Why do reconsideration requests fail?

Here are the most common reasons for a site to fail a reconsideration request:

• Not properly identifying which links need to be removed.  It is really hard to identify what is a natural link and what is not.  Remove too many links and you’ll harm your site’s rankings even more.  But if you don’t address enough of your links then Google will not reconsider your site.
• Not making a big enough effort to get links removed. It is not enough to just disavow your bad links.  Google wants to see that you have gone to great efforts to get links involved.  This means contacting webmasters via available email addresses, whois addresses and contact forms, documenting those attempts at contact and then communicating this to Google.
• Improper use of the disavow tool. Once you’ve gotten all the bad links that you can removed, then it is very helpful to use the disavow tool to ask Google to disavow the rest of the bad links.  If you don’t format your disavow.txt file correctly then it won’t work. Google doesn’t tell you whether or not your file is correctly formatted. They simply ignore it if it is not created properly.

No automated tools are used in the process of deciding whether links should be removed. Each domain is visited and each link is manually evaluated. This is the best way to ensure that all of your GOOD links are kept which gives you the best chance at regaining rankings once the penalty is removed.

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SEO : Search Engine Optimization from 2012-2013: 7 Key Factors That Will Take The Lead

This time of year is suitable for retrospection. We’re able to take a good look at how things played out in 2012, and get an idea of the trends and patterns that are most likely to dominate the coming year.

2012 was rough for SEO experts due to radical changes in Google’s algorithms, including many updates to Panda, as well as the the introduction of Penguin. While content quality and inbound links continue to play major roles in organic rankings, let’s take a look at the other factors that will govern SEO in 2013.

2013: The 7 Key Factors That Will Determine Your Survival in SEO

If it were up to me, I’d simply focus on creating value for the reader — because ultimately, that should be the goal of any website. However, increasing competition may require you to employ strategic practices in a pragmatic approach to assist your rise to the top of the SERPs. Here are the tactics and strategies that will dominate the SEO landscape in 2013.

1. Quality of Content

Ultimately, it all comes down to the quality and value of the content on your website. Google has been very explicit this year about good-quality content, and we expect this trend to carry over into next year in full force. By content quality, the metrics are:

1.     uniqueness of the content/topic
2.     resourcefulness and information richness (i.e., no thin content)

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is being touted as the next big thing. Experts have called it the new SEO. To an extent, this is true. As a general rule, content marketing attracts backlinks, and adds value for the user/reader. It is more challenging, because you have to generate more content of high quality, circulate it, and make sure your content gets published widely with ample social signals to generate substantial SEO value.

Since Google takes valuable content seriously, a solid content marketing strategy will be the key to climbing to the next level in SEO.

3. Author Rank and Profile

Author Rank has emerged as a vital metric in deciding SERPs, although studies about its value are still ongoing. One thing that we can be sure of in 2013 is that AuthorRank will add credibility and value to your website, and it will be vitally important for every webmaster.

4. Social Signals and Social Networking

After much debate and discussion, social signals have largely been accepted as valid ranking factors. In the next year (and probably in the years to follow), social signals will play a growing role. Shares, retweets, mentions, and perhaps most importantly, +1s are trophies every webmaster should be amassing.

5. Mobile/Responsive Design

Although this does not directly influence the ranking of a page, it will play a role in your fortunes. Google was one of the first companies to become aware of this trend in web browsing due to the growing presence of tablets and smartphones. Responsive design may not be an explicit SEO factor, but in terms of usability, it is likely to be a highly influential element to consider in 2013.

6. Localization / Info-graphics

Google’s growing preference for local websites and information has become evident in many searches. It’s safe to assume 2013 we’ll witness an increase in this preference. Websites that apply local SEO will enjoy higher rankings and visibility. This includes map data, listings, citations, and reviews on local information sites.

7. Social Media Marketing

Images and videos have become staples on the Internet. We’ve consistently seen that relevant results that include videos get ranked higher than text-only content. The further emergence of media content is an important development you can expect next year. It’s becoming essential to add relevant non-textual media to text content, because this adds value and makes the content more resourceful.
Source

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