Getting Your Site Unblocked By Google - Finding the Problem
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When a site appears to have been banned from the Google listings, the first step is to make absolutely certain that is the case. Often, webmasters will believe their sites have been blocked, when in fact, they were not.
Before reaching the conclusion that a site has been banned, it’s absolutely vital that all other possibilities have been completely ruled out. A mistake is simply too costly in this case, as it might involve the loss of a website and domain name entirely. Due diligence is essential.
One case where a site is often mistakenly thought banned is from being placed in the well known Google "sandbox". The so-called sandbox is thought to be a dampener placed on new sites in the first month they go live. A website captured by the algorithm dampener will seem to disappear entirely from the Google SERPs. In fact, the site was placed in something like suspended animation. The site has not been banned.
Occasionally, the Google search listings will simply lose a site. The search engines are computer programs. They are not infallible and perfect. Sometimes a website will merely fall through the virtual cracks. After a couple of weeks to a month, the spiders will have crawled the site a few more times. Following a re-indexing, the site will once again be included in the Google search results.
Few things will cause a website owner to see red more than a greyed out PageRank meter on the Google toolbar. If the bar is showing grey, the best course of action is not to panic. The bar may just be not operational at that particular moment. Such glitches in the toolbar readout are not uncommon. There is no need to jump to any sort of worst-case possibility. Give the toolbar reading a couple of days to right itself.
The same panic situation occurs with the apparent loss of PageRank. Many times, the toolbar will show only white space instead of the usual green indicator level. It’s not a sign of being banned, but more likely a minor toolbar problem. Regardless of the reason, if a toolbar shows white, the site is definitely included in the Google rankings.
Next: Assessing the Damage >>
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