Why is Google ignoring my reconsideration request?

• My site was severely penalized in Google a few months back. I have cleaned up the site and submitted two re-inclusion requests within the last ten weeks with neither being responded too. What gives?

Answer: The trick with Google reconsideration requests is that if you don't specifically mention the infraction Google penalized you for, then Google is unlikely to remove the penalty. That's why it's imperative to be completely forthcoming about any questionable SEO techniques that were used.

Even if those techniques aren't being used anymore, if they are what caused the initial penalty and you don't mention them, Google won't lift the penalty.

Also, if Google rejects your first reconsideration request, they're less likely to pay attention to your second or third. That's why it's critical you get the first one correct. You can still get Google to listen to your later reconsideration requests, but you've really got to be straight-forward and lay out anything that could have possibly caused the penalty and details on how you've fixed it.

If possible, include a timeline about what techniques were being used and when you stopped using them. And, more importantly, you've got to assure Google that the site will never do anything spammy again.

We know it all sounds a bit excessively, but Google writes the rules here, and they seem to appreciate a bit of groveling. And they require you to be brutally honest and extremely detailed about any past violations of their guidelines when filing a reconsideration request.

If you've already cleaned up any past bad SEO practices, then there's nothing to lose by letting Google know about them and that you've stopped doing any bad behavior Google may not have liked.

Once you're site is completely clean and you're prepared to be honest about anything you may have done to be penalized, you can go ahead and file a reconsideration request. ...