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How we clear a banned website
Firstly - we don't. We investigate websites suffering from search penalties. Provided that our business objectives are reasonably similar (a desire to trade profitably but ethically), then we will attempt to locate and remove the problem/s, or assist the owner in that regard. We can then ask for reinclusion in a search engine's index and results - which are two different things.
This is generally a successful process but there are no guarantees; we do not, of course, know the history of the site owner. One thing is certain: unless there is one simple error, it will not be a rapid affair. If it proves successful, we can then provide a guide to avoiding similar problems in the future.
Our first task is to find out what went wrong, and to repair that damage as a priority. Frequently there will be more than one problem, since search engines are reasonably tolerant but if you start to stack up the violations then they have to react.
Then, the most important job is to provide a clear guide to clean and careful website operation. This is one of those things that a majority of site owners never considered in the first place: how to run a website in 'safe' mode. Usually, it means taking care of business a lot more efficiently than they did in the past. You need to carefully consider all the network, code and content factors that will ensure a safe and responsible online operation. An important factor that many owners have never even considered is the site's metrics: the different ways of measuring their property's operation. Removing a search penalty is just the first stage; running it safely in the future is the more important part of the equation.
You would be forgiven for thinking that a large part of the problem with search penalties (and of all search-related problems to a certain extent) is that you can't talk to search engine operators and ask them what the problem is. They don't reply to emails - or if they do, then with template answers - and essentially ignore any form of customer communication. This is understandable when you consider that they would need massive staff levels in order to communicate with the thousands of website owners whose websites are banned at any one time.
As long as this situation exists, then interpreters in the form of SEO consultants and (psycho)analysts are needed, one to provide hypothetical answers, the other a shoulder to cry on. Indeed, it wouldn't make much sense for us to criticise the search engine operators too much as we all depend on them in many different ways. One has to sympathise with the conditions under which they operate, and hope that perhaps they may have the staffing levels in the future to be able to enable a slightly more efficient communication mode with their partners - the website owners - and the owners' agents.
Reinstatement
Although you can be quickly dropped, sometimes in less than a week after doing something not on the approved list, it normally takes a while longer to get back. The fastest reinstatements we see occur in three or four days, for a partial reinstatement, though only simple errors are involved and there is probably an element of luck here. Normally, a return to good grace will take a minimum of one month and quite often three to four months. At that time, full PageRank is not achieved straightaway and takes a while to be reinstated. A request for reinclusion (or reconsideration) should be submitted in the correct form, in the right way according to the search engine involved. For basic algo-controlled penalties, this should not be necessary, since once the problem or problems have been removed then the reaction is, generally, that natural rank gradually returns.
We help clients to fix it and get out from under, using a list of around twenty main factors that we have found to be responsible (each with several sub-factors). In some cases this work can be carried out on-site by ourselves, or the site builders or client; in other cases it must be implemented by the site hosts.
These errors can be classified under various headings, such as network problems, innocent site content errors, and so on. In other cases the client is well aware they had some culpability, and our task is to unban the website by fixing the problems, clearing their name and getting them back to square one. Some offsite factors are also relevant, among those being paid links of one form or another, which are best avoided.
We usually quote a fixed time for this work as the problems are often either reasonably clear or likely to be in areas not too difficult to locate (if you are doing this on a regular basis, as we do). Big sites with big problems may need a more open-ended agreement, but we're flexible.
Correct website operation
Our policy with websites that need to be unbanned is simple: we cannot judge owners on what they did in the past because we have no evidence of it; if they appear to have an honest site then we can probably help. Whatever management style was employed before, the results were perhaps not optimal, so we advise on how to do things the right way in future. The best way to get good traffic in the first place is to be absolutely straightforward, honest and open - and 100% ethical. You just need to present your site in the right way to get the search engines on your side. We have a straightforward technical system to do this, and once you know the right way to do it, the results simply come from work input over time.
Think you can't get good results that way? On the contrary, the straighter you keep it, and the better you know your job, the better the results you can get. There is any amount of proof of this. If you do not have the skills or desire to make your site a useful and honest resource, that is a different matter.
All websites, in whatever market area they operate, can potentially rank highly. It just depends on the skill of your advisors and your budget. That last statement needs clarifying - we should state clearly that although it may be possible to buy your way to a high position, this isn't the best policy in our view. Better would be to allocate a good part of your budget to hiring the best people to improve your site, and especially its content. An authoritative site with high credibility that is a renowned online resource is very hard to beat, even by all the spammers and big-budget advert buyers.
Look to the long term: keep your network, code and content clean; maintain a decent set of metrics from all angles; keep adding unique content; don't try to game the system - and you will do just fine.
Please contact us for an opinion, at no charge. If you email us, we can respond with personal phone numbers, Skype names, and other contact information.
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