellers that complement what you sell or people who have information on the products you sell.

As far as content - add informative content about the products you are selling and give people a reason to come to your site besides making a purchase. For instance - if you sell cookbooks - have a recipe exchange. If you sell glassware - have a page with photos of glassmarks or information on glassmakers. If you can't do this yourself - then link to people who do have this.

Web search engines have gotten smarter and metatags, while still important - are not the be all and end all of moving up in the search results. It takes time - hits and a thoughtful approach to establishing links.

Just wanted to add: If you want to see who is linking to you, type into the Google search:

links: Yoursite.com

It may be possible to get a site de-indexed with search engines, but it will never go away. Everything is archived on the internet.

OK, do you have an old, no longer in existence website? Go to The Wayback Machine and enter your old website. Surprise, it is still right here on the web even if it has been gone for years.

I had a "home page" on Earthlink, my old ISP from years back. I can still see the pages from that homepage in The Wayback Machine. I think I closed those webpages down in 1999.

Did you post in some newsgroups years ago. I can still read my posts from 1998 by going to dejanews.com OH, it is google groups now, but using dejanews.com still gets you there.