Moderator Ken Jurina
Aaron Shear, Shopping.com
Michael Marshall, Internet Marketing Analysts
Michael Gray, Atlas Web Serivce

When you expect that Google has banned your websites

Michael Marshall – BANNED BY Google – How it happens and What to Do

Rude Awakening

• You all of sudden discover that your site is missing from Google results
• Or they gradually disappear

First rule out the following

• Check robots.txt file (maybe changed through a hack)
• NOINDEX Meta tag
• Egregious Server downtime
• Webmaster made changes to site on navigation

In the case of a gradual slipping of visibility do some competitive Intelligence before you panic before you conclude that you’ve been thrown into Google prison

The Usual Suspects

• Victim of copied or hijacked website
• Using hidden text or hidden links
• Stuffing pages
• Sending automated queries to Google
• Creating doorway pages
• Creating multiple pages, sub domains, or domains with substantially duplicated content
• Employing cloaking or sneaky redirects

Getting out of Google Jail

• Start Over
• Fix what is wrong
• Check webmaster guidelines
• Submit a Reconsideration Request Google Webmasters

Google Bowling – When a competitor uses Black Hat on YOUR site. There are companies in China that charge $10,000 for this service to take out your competition

Aaron Shear – Post Mortem – Banned Site Forensics

How to know if you’re banned by Google

• Sign up for Google Webmaster Tools
• Look in messages and it will tell you if you have been removed from the index for a violation of the terms of services
• If there is an indication of being removed within the Webmaster Tools, this isn’t going to be fun

Confusing Being Banned with a Filter

• Participating in a not so clean in bound linking scheme?
• Typically when links like this are discovered, they simply have all of the credit that they were passing removed

Reasons for Filtration

• Thus you will see a sudden drop in rankings, the drop maybe so significant you may confuse it with a Google Ban

If only a particular page or groups of pages drop

Change /product/to /prod or category to /cat/ etc

Be sure to 301 or cannonocal tag all – takes up to six weeks

If the traffic returns

• It most likely will not stay as soon as their filter figures out that this is the same page
• It will give you 2 -6 weeks to make changes

If you have been banned

• Reconsideration Request with Google webmasters 95% chance they will not respond to you can take 6 months to a year
• This is not advisable for a page type falling out

Tips for request

• If you know what you did wrong, ie bad links, hidden text, or other stuff
• Be honest, admit to the mistake and promise not to do it again
• If you play stupid they will not help you

Be Persistent

• This is not easy; it is very frustrating and will drive you crazy. Working with an SEO that has a history of clean work can help speed up the process
• As someone who used to ban sites at Inktomi, when we saw repeated abuse they received life ban

You’re Banned, Now What?

• Is this website worth saving?
• Is the domain attached to your company name, well branded, or is it a vanity level keyword
• Are the sins you are confession to worth more than a brand new name
• If you were banned for aggressive you scale back on a new domain

Content Deciding What to Save

• Only save content that is unique and high quality
• Combine shorter articles into longer more complete articles
• Rewrite or update outdated awkward and low quality articles

Links what to keep

• Use software to do a link audit (xenu)
• Check for links to malware, spyware, bad neighborhoods
• Remove or no-follow paid or sponsored links

Paid Links – Do You Squeal?

• Search engines prefer you give up as much information
• Listen don’t debate, be willing to confess all you sins

Filing Request

• Have a Google webmaster account
• Have a detailed account what you fixed
• Include the name of any SEO reps you spoke with
• Use log files or tracking scripts
• Allow time, don’t sit by the phone

Plan B

• Moving all content and doing a global 301 to a new domain is not without risks, in some cases the penalty will transfer
• Set up all pages with no index

Have you ever had a site banned by Google? If so what did you do?

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