NEVER Try To SEO Your Website Out Of This Penalty
Many SEO companies who have little or no idea about SEO (probably cause they got you into this position to begin with) are going to say: ‘ignore this penalty and keep on back linking and doing what we have been doing in the past’. This is WRONG and certainly not what you should be doing. Like running with a broken bone, you don’t continue to run. You need to stop everything, diagnose the issue and try to repair it before you continue. A Google penalty is triggered because something is either non compliant on your website or there has been some non compliant activity happening behind the scenes. What needs to happen is to implement a complete website wide audit and diagnose any issues that could have caused this penalty. Moving forward, one needs to get into their WMT Google account and check for any correspondence. Google will tell you that your site has been penalised. After the audit has been completed you should have a clearer idea of the path needed to rectify the situation. Again, and I ill repeat what I have already stated. Ignoring the problem and continuing on your old SEO ways is the true recipe for a BAD OUTCOME. You are in a penalty because you have done something wrong in your SEO efforts.
NEVER Continue to Build Back Links On A Penalized WebSite
It is insane the number of SEO agencies out there online saying that they are able to help you recover from a Google Penalty. They disguise these websites under the guise of Google Penalty Help or Panda Penalty Recovery or even Penguin Update Agency. These guys are out there and are happy to prey on poor businesses who have no idea about what’s happening or what they need to do. All they know is that they trusted their SEO company in the past and this is the end result. The spin, lies and utter bullshit that’s spun to businesses who have suffered the horror of a penalty is mind boggling. And it’s happening all the time.
One thing that you should NEVER EVER do is to trust any dodgy SEO company that is touting their penalty recovery services via Adwords or ads on other websites. This is a trap a con and is only going to make matters a hell of a lot worse.
All these guys are going to do is to continue link building, which is precisely the issue that got you penalised in the first place. Like rubbing and open wound, don’t expect it to heal. These penalties require serious attention and action to mitigate any further damage. So, don’t fall victim to these scams and stay well away from businesses offering their help through ads. If they mention further link building, hang up the phone or delete the email. There are just too many SEO sharks out there to trust when it comes to helping you get out of this situation. PLUS please note – if you go into your webmaster tools they are going to tell you that there are far too many unnatural links, so why would anyone in their right mind continue to build more – simple doesn’t make sense.
Do Not Aggravate or Inflame the Situation – Be Best Buddies (and I know its hard) With The SEO Team That Got You Penalized
9 out of 10 penalties have been triggered or are the responsibility of some poor SEO work by your provider. The temptation I know is to read them the riot act and blast the hell out of them, but it is vital that you keep your cool, remain calm and take a steady even handed approach. Don’t get nasty with your SEO company as they may not want to help you. First things first and this is a real important point. GET THEM TO CEASE ALL SEO WORK. Email them, call them, but they have to stop link building. This is a priority and must happen the day you see the penalty. Because you are polite and have been cool headed in your approach to what could be a heated situation, these guys are more than likely going to want to be as helpful as possible. Make sure you also ask them to eliminate all links they have built for you and provide proof of this in a document. You will need this later on when you apply for a re inclusion request to Google. They will want to see that an effort has been made to get rid of these links. This is why the SEO team you have been using has to be on your side. Offensive, aggressive behaviour will only inflame the situation. You do need their help at this early stage so be very careful not to sully the relationship.
Do Not Email Google and File A Reconsideration Request on The First Day
Your request for reconsideration is what you email Google when you feel that you have done everything possible to correct the situation. It is essentially a compliance issue and any type of contact should only be made to Google if you are 100% confident that you have done everything in your power to be compliant. This includes getting rid of each and every back link created. This can and in most cases take a long time to accomplish, so whatever you do don’t rush right in and contact Google. Expect no mercy no matter how long your passionate email is. Even if this isn’t your fault, it won’t make the slightest difference. In the eyes of Google, you are wrong and to have that nasty penalty removed is going to be your responsibility. Constant emails to Google are also a fruitless exercise. Only be in touch with them once each and every dodgy over optimised back link has been terminated. This is not a quick process and it may take 2 weeks to a month in some cases for Google to get back to you with a reply.
Do Not Stay With the Same SEO Company
This may seem like a no brainer but it amazes me the amount of businesses who keep on coming back for more punishment. They will stay with the same seo company out of loyalty (this is insane and I can't ever get my head around this). Once your SEO company has tried to get rid of the back links and done everything in their power to do this and proved this to you, then its time to part ways politely. I will add a caveat here. If your website has been penalised cause you have been hacked, then it’s not the fault of your current SEO team. Let them go on and disavow these links and manage the penalty process for you.
If on the other hand, it’s clearly the fault of the current team try to find an agency that is not going to get you into this situation again. This is harder than it looks BUT a good first port of call could be the SEO team here at Hopping Mad Designs.