If you have a web presence you’ve likely heard of being “blacklisted” by Google and related search engines. It sounds horrible, but what does it really mean? Well, with all of the intricacies of websites and search engine optimization there are numerous things you can do to violate the guidelines of search engines such as Google including buying and selling links with other website owners and keyword stuffing that may artificially inflate your page rankings. When this happens, your web pages may lose rankings or even be removed from search indices. It’s the last thing you need if you’re trying to promote your website.
Outside of the general guidelines the search engine providers share, much of this is a gray area and we’re unsure of how and when it can invoke a blacklisting. But there’s one issue with many websites (over a million at last count) that’s a surefire way to get you blacklisted: being infected with web malware. If the search engines see that your site is serving up malware and thus causing problems for them and everyone that gets search results from them, you can expect to be blacklisted. The best thing is to ensure your website is free from malware both now and moving forward using WebsiteDefender. If you do find yourself in a compromised situation with Google, follow these steps on how to get yourself removed from the Google Blacklist. As always, prevention is key.
Sign up for your free WebsiteDefender account to have your website scanned against the Google Blacklist on a monthly basis.