Websites often get hit by Google algorithm updates such as Panda and Penguin . Webmasters usually are clueless about what went wrong. But mo...
Websites often get hit by Google algorithm updates such as Panda and Penguin. Webmasters usually are clueless about what went wrong. But more often than not, such penalties are caused by link spam. It's not uncommon for a website to have at least some bad link profile, because cheap, buy-able links were pretty hot until Google's major algorithmic changes such as the Panda. Now removing this bad link profile and recovering from a link penalty is not an easy task, and many sites struggle with the process. Well here's an easy way to get Google's attention and get your bad link profile removed, along with getting your site rescued from a link penalty.
Whenever a website gets hit by a penalty, the most immediate response for many webmasters is submitting a reconsideration requests, whether right away or a bit later. Many are convinced they were penalized by mistake, or that they won't be penalized again after disavowing a few 'bad' links. They keep doing this until they're finally off the penalty, which could take a lot of time and effort.
OK, so first thing's first - you need to know how to write a proper reconsideration request. Because if it's not proper, then you're just wasting your time. We've covered this topic in great detail in previous articles. Here's a round-ip, just in case you're interested.
- 5 Things to note when sending a Reconsideration Request to Google
- Google Explains How To Write a Proper Reconsideration Request
- How Long does a Reconsideration Request take to Process?
And so much more. Just make a site search`...
Recovering from spam links
One thing worth knowing about Google's link penalties - repeated offence increases the severity of the penalty. So you better get it right the first few times. What that means is, if Google found links that passed PageRank to your site, your site will be penalized. This penalty will increase in severity if bad links are found again. So for multiple violations, it gets more and difficult to recover from a penalty.
So if you got off the hook once or twice after a reconsideration request, don't think you're out in the clear. If bad links were found again - maybe they weren't cleaned up effectively the first couple times - the penalty will get even more severe the third time. So you have to be certain that you have all your bad links cleaned up before filing for a reconsideration.
Often times, company websites run/take part in campaigns whereby their aim is to build reputation from backlinks. Maybe they hired 'professional' SEO help. Or maybe they just had some surplus money to spend. Whatever the case, it could have gone on for some time. If you can identify that period, then you can easily get your backlink profile cleaned up, Now here's something many people don't know.
If you were to identify a bad-link period, and disavowed a number of links obtained within that period, Google will take you much more seriously. Taking out a chunk of a backlink profile is a radical action. If Google heard back from a reconsideration request where someone had taken such a radical action, Google knows that that person takes their work seriously, and is more willing to help out.
This sort of action is guaranteed to work, but it isn't recommended for everybody. It is ideal for when there's a change in ownership of a domain, and the new owner decided to get a fresh start where the previous owner had done a lot of spam action.
So, are you thinking about filing a reconsideration request? Be sure to check out our articles, and if you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below. Cheers :)
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