Website was hacked and is clean now. What to do next for Google?

[mlehr]

Hai All,

Website was hacked and is clean now. What to do next?

1. Send a Reconsideration Request to Google through Google search console. How detailed should this request be? As detailed as possible? And how much time will it usually take before Google responds?
2. Should I remove all infected URL’s that Google has indexed by using Google search console, remove URL’s? Or is this not necessary?

(All the infected URL’s will give a 404 statuscode now)

Regards, Maurice

[ChrisAshton]

Hi Maurice,

To answer this one accurately, we'll need a little more info on what happened. What was changed on your site as a result of the hacking? Were you hit with a manual penalty or is it just algorithmic? What have you done about fixing it so far?

With that info I can be a little more helpful

For some broader advice though, do everything you can to restore your site to its original state and if it has been a manual penalty, definitely provide a detailed account of what happened and what you're doing to fix it via Search Console. If it's just algorithmic, fixing your site and continuing to improve it is going to be your best way to fix it.

Regarding the pages that have been taken down, just make sure Screaming Frog or a similar tool isn't picking up any 404s from them - if it sees no 404s it means there are no remaining internal links to those pages. That being the case, the only 404s will be from external sites which aren't your responsibility. Once this is done, Google will realise fairly quickly (hours to a couple of weeks) that they're actually gone and de-index them.

[Travis_Bailey]

TL;DR Follow Google's Guide on Recovering a Hacked Site

Orrrrr.... deze.

First, are you 100% sure it's clean? Some people get lucky, and have a clean backup. Others aren't so lucky.

Some hacks come in 'low and slow'. In other words, the site could have been compromised well before any outward signs became apparent. So definitely consult a security professional, if you haven't already done so. (Sometimes your host will 'clean' it for you, but miss critical points, and you're back in the same spot later.)

I suppose it couldn't hurt to remove URLs created by the hack. But if they're all gone, resolving as 404 ,they will drop out of the index in a couple weeks or sooner. The main thing is that the site is clean.

If you're sure it's clean, submit the site for review. The guides I've linked mention that it will take several weeks. And once Google has determined the site is clean, you should see any of the 'hacked' and/or 'malware' snippets disappear within a few days.

And I seriously recommend having a security professional review the site and hosting. A security professional will not only help you determine the cause of the problem, but also with mitigation of future risks. Best of luck.

[mlehr]

Hi Travis and Chris,

Thanks a lot for your helpfull answers!

We got a manual action by Google because of all the infected URL's.

The website is clean now and 2 professionals are monitoring the website continiously. So I am confident it will stay clean.

I have all the information now for the reconsidiration request.

Thanks again!

Regards, Maurice