Some hacker inserted a single randomly named php and new .htaccess file in every directory on my Movable Type blog - www.geofffox.com. We’re talking thousands of directories.
The .htaccess file was amazingly clever. It sprung into action on 404 errors, and only from search engine referrers. I originally thought it was Google’s problem, because I couldn’t make the pages appear by typing them in.
By the time I’d begun the cleanup, Google thought I had over 330,000 pages (actually around 16k) on my site. My most cited keywords had to do with porn and game cracks.
The hack left all .html files in a single directory. My real pages are all php, making it easier to eliminate the scourge from search engines. It took a long time.
Since cleaning up my act in January, my traffic is down by 2/3! MSN Live is referring more traffic my way than Google. I am still a PR4, but with little to show for that. That’s one reason I’ve cited my site on this comment and hope it’s not ‘nofollowed’ out. I’m hoping for some Google love.
My biggest complaint is, Google is not answerable to anyone. You can fill out forms, and beg (and I begged), but Google will neither tell you what you did wrong or how to rehabilitate yourself. I had to find those out on my own.
They have gone beyond a simple search engine. If you’re not on Google, you don’t exist!