Escape from Google Ban: Recover back from Ban

What is Google ban?

Google ban is a penalty that Google imposes on sites violating its Webmaster Guidelines. It is not a step-down the Google search results pages and not a disappearance from them for a day or two because of a sudden change in the ranking algorithm. Google just removes information about sites that violate its guidelines from its index. Having a site that users cannot find is a webmaster's worst nightmare.

How can you find out if your site has been banned?


A sudden drop in traffic is a good reason to make sure that everything is okay with your site, says John Honeck, Google Webmaster Forum Top Contributor.


A gray inactive Google PR toolbar, that had previously been green or just active, may be a sign that the site is no longer listed in the search engine index. - If your search for a command site:www.yoursite.com shows no results, the sad truth is that your site has been banned.


You can also find out about a ban using Google Webmaster Tools. There you may see whether the pages of your site are included in the Google index and when Googlebot last accessed your homepage. In addition, you may receive a message from Google explaining what the problem with your site is, but most likely Google will inform you about such elementary violations like hidden text.

Instead of panicking...


check your robots.txt and meta tags to make sure indexation is allowed from there


check if there are pages on the Web that duplicate your content


check if your site meets all Google Webmaster Guidelines. This is especially important if you have inherited the website or consulted an SEM company


visit Google Webmaster Help Forum, especially if you have implemented these steps but still cannot locate the problem. There you can find answers to all your Google-related questions.

How to get back?

When you understand the reason why your site has been dropped from the Google index, remove the cause of the trouble immediately. Then enter Google Webmaster Tools, go to Dashboard and choose "Request reconsideration". Follow the steps, and do not forget to swear that you will never ever do evil again.