Google answers the most common questions about harmful backlinks and Reconsideration requests.
In a recent Google Webmaster blog post explains the most common questions about Reconsideration Requests for a penalty.
When should I submit a reconsideration request?
If a manual is because punishment is a violation of the quality guidelines. A punishment, the competent webmasters are not usually informed by a message in Webmaster Tools. To undo this operation, webmasters should first ensure that the site meets the quality guidelines. Thereafter, a request may be made.
Helps a Reconsideration Request for algorithm changes?
No. If the visibility of your site has been affected by changes in Google's algorithms, no application is necessary, since there is no manual punishment. It makes sense to a Reconsideration Request if the webmaster is not concerned about the cause of the impairment aware.
How can I check the quality of my backlinks?
As a starting point helps the listing links to your site in Google Webmaster Tools. Based on this, some patterns can be seen as comment spam in blogs, forum posts or automatically generated text ads with links that pass PageRank. These are perceived by Google as unnatural and violate the webmaster guidelines. External tools are worth a look here, Google can not of course apply this explicitly.
How do I clean up my link profile?
First, you should identify malicious links and you try it, they disappear or to be put on NoFollow. Not every webmaster responds to such requests, causing a lot of links remain. Against this residual amount Google Link devaluation tool can help. We reported on the use of the links Disavow tool and the 5 most common mistakes.
How much information must include the Reconsideration Request?
A detailed documentation can affect course and outcome of a re-examination and positive is advisable in any case. From this it should be apparent that the webmaster to link mining efforts (see Disavow tool).
How long does it take to process an application?
Each Reconsideration request is in contrast to link cancellation requests reviewed by a staff member. Google wants to make any definite information on this point, but speaks of an ordinary working time of a few days.
What results can I expect?
Either the abolition of punishment or a message that the site is still violating the quality guidelines.
