Indexed pages all time low

hello, i installed the sitemap 3 or 4 weeks ago (im using vbseo too), and at the time i had over 100k pages indexed on google, showing with "site:mysite.com", but after i installed the sitemap i noticed that although it submitted over 200k url's, google has now just 7k pages indexed for my forum.

i tried waiting some days to see if everything was going to be reindexed again, but i dont have results yet, im down from around 1.5k-1.7k uniques a day to just 400-500, wich is around 10-15 guest online instead of the usual 50

what could be happening?

What are the results from your sitemap show reports list?
How many URLs to you have? (Total Indexed URLs)

this is the summary for today

summary:
============================
Forum Display: 428
Show Thread: 17053
Show Post: 185806
Member Profiles: 1429
Archive: 55

Total Indexed URLs: 204772
Total Processing Time: 231.27 seconds

Google ping: Successful.

Pablo, Google has been fluctuating again lately. Many users are reporting that the index is an old version. This could be impacting you.

Also, I see that you installed about 1 month ago. We would expect your indexed page count to drop since it will be removing duplicate paths to the same content - and moving you towards a 1-URL-Per-Resource forum with link consistency (preferred state for SEO). This is a good thing, but it would not account for your loss in referrals.

but it already had indexed more than half of my forum after i installed vbseo (and the lowest indexed pages were 70k) i dont get why it has to reindex again after installing the sitemap, as all are the same old url's

Oh, in that case, it looks like it might be an older version of the index. I'd expect a jump back up to your peak numbers soon. I don't think it has anything to do with the sitemap install. There were other reports of fluctuations. Did you login to the Google Webmaster tools (sitemaps) to see if they are reporting any problems with your site?

it says OK at the status, and it last downloaded 13 hours ago, i submit it everyday

its ok just submitting the index? (sitemap_index.xml.gz) or i have to submit all the sitemap files one by one?

Originally Posted by pablasso

its ok just submitting the index? (sitemap_index.xml.gz) or i have to submit all the sitemap files one by one?

Just the index page is fine.

thank you, another thing.. in the sitemap report i see that its being generated several times in short spams of time, and all seem to be the same (i get several email notices too)

is this a problem with my configuration?

Hello Pablo,

most likely, in "vB admincp->Scheduled Task" you have minutes option set to "*" (which mean to run every minute). You should change it to "0" or other number.

doh, yeah that was the problem, thanks Oleg!

today i'm at 113k url's indexed again after several days , i hope it doesn't drops again

ok im starting to worry, the same day that google restored me with 113k url's my index dropped to around 10k

its been 3 full weeks with about 30% of visitors before i used sitemap.. maybe i should try uninstalling it

I'd stick with it pablasso. Google fluctuations are a common thing. Since you are a relatively new installation, it is necessary for Google to purge a great deal of redundant/duplicate content listings for your site. This is a good thing. The sitemap will help Googlebot find all of your new content & accelerate it's indexing.

All SEOs share the same feelings when they see fluctations. It's nerve wrecking & tough to have patience. But those who do will perserve and end up with great search engine positioning.

Lately, it has been widely reported that Google's index has been acting odd, particularly that it is displaying old indexed content from as far back as two years ago if I recall correctly. This is most likely what is impacting your website instead of the sitemap.

BTW Google now officially lists our vBSEO Google/Yahoo Sitemap Generator on their 3rd party tools page:
Google Code - Sitemaps Third Party Programs & Websites

thank you for the response.. im just nervous because this is new for me, in 4 years i've never experienced such a big drop, but i think its normal then.. i'll just wait more