Previously we covered what the Google blacklist is. However, it is equally important to know the signs that your site might have been added to it. The sooner you catch onto the signals the sooner you can fix your website.
Sudden Loss of Search Traffic
If you’ve noticed a big dip in your traffic that could be a sign that you have been blacklisted. Before you jump to the worst possible conclusion there are a few things you should research and consider before the panic takes over.
Are your ranking keywords declining in popularity?
Users are changing how they search all the time! Much like fashion trends keywords can wax and wane in popularity causing your traffic to do the same. We recommend running a keyword analysis to see if this might be the case for your website.
Are your products/services seasonal?
Knowing the highs and lows of your business is crucial. Having a good idea of when you get the most traffic helps you plan out content campaigns. This also gives you a chance to prepare and expect low traffic periods. If neither of these is causing the loss of traffic it’s time to check to see if Google had an algorithm update. If your website no longer meets the standard this means it’s time to reoptimize!
Sudden Loss in Rankings
It isn’t uncommon for your website to ping-pong around rankings. Mostly you will see a keyword or two rises or fall within just a few spots. But, if you notice that suddenly a large number of your ranking keywords have plummeted (bringing your traffic with them) your site might have been kicked from Google’s good side.
Not Showing Up in Search Results
If one day you decide to search for your website and don’t see it within the results it could be a sign Google has removed it from the results altogether. This is referred to as a “deindex” and is the most severe thing Google can do to a website.
You can do a quick test to see if this might be true by typing your exact domain name or URL with no other words into the search bar. This should pull up every page indexed by Google.
If your site is brand new, don’t worry, there is a good chance your website hasn’t been crawled and indexed yet. If it isn’t a new site you might need to check the robots text file and make sure that you are allowing Google and other search engines to crawl your site. Neither of these? Sounds like you’ve been blacklisted.
It’s possible to recover from being Blacklisted
Regardless, ending up on the Google blacklist is something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. The faster you correct the issues that your website was dinged for, the faster your web traffic can recover. If all of the steps that you need to take to get back on the good graces of Google and your users seem daunting or out of your skillset, reach out to us! We’ll set you up with a plan to get you back on track.
