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Site Hack Cleanup Question

by Jeannie Crabtree
6 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I think I am putting this in the right section of the forum...

I am doing a site hack mop up. After removing the inserted files the url's go to a
404 page. What do I do about that? Google does not like a lot of 404's in a site.

Should I do a redirect? Can that just be the file name, redirected to the index and
all the pages that were in it would automatically be redirected to the index?

Thanks.
#cleanup #hack #site
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Jeannie Crabtree View Post

    I think I am putting this in the right section of the forum...

    I am doing a site hack mop up. After removing the inserted files the url's go to a
    404 page. What do I do about that? Google does not like a lot of 404's in a site.

    Should I do a redirect? Can that just be the file name, redirected to the index and
    all the pages that were in it would automatically be redirected to the index?

    Thanks.


    If you're talking about the 404s being unwanted hacked pages where a hacker created the pages/URLs I would run Screaming Frog & remove all instances of internal links pointing to the hacked pages, delete the hacked pages & leave it at that. Google will eventually reindex the good pages.

    If the hacked internal pages were once legit webpages (before being hacked) I would simply revert back to the original legit content & leave it at that.

    Obviously scan the entire site (Screaming Frog) & make sure no outbound spam links or unwanted redirects exist on the site.

    If the entire site is a huge spamfest clean everything up & build a new/fresh xml sitemap, submit the good sitemap to Webmaster Tools to help speed up Google reindexing pages.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeannie Crabtree
      Thanks Yukon.

      I had three files of html pages inserted into a wordpress site. So you are saying that I have
      all those 404 pages will not affect how Google looks at my site. I had read they do not like
      a lot of 404 pages, that it looks like a lower quality site.

      I will check into screaming frog. I think I have it all cleaned up. But always good to double
      check.
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Jeannie Crabtree View Post

        Thanks Yukon.

        I had three files of html pages inserted into a wordpress site. So you are saying that I have
        all those 404 pages will not affect how Google looks at my site. I had read they do not like
        a lot of 404 pages, that it looks like a lower quality site.

        I will check into screaming frog. I think I have it all cleaned up. But always good to double
        check.

        Technically they would only be 404s If they have at least one link pointing at the deleted pages.

        Was the html pages created by the hacker? If so you want to eliminate every possible connection (any internal links pointing at the hacked page/URL) to those now deleted pages. You don't want the site to be associated with spam, even If the spam is now removed. No 301s for 404 pages created by a hacker, just remove all instances of internal links pointing to hacker pages & be done with it.

        Like I said earlier, If the html pages were once legit pages that were eventually hit with spam that's a different situation, in that case revert back to the original legit content for those pages like the hack never happened.

        Google is pretty straight forward about reindexing sites & updating the SERPs If that was ever a problem for the site (hacked SERP title/description, etc...).
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        • Profile picture of the author Jeannie Crabtree
          The hackers html pages got listed in google. When I click on them now, they go to a 404 page.

          I have not found any internal links to the hackers html pages, will run screaming frog tomorrow just
          to make doubly sure.

          thanks.

          Originally Posted by yukon View Post

          Technically they would only be 404s If they have at least one link pointing at the deleted pages.

          Was the html pages created by the hacker? If so you want to eliminate every possible connection (any internal links pointing at the hacked page/URL) to those now deleted pages. You don't want the site to be associated with spam, even If the spam is now removed. No 301s for 404 pages created by a hacker, just remove all instances of internal links pointing to hacker pages & be done with it.

          Like I said earlier, If the html pages were once legit pages that were eventually hit with spam that's a different situation, in that case revert back to the original legit content for those pages like the hack never happened.

          Google is pretty straight forward about reindexing sites & updating the SERPs If that was ever a problem for the site (hacked SERP title/description, etc...).
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonjoel
    It's true that Google do not like 404 error. But what you are planning to do is perfect I guess, Redirecting it to something else is a better way to put it.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by jasonjoel View Post

      It's true that Google do not like 404 error. But what you are planning to do is perfect I guess, Redirecting it to something else is a better way to put it.

      In this case it does not make sense to redirect a hacker created page/URL to a legit page/URL. Let the hacker created page/URL die & move on like the hack never happened.

      Like I said earlier, clean up all traces of the hack, build a fresh xml sitemap for the site, submit the sitemap to Webmaster Tools, go eat a sandwich. Google will self correct the SERPs for any unwanted hacker created SERP titles/descriptions/URLs.
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