Is it Possible to Recover from a Google Penguin Like 2.1?

7 replies
  • SEO
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I was hit on Google Penguin 2.1 for: low quality directory listings, blog comment backlinks, possibly paid links, and forum profiles (example, with kiva.org).

As I created many links, I think I can clean them up/remove them pretty well myself.

Will it be possible to recover with proper cleanup?

If so, any experience in how long it will take to recover - let's say if I clean all up in next 30 days?
#google #penguin #recover
  • Profile picture of the author FranksToys
    Yep thats the strategy, clean up the link profile.

    I used linkdelete for that and they did it for me. I could have done it myself but it takes a lot of time away from my business efforts and I figured Id let the pros handle it.

    The focus on the low quality links and obviouslly paid links. So make sure you are diluting your profile to a more natural profile with your cleanup efforts.
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  • Profile picture of the author cigarzfan
    Thanks, FranksToys. So you did recover from a prior penalty? Did you return to where you were before? How long did it take?

    Thanks again.
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    • Profile picture of the author FranksToys
      Originally Posted by cigarzfan View Post

      Thanks, FranksToys. So you did recover from a prior penalty? Did you return to where you were before? How long did it take?

      Thanks again.
      Yes I recovered. It took about 4 months give or take to go through the whole process. That was just to remove the penalty and verified by Google in a reconsideration request.

      The recovery of rankings probably took another 2 weeks but I was able to get back to better rankings than I had before.

      The process is painful and I was always questioning whether or not I was gonna recover. I think at the end of hte day Google doesnt really want your site to be penalized, they just want you to play by their rules.
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  • Profile picture of the author DPM70
    It depends on what you have to lose whether you go for a clean-up or not. I've seen many examples where clean-ups were not effective after months and months of trying. If you can put up another site that would put your business position back where you think it belongs in 3-4 months, then you should go for that. It might be easier. Indeed, it's worth working on anyway as a failsafe to your original domain getting cleared. Start today and do it in tandem with your cleanup efforts on your old site. Keep them separate, though. No interlinking.
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    • Profile picture of the author dcary13
      Originally Posted by DPM70 View Post

      It depends on what you have to lose whether you go for a clean-up or not. I've seen many examples where clean-ups were not effective after months and months of trying. If you can put up another site that would put your business position back where you think it belongs in 3-4 months, then you should go for that. It might be easier. Indeed, it's worth working on anyway as a failsafe to your original domain getting cleared. Start today and do it in tandem with your cleanup efforts on your old site. Keep them separate, though. No interlinking.
      Your failed like many when it comes to Penguin. For a simple reason.
      Penguin is only updated all 3-6 month.

      You CAN NOT try to clean up month up month - because even all is clean nothing will happens until google is rolling out the next penguin update where you clean ups calculated in.

      And because a refresh is normall also a new, better Penguin version, there is a chance you rum in another problem.

      Why? Well, most people here use stupid, automated backlinks or grey/black hat methodes. And that is exactly what google is hunting for. Directories, Artikel Sites, Senuke, One Hand Seo... All that.

      Google warned before that even in 2010, using One Hand Seo as an example of spam when i remember right.

      So, most people here have websites with exact footprints Penguin is looking for. That makes it so hard for the wannabe webmaster to overcome it.

      That some claim that i happens is another miss. Penguin is not a singular thing. Its connected with other parts of google quality signal. Often, people did some onpage SEO too or created new backlinks. That then did some moving and they thought "oh, there is my penguin lost traffic back".

      Google biggest win with Penguin is not the Penguin itself but that they set the needed IQ & competence to handle it right over the usual "make money online" guy level.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lokahi
    Google let webmasters and so called SEO experts get away with these bad backlinking practices so long (though their webmaster TOS always clearly discouraged bad backlinking practices) and so everyone thought they were immune and maybe it was OK to do those things. Now comes the long haul of clean up. And, sure maybe it will be possible to clean up these bad backlinks but it's going to take a long time and so much more work than it would have been to actually get decent high quality backlinks in the first place.
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    • Profile picture of the author cigarzfan
      Actually it was pretty worth it to shoot to top of rankings in a short period.
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