Does anyone have any suggestions on removing spammy links?

[RyanKent]

Did you investigate if blocking those links by making the server drop the request will work. This seems to be a easier way if posible?

Alan, I had not investigated blocking server links. Anything is possible but after thinking about the process, it does not seem reasonable to me that Google would remove a penalty based on the block. Some challenges:

• How could Google see the block exists?

• Even if the block does exist, why would Google care? The types of links Google is penalizing are not likely to receive any traffic, which is why they are being penalized. If the links actually received traffic, Google would not have any problem with the links.

• After working through a few of these penalties I really feel Google is trying to achieve one of two goals. Either to punish webmasters who have violated their policies, or to clean up the web. Blocking the links does not achieve either goal.

With the above noted, it is just my intuition and logic. I have been mistaken before. Nothing beats testing and experience!

[HiveDigitalInc]

Just worth a follow up, there are now multiple tools and services that help with this. I wont link to them because I own one of them, but just search google for either bad link removal tool or bad link removal services to find a bevy of companies assisting in the process.

[ShawnHerrick]

a) How did you contact Google, was it purely through reconsideration requests?

b) How did they respond back to you, was it whoever's email was linked to the domain in Google Webmaster Tools?

[RyanKent]

During my initial case of working on this type of penalty in 2011, the first couple contacts were through Reconsideration Requests. After that the contacts were e-mail exchanges. They e-mailed me directly.

There seems to be a bandwagon of "Google is bad / evil / [insert adjective]". In my experience if you are sincere and put forth the proper effort, they will do what they can to help. In the overwhelming majority of cases I find people are not sincere. They are not sorry they cheated the system, they are sorry they got caught. They are not putting forth the proper effort, they are putting forth the minimum effort. When this happens, the relationship becomes adversarial.

[Hakkasan]

Hey Ryan,

Thanks so much for your detailed analysis, this confirms the gameplan we had to remove thousands of links to our site. We ended up contacting about 800 webmasters who owned ~2,500 domains total with spammy links to our domains, and we had about a 6.5% response rate.

About 42 site owners responded and removed their links easily. Then there were about 10 who responded that they would take down the links for a fee. We've paid 8 website owners for a total of about $135 but there are three more that own a ton of domains and they want another $410 total for about 75 links.

We are trying not to spend that much on link removal, do you think if we document this and send it to Google they will understand the high cost that we don't want to pay, or will they just tell us that we have to pay this off if we want the manual penalty removed?

[RyanKent]

Google does not require you to give in to blackmail. With that said, I completely agree with your approach. Paying $10 to remove all the spammy links from a domain with numerous links is an easy fix, and can help with Penguin and future updates as well. This opinion may not be popular, but in the business world we need to value our time as well.

For the sites which attempt to charge larger fees, I would recommend replying with the following...."We are attempting to remove links from a large number of domains. We are unable to afford the thousands of dollars it would require to pay site owners to remove links. We would request that you please voluntarily remove the link as a courtesy. You may also wish to consider that providing a followed link to a penalized site may cause your site to be penalized. Instead of removing the link perhaps you would be willing to change it to a "nofollow" link."

Best of luck!

[Hakkasan]

Thanks so much Ryan, I had a hunch that we should use common sense on this one. I will definitely try the nofollow approach with the website owners who are not cooperating, and I'll respond back in here with an update here with the results for the benefit of others.

Thanks again!

[gbssinc]

This is exactly what happened to us. We have removed over 600K links so far but still not enough for google. We are out of luck now because we cannot get any more links removed!

[gingerwynn]

Here is an update of my efforts so far to find out out what happened and how to fix two of my banned money sites. I used various tools, some public and some private to find a list of the following:

**Some notes: **

• My sites that were heavily linked were penalized at the same time. My sites that were not linked together as much were not.
• The entire site was not penalized, only the very important key phrases, the type one might spend money on.

**I ran tools to find: **

• Banned links
• Not indexed links
• Use of keyword anchor text as a percentage of overall anchor text

After I "married" those lists..I began a process of link removal request especially for the overuse of the same three keyphrases which resulted, frankly, from not monitoring the efforts of one of one of subcontracted partners.

I created different link removal email request templates for the different kind of links after a few really angry replys. The email templates were for:

• Blog comments
• Private article sites
• Mass release articles sites
• Regular old links

Note: I sorted these by IP. When i found tons of links for the same IP I often offered money to rid myself of the links.

Two months later I have had 175 of about 500 bad links removed. I have not had the penalty lifted nor have i submitted it to Google. I dont plan to. Some mistakes were made, I am making huge efforts to take away the bad (these sites are from 1996 to 2008 .. SO..somethings can no be undone.

My current strategy is to make more good to dilute the bad. Like creative cooking.

Also, ofcourse I have started a new dish for dinner that might end up being what is served. No telling how long the others have to sit on the stove before its eatable

[gingerwynn]

I meant to use the word "penalized" not banned

[RyanKent]

You are not out of luck. In my experience Google will always remove a manual penalty IF you clearly demonstrate a solid, good faith effort on your part. At a high level these are the requirements:

• admit your mistakes and how they were made. Be completely transparent and do not attempt to hide anything.

• Commit to following all Google Guidelines going forward.

• Gather a comprehensive list of all known links to your site. Simply using Google's list from WMT is not enough. Neither is using WMT + OSE or any one tool. Use several tools together. What has consistently worked for me is WMT, OSE, AHREFs, Raven and SEMrush combined. Many site owners and SEO's fail here by not compiling a comprehensive list.

• Every link/domain on the list needs to be evaluated. All manipulative links need to be identified. You need to be certain all remaining links fully comply with Google's Guidelines. Many site owners and SEOs fail here due to wanting to save links.

• Every domain which provides a manipulative link needs to be contacted. All aspects of the contact need to be thoroughly documented. A copy of the actual e-mail sent, the date it was sent, the response, etc. must be maintained. Letters should be sent via three methods: the WHOIS e-mail address (including the private addresses), the e-mail address on the site, the contact form on the site. Not all methods will be available on all sites, but the overwhelming majority of sites will have at least one if not all methods available.

A document needs to be created (a spreadsheet works great) listing all the URLs, links to the letters sent, the responses, etc. If you can demonstrate to Google you sincerely performed every reasonable task to have the links removed, they will "partially" lift the manual penalty. In my experience that means the penalty will be removed but any manipulative links you were unable to remove would be devalued.

You should always be able to have a manual penalty lifted, but it requires an exceptional amount of effort.

@Ginger, you are correct in that most penalties will address the specific pages which were the target of manipulative links. It sounds like you have put forth an incredible amount of effort. I hope you might pursue having the penalty lifted.

[gbssinc]

Thank you for the reply Ginger. That's a good strategy.

[gbssinc]

Thanks for the reply Ryan.

I heard and read exactly the same response from a lot of people in SEO. I respect their experience as well as yours but you guys are so Google-blind.

I have sent several emails to Google through the reconsideration request. I explained clearly what exactly happened and how those links got there, why our unique content all of a sudden spread to all over the web but they didn't even listen to. In these emails, I have included reports for the links that we have been able to remove, and also email responses from the websmasters who don't want to remove the links. There were a lot of proofs on those emails. If I explain situation to 10 different person, I'm 100% confident that 10 will say "this is not our fault." But Google didn't even care.

It wasn't our mistake so I'm not gonna admit it. We are always commited to follow Google Guidelines and we will be but that doesn't solve the issue. We lost almost 80% off all our traffic since 2011 and it's still going down. Imagine how hard this is for an ecommerce store.

Anyways, I was just looking to find some success stories around the same issue but never heard or seen one. So removing links doesn't really work or does it?

[RyanKent]

I respect their experience as well as yours but you guys are so Google-blind.

When I submit a Reconsideration Request for manipulative links to Google, the response I receive back is as follows:

Hello Ryan,

Thank you for your follow up email and all of the information provided. The
documentation you provided was very helpful in processing and understanding
this case.

After re-evaluating your site’s backlinks we are able to partially revoke a
manual action.

The response goes on to explain how the inorganic links which were not removed will be devalued. Shortly after receiving the above response, the site begins ranking normally again. It is important to note that "normally" does not mean it will rank where it did before the penalty. It depends on how many links were removed which affected the particular query, the competition, etc.

So if I am "blind" by Google, well, it's simple for me. They outlined a specific process, I "blindly" follow that process, and they remove the penalty. I am happy, Google is happy, and most importantly the client is happy.

MOST site owners and SEOs do not follow the process, so most do not achieve the results. You are likely fighting Google, not following the process, so you will continue to be unhappy with the results.

"It wasn't our mistake so I'm not gonna admit it." Really? It requires a lot of humility to resolve this issue. When you say "it was not our mistake", that is not true in most cases. Usually the site owner, or an agent of the site owner (employee, web developer, "SEO", link builder, etc) caused at least some if not most of the manipulative links to be created. If you recently purchased the site then you would want to explain that to Google and provide evidence of your statement.

In my experience Google does care, they do listen, and they are actually helpful with the penalty removal process. I will admit most people will share your experience, not mine.

Anyways, I was just looking to find some success stories around the same issue but never heard or seen one. So removing links doesn't really work or does it?

I can guarantee removing links does work. In fact, I guarantee success for clients. It's a sure thing. You remove the manipulative links, follow Google's process and the penalty goes away.

[gbssinc]

""It wasn't our mistake so I'm not gonna admit it." Really? It requires a lot of humility to resolve this issue. When you say "it was not our mistake", that is not true in most cases. Usually the site owner, or an agent of the site owner (employee, web developer, "SEO", link builder, etc) caused at least some if not most of the manipulative links to be created. If you recently purchased the site then you would want to explain that to Google and provide evidence of your statement. "

You're just judging me without listening what really happened.

Thanks again for your reply.

[RyanKent]

I have carefully read all of your responses in this Q&A. You seem to feel that both Google and I are not listening because we are not responding in the manner you desire. Just because I do not agree with you does not mean I did not read or understand what you shared.

[gbssinc]

First, if you read all my responses how come you're saying " When you say "it was not our mistake", that is not true in most cases"? You didn't even ask what exactly happened. You didn't even try to understand what the problem is. This is a part of listening(communication) and you did fail on that. You judge just like Google without listening to what I need to say. If you're like this with your clients, good luck to them.

[KeriMorgret]

Hi! Just a note from an SEOmoz staffer here that unless someone has an Associate or Staff label on their avatar they are just a volunteer and donating their time and experience to others in Q&A, and we prefer that people keep things in a friendly tone and keep to the questions asked without getting into personal judgements.

If you'd like a confidential answer to a question and answers only from an SEOmoz Staff or Associate, you're welcome to use your private question credit.

[gbssinc]

Thanks for the reminder Keri and I apologize for the tone.

[RyanKent]

I recognize this situation is difficult and a lot of emotions are involved. I would like to be helpful which is why I have volunteered time sharing the results of my experiences...to help others such as yourself.

I sympathize with your situation. A manual penalty for manipulative links has driven some companies out of business, other companies have been forced to lay employees off, and many SEO companies lost clients. I fully understand the impact.

Please keep in mind the original Q&A was asked and answered. You added to this thread stating "This is exactly what happened to us. We have removed over 600K links so far but still not enough for google. We are out of luck now because we cannot get any more links removed! ".

If you are requesting assistance I'll do whatever I can to help, but it is upon YOU to let us know your situation and how we can help. You stated you removed 600k links. And? For my first client I removed 3.5 million links and the penalty was not lifted. It makes no difference how many links you remove per se.

You also shared you are "out of luck" because you could not remove more links. Google has repeatedly lifted penalties for sites who were not able to remove all the links. Why is this statement relevant?

I humbly suggest the problem is neither Google nor me. You have a problem with how Google is ranking your site. We can hopefully agree on that statement. Based on your replies, the information you are sharing is not relevant to removing the penalty. You can say "I removed 600k links! How is that not relevant" My first client removed 3.5 million links and the penalty remained. Google does not care how many links you remove. The penalty is in place because of the links which remain.

Next, you mentioned the remaining links are impossible to remove. Here is the information which is helpful to Google:

1. Did you send a polite e-mail requesting link removal to the domain owner?

2. Did the e-mail contain a list of all links from that domain to your site?

3. Did you send the e-mail to the e-mail address on file with the WHOIS registry?

4. Did you also send the e-mail to any e-mail address on the site (if different)?

5. Did you also use the site's Contact Form (if available)?

6. Did you save a copy of all communications sent along with the date they were sent? Are you making these communications available to Google?

7. Did you verify which links were removed? Did you follow up with webmasters request regarding link removal?

IF you began with a comprehensive list of all known links to your site (i.e. not just Google WMT links and not just Google + OSE links but a comprehensive list from many sources) and IF you properly identified all the manipulative links and then followed the above process, Google will remove the manual penalty. The only other requirement is you admit any wrongdoings and commit to honestly following Google's Guidelines going forward.

I hope you find this information helpful. If not, I will simply accept you may be beyond my ability to assist.

Good Luck.