Thread: Google found a wordpress install not linked anywhere!

So I have a newer site that I added a page on that ranks #1 on 2 of the 3 and #3 on the 3rd search engine. I was playing around with a wordpress install with a theme I found to test it out, however I have no links pointing to this page and The Google found me???

This wordpress page now ranks number 1 and the other page got a secondary (indented) listing. Anyone have any ideas what google does that may have found this page?

A few thoughts:

1. Google has admitted to sharing data between the AdSense MediaBot and GoogleBot. They can find pages which contain AdSense, even it there are no inbound links.

2. The Google Toolbar sends data back to Google. If anyone running the Google Toolbar visits your page, Google learns about your page.

3. WordPress has an installation option asking whether you want your site public or private. I wonder what all that does?

4. If you made a post to the blog, WordPress might have promoted it by pinging one of the Update Services.

Originally Posted by Will.Spencer

A few thoughts:

1. Google has admitted to sharing data between the AdSense MediaBot and GoogleBot. They can find pages which contain AdSense, even it there are no inbound links.

2. The Google Toolbar sends data back to Google. If anyone running the Google Toolbar visits your page, Google learns about your page.

3. WordPress has an installation option asking whether you want your site public or private. I wonder what all that does?

4. If you made a post to the blog, WordPress might have promoted it by pinging one of the Update Services.

1. no adsense anywhere
2. yes I have a Google toolbar - that would be a new one for me
3. wordpress on my server only, I did search wordpress site and came up with nothing.
4. not sure.. will have to look- but see #3

Thanks for the info.

Originally Posted by Will.Spencer

3. WordPress has an installation option asking whether you want your site public or private. I wonder what all that does?

This is automatically turned on, unless you turn it off, I guess it could have casued Shawns page to be added to google. If your running wordpress from a hosting company then its odds on that they will have turned this option on. If you want to remain totaly private I would it off. I don't fully understand what exactly it does, however it must relate to search engines finding you, maybe it simply blocks the spiders? If thats even possible...

I added an SEO add-on package that had a few items in it. I will have to read more on that to see if that has something like a feed on it. Even still I would think I could find my site on wordpress.

I wish the stupid links: function on the search engines actually would work, then I could see if somehow it was linked to.

The theme you were testing did by any chance have any ads on it maybe left from the designer or coder? Or maybe analytics? Yes, the G-Unit knows your activity when you use the G toolbar or even there browser. Some place its written they monitor this to improve there products. Then you have wordpress with that auto ping feature on any post or edit not sure how you would search to find where that info is pinged to. I know it bugged me when they found my practice site but found out I could just block access to it via htaccess.

Originally Posted by Shawn

I wish the stupid links: function on the search engines actually would work, then I could see if somehow it was linked to.

You could add the site to GoogleWebmasterTools, as Google already knows about the site anyway.

I'm just guessing here, but what about the "related sites"?

One of the sites you've linked to is indexed. That is likely how your site got indexed.