Any website owner who is anxious to reach the top of the SERPs will utilise a number of SEO tactics and techniques to get there. But beware that what you do may also cause your site to end up on Google’s Blacklist. This is the last place you want to be as it will cost you quite dearly.
It is imperative that you understand what will get you blacklisted in the first place, and what to do if you end up there.
Some Of Google’s Rules For Websites…
According to Google, “If an SEO creates deceptive or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway pages or ‘throwaway’ domains, your site could be removed entirely from Google’s index”. The search engine combats obvious spam by asking users to submit spam reports. These are “used to create scalable algorithms that recognize and block future spam attempts”.
Google has quite a few guidelines listed. It states that your pages should be accurately described and should not contain excessive links (more than 100). Make sure that the Googlebot crawler can access your site via your robots.txt file.
Google also may take issue when a domain is registered using a common misspelling of a well-known company or site, since this is a deceptive practice. Link cloaking and redirects, link schemes (which may link to spammers), irrelevant keywords, duplicate content, and automated Google queries can all be considered black hat SEO tactics. Of course malware such as phishing schemes, viruses, and Trojans will definitely get a website blacklisted.
You may not be aware that your association with an affiliate program can also be a way to get on Google’s Blacklist. The company you partner with must “provide unique and relevant content” and your own site must do the same, providing a relevant gateway to the host site. This is an issue that we take very seriously at our affiliate marketing program.
What Happens When You Are Blacklisted?
The worst thing that happens is that your site does not appear on the Google search result pages. Since the majority of internet users prefer Google for searches, this means a drastic drop in your traffic. You may even experience a blocked site message when the URL is entered directly into your browser. As an internet marketer, that can have a dramatic impact on your income.
What To Do About It
First, check your site for obvious reasons it was Blacklisted By Google. Look at all your files and links for signs of infection, or violation of Google’s policies. There are some online tools you can use to help with this process and Google itself provides a page where you can put in your website address and receive a report detailing all issues and problems. Be sure to remove or rework any pages with the noted issues.
After that, access your Google account and go to the link for Webmaster Tools (under ‘My Products’). Ensure your site is included in your account and verified. Verification is simple via uploading an .html file. Once your site is verified by Google, you can then ask the company to do a review and state the reason as being it is blacklisted. At this time you can also request that Google unblock the URL.
After you have done the above, all you can do is sit back and wait. As long as you have corrected all the problems, your can typically expect to be restored. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.
The best offense is a good defence. Be careful about your SEO techniques. When in doubt as to whether a tactic could be considered black hat SEO or not, skip it. The loss of revenue you could incur as the result of being blacklisted by Google simply isn’t worth the risk.
About Sean Rasmussen
Thanks for this info on Blacklisting I was a bit worried that I was doing things wrong, But you have put my mind at rest
Jill xx
As Sean wrote, it isn’t worth the risk. Content is the king from Google’s point of view. It’s better to focus on creating good content for the visitor and wait to go up in serps.
I absolutely agree.
Also if you use black head techniques you are (at least in my opinion) not an ethical marketer. I don’t want to do that, so I will focus on good content which should keep me way away from being blacklisted by google.
So is cloaking affiliate links considered black hat?
What about URL shortener?s
Cloaking affiliate links is fine Gee. What I mean in the article is cloaking links for deceptive purposes, like directing people to a tasteless domain by cloaking the link so they cannot see the real URL.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Whew I was a bit worried
Hi Sean,
I don’t think I’ll have this problem. I have no intention of doing anything black hat.
Hi Sean,
Which online tools do you recommend to look for signs of infection, or violation of Google’s policies? I don’t think I have an issue but just to be on the safe side …
Hi Renee, as it was some time ago, I cannot find the Google report page I referred to in the article. The best way to find out if you have been blacklisted is by simply searching your URL in a Google search, if it appears, you are not blacklisted
Straight forward and simple – that’s how I like it
. If that’s the basic rule I am on the right path – tks Sean 
I’ve been blacklisted in their AdSense program for advertising in my place of work – people went to the site and clicked on the advertisements of their own free will (they went to the site to learn about my dog breed – Dogo Argentino). Because it was done through the same IP address Google Adsense shut us down. This was three years ago.
We’ve tried to dispute it, tried to explain what had happened and start all over but they ignore us.
I can’t imagine being blacklisted from their search engine! So many people solely use Google as their “internet” so it’s my recommendation to remain on their engine.
I don’t think I have a problem being blacklisted,
I have a problem even getting on there!!
To be sure of any partners practices is good advice – who wants to be blacklisted because of what someone else does.
Black hat tricks are all over the place, but they are not worth it. Using them also says something about why you are online – it’s certainly not to help others and give them useful infomation – which is one of the basics in internet marketing.
Hi Sean,
Your article has effectively pointed out that Black Hat SEO is a place not to be tangled up in. I would hate to be blacklisted by Google. Especially if it’s a mistake by doing something I didn’t know was not accepted.
Scary results for Sarah!