Disavow cache

[Sandeep_Matharu]

Hey everyone,

Currently helping a website that has been penalised and we've been going down a heavy link removal process as it has a pretty bad link profile.

Our first disavow request has been rejected, and I was wondering....

When submitting a reconsideration request, do Google only know when a link has been removed when it's cached? If so, should I leave it a while for a reconsideration request as it might take a while for the cache to be updated

Thanks

[TomRayner]

Hey there

The way the disavow tool works is that, once the file has been processed (which is pretty quickly), Google simply ignores those links - effectively giving them a nofollow attribute.

That means that the webmaster tool link report will always have the link still in there if it exists, even if it has been disavowed.

The disavow process is simply dependent on the file uploaded to be in the right format and for it to be processed.  Once that's done, it will be in effect straight away, it does not require a recrawl or cache.

It's worth pointing out that if you upload a new file and a link you once had in the file is now longer there, it will be considered again.

Once your disavow file has been uploaded, probably a good idea to wait 2-3 days to make sure it has been fully processed.  But once that's done, your reconsideration request will take into account the file - particularly as the reconsideration request is a manual review.  If they can see the file processed, it will take into account that the links have been disavowed.

Hope this helps

[Sandeep_Matharu]

Sorry, I probably explained it wrong.

I meant during the process of proving your efforts of removing links to Google, will you need the websites to be cached for Google to see that the links have been removed?

[Dr-Pete]

We're seeing some mixed messages from Google in this regard. They have suggested recently that links do have to be re-crawled to be disavowed. For an algorithmic penalty, that should be enough. For a manual penalty, even if the links are disavowed and re-crawled, Google still may require a reconsideration request. So, it can be a bit tricky.

For reconsideration, someone is looking at the request, so we assume they take the disavow into account and try to adjust for that, but it may depend on the person and the situation. It's important that you thoroughly document what you've done in the reconsideration request. Don't just disavow a ton of stuff and then say "Hey, can we get back in?" They won't take that seriously, in most cases.