Q&A on Reconsideration Requests Regarding Backlinks

by Jenifer Renjini - 6/24/2013 8810 Views

Reconsideration Requests on Backlinks

Google has now released a new post on Google Webmaster Blog regarding Backlinks and related issues. Google has answered some common questions of site owners regarding reconsideration request with some recommendations, which were discussed on Google Webmaster Forums. Here we have simplified those questions and answers for your convenience.

When to file a reconsideration request?

If any site violates Google quality guidelines or if it had violated in the past, then the site is subjected to google’s manual webspam action which in turn prevents the sites from showing up in search results. To get rid of this manual action, the site should make sure that it has cleared all the webspams and there is nothing on the site that violates the quality guidelines. Once all these are done, a site can immediately file a reconsideration request. For more on violations and quality guidelines visit google webmaster tools.

Can a reconsideration request be filed, if the site owner thinks that his site is affected by algorithmic change?

As per Google, reconsideration requests are only for those sites that were affected by manual Webspam actions. Even if the site is affected by an algorithmic change but still there were no notifications regarding the manual Webspam action then there is no need for the site to send a reconsideration request. But incase, if the site owner is not sure about the change happened is due to algorithmic change or webspam action, then he can file the reconsideration request.

How to access the quality of a site’s backlink?

In Google webmaster tools there is a section Link to your site. This page is helpful in showing the significant amount of the inbound links. Google recommends that, using these links, site owners can look at the patterns that point to general issues that are worth resolving. Spammy blog comments, autogenerated forum posts, text advertisements with backlinks that pass pagerank are all said to be unnatural links and these issues are related to anything that violates quality guidelines. For individual examples and advices by expert webmasters visit Google Webmaster Forum.

How to clean a bad Backlink profile?

Identify all the bad backlinks and then remove or nofollow it. Then using the Disavow Links tool, clear all the remaining unnatural backlinks. Google recommends the usage of domain-wide operator for sites with complicated URL structure, spam sites, gibberish content sites and low quality sites (sites with contents of no editorial value). For more information read our article on mistakes to avoid while using disavow tool. Get our Website Audit Services here.

How much information do a site owner need to provide?

A detailed document with a reconsideration requests shows the clear effort of a webmaster in recovering the site and thus help Googlers identify the site and do better investigation. If the site includes a link with a shared document, make sure that it’s accessible to anyone with the link.

How long does it take to process reconsideration requests?

All reconsideration requests for sites that were afftected by manual Webspam action were handled and investigated by a Googler. Response will be offered in a timely manner, which is said to be normally within few days. But however, since the volume of reconsideration request can vary by time, Google does not guarantee the turnaround time.

What are the possible outcomes of a reconsideration request?

Once a reconsideration request is sent, the webmaster will receive an automated notification on confirmation in google webmaster tools. Soon after the request is processed, Google will send another notification to let the webmaster know the outcome of the request. The message will be mostly either informs the webmaster that the manual action has been revoked or says that the site still violates Google quality guidelines.

More Guidance on Reconsideration Requests

Help Center and Google Webmaster Forum provides more information, advices and discussions on Reconsideration Requests.

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SEO News

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Reconsideration request, Questions on reconsiderat

About Jenifer Renjini

Here at SubmitInMe, I write articles focusing on SEO trends and latest SEO updates, providing you the right information on the right time. My Life and Career both lie on the same graph, So Far So .... more info about the author