Google Penalisation - Any help would be appreciated!

[ChrisHolgate]

Hi Ryan,
Thank-you so much for such a helpful post.  I've removed the links from refreshcreations.co.uk, computerarticles.co.uk and vatloophole.co.uk with immediate effect.  These are all sites which I own so removing links to my 'baby' felt a little bit gutting but as the links were all sitewide it is entirely possible that Google saw them as being manipulative.  I'm assuming that once they confirm that they are no longer penalising us that I could reinstate the links with a nofollow attribute?

With regard to the link for http://www.tei-c.org.uk/Digital_Technology_for_Graphic_Design I have e-mailed them asking to be removed but I don't hold up much hope for them doing so - God knows where this link came from!  Rather naively I'm hoping that Google isn't worried about an odd link here or there on a PR0 site which I have no control over so will now request reconsideration and see what happens.

Just to confirm, am I correct in saying that article writing is still alive but that the articles should be relevant and of a good quality but only include a link to the site in the 'about the author' section?  I only ask as this was going to be our next project; writing high quality articles for various technology sites with a link back to Refresh Cartridges.

Am going to have a thorough look through your http://www.seomoz.org/blog/identifying-link-penalties-in-2012 post now and the comments and ensure there's nothing else we can do.

Thanks again for your help.

[RyanKent]

Would it be less time to get a new domain name and start over?

That's always an option. Many site owners do not wish to take this approach due to having a domain name which matches their company name. Other site owners have owned their domain for many years and do not wish to lose the links they earned.

If you have a keyword domain name or other low value domain that has not earned many links, then changing domains may be the best approach.

I lose sleep at night worrying because I posted in the World Rock Paper Scissors Associations Website's forum a comment about a bankruptcy lawyer.

I assumed you were joking but then realized there actually is such an association. Clearly one link will not cause a penalty. I have viewed dozens of penalized sites and they all had an overwhelmingly spammy profile with 90%+ of the links being questionable.

[ChrisHolgate]

Would it be less time to get a new domain name and start over?

I'd like to think that it's not quite at that stage.  Regardless, it would be nice to know what exactly had been done so we could ensure that it just wouldn't happen again.

I lose sleep at night worrying because I posted in the World Rock Paper Scissors Associations Website's forum a comment about a bankruptcy lawyer.

Waaaaaaa?  I'm really worried now.  Ryan, when you say there is actually such an association are you talking between such a site and Refresh Cartridges?

[RyanKent]

Hi Chris,

In brief, your efforts are good but they will not lead to a penalty removal. Once you have a manual penalty, you need to obtain a comprehensive list of every known link to your site. Even if you use all the links from Google and OSE, it is not enough. You need all the links from multiple toolsets. Next, you need to go through every link and determine which links violate Google's Guidelines. Lastly, you need to contact every site owner who is providing a manipulative link and convince them to remove it. If the link is not removed, you need to very thoroughly document all aspects of the process.

Most people who attempt the above fail to satisfy Google's requirements. There is an incredible amount of work involved.

[RyanKent]

Chris H, the above answer was a direct response to Christopher Wood's question. Please disregard.

[ChrisHolgate]

Oh dear, that's not what I wanted to hear!

I really don't want to have to get a new domain name so I guess we'll have to just get cracking.  Purely out of interest though, surely a competitor could just keep adding our site to FFA directories and unrelated blogs and make it impossible for us to get the penalty removed?

[RyanKent]

**I  really don't want to have to get a new domain name so I guess we'll have to just get cracking.  **

Obtaining a new domain name is the most drastic step possible and not recommended in most cases. It would be done primarily due to a site owner's inability to resolve the penalty themselves and not being able to afford hiring someone else to do it.

Purely out of interest though, surely a competitor could just keep adding our site to FFA directories and unrelated blogs and make it impossible for us to get the penalty removed?

What you are asking about is simply not a concern if you take the proper SEO steps on your domain. Having a penalty is like having your house on fire. Your question is something like "Should I put out the fire? What is someone else comes and lights a match at my house?" It is more theoretical then a realistic issue.

[ChrisHolgate]

Actually, sorry, one more question.  I appreciate all the help you're giving me and don't mean to bombard you with what if's!

I'm assuming that you're allowed a certain percentage of 'bad' links when compared with the number of 'good' links.  For example, if the webmaster of a massive website such as Amazon log in to their Google Webmaster Tools panel I'm assuming they don't have any penalty notices caused by a few crummy links that will invariably be on a FFA site somewhere when weighed against their 425,000,000 good links.

As such, will our task be to just remove as many bad links as we can and then whatever remains will hopefully be offset by the good?

[RyanKent]

Unfortunately no.

The way you described is for when you are algorithmically penalized, but not for a manual penalty. For a manual penalty you need to address all the bad links.

Violating Google Guidelines is not a crime, but a legal mindset would probably best convey the situation. If you are caught stealing money, would a judge be satisfied with you returning most of it? No. The judge would require you return all of the stolen money. When you build manipulative links, Google wants them all addressed.

[ChrisHolgate]

All in all this has been a pretty bad news day  

Right then, time to get cracking.  Thanks for all your help today Ryan, it is really appreciated.