I love Google. Google hates me. That sums it all up.
First it started two (2) years ago when Google's Mark Lucovsky pegged me for some kind of Google DDoS attacker and wrote me mentioning terms like "Homeland Security", "FBI", etc. After we cleared that up (which I never got an apology, btw), Google continuously and without pause bitch slapped me and all of my sites, and everyone's site it seemed. Yes, Google tightened down their algo. But that was all okay, I had ArticleChecker and it was upgraded to a PR6 with many EDU links. So, God forbid, I decided to sell ArticleChecker in January 2009 and merely 4 days after I placed the ad (which mentioned PageRank of the site), my site was DE-LISTED from Google. Revenue dropped to nothing, the site didn't sell (since it no longer showed up on Google), and I had to write to Google and beg for reinclusion. My sit was reincluded 3 weeks later. In my reinclusion request, I disclosed that I sold some text link ads on Article Checker. Then, 2 weeks ago, this site was demoted to PR-0, ArticleChecker was demoted to PR4 from PR6, every site I owned was demoted by at least two (2) PageRank coefficients.
Nope, Google didn't want me monetizing my sites by passing my PageRank and it was going to make sure that I was properly penalized.
Or is that the proper analysis? You see, I have another theory that is much less narcissistic than my other theory.
What if my sites were demoted because that's how the PR Algo works? What if, by having a PR6, I had 6 external outbound links and hence, a 'leaky' boat? What if that is exactly how the PR algo works? Perhaps the 'guff' is slighly empty now but perhaps it will refill itself, re-heal itself, sort of like when you prune a tree...the limbs grow back?
I would rest a bit easier knowing that Googz didn't single me out as some egregious offender but since it's so cryptic over there, you just don't know what the hell to think when something happens.
I love Google. They are my life blood. My reason for waking up and checking my campaigns and their performance. Google is as much my search engine as it is Google's. It's my tool that I use to make a living and conduct business. Google is my ultra-Godlike-knowledgable friend that answers any question that I can think up. It makes look like genius.
I love Google. I hope my demotions are just 'bleeds' of PageRank that will recover. I am 30/70 on this theory though. I think I'm screwed and labeled a 'violator'. Perhaps my picture and list of domains is by some water cooler @ Google somewhere like some kind of an AMW poster.
Again, with the narcissism.
UPDATE: I was again, wrong. ArticleChecker.com was demoted again, 2 weeks later from PR4 to PR3. So, if you're keeping score at home, it was a PR6 knocked down to a PR3. This is the equivalent of 300 degradations and magnitudes in value (log(x)).