A reconsideration request is a formal submission made to a search engine asking for a manual penalty to be reviewed after corrective actions have been completed. It is used when a site has received a manual action due to violations of search quality guidelines. The request explains what caused the issue, what steps were taken to fix it, and how future compliance will be maintained.
Reconsideration requests are not used for algorithmic ranking drops. They apply only when a manual action has been issued and communicated through webmaster tools. Submitting a request without resolving the underlying issues will result in rejection and prolong recovery.
A successful reconsideration request demonstrates accountability and transparency. It shows that the site owner understands the violation, has taken meaningful action, and is committed to maintaining guideline compliant practices.
Advanced
Reconsideration requests are reviewed by human evaluators rather than automated systems. Reviewers assess the scope of the original violation, the completeness of remediation, and the credibility of the explanation provided. Partial fixes or vague explanations reduce approval likelihood.
Effective requests include clear documentation, evidence of cleanup, and an honest description of past mistakes. This may involve link audits, removals, disavow files, content rewrites, or technical corrections. Patience is required, as reviews can take time and outcomes are not guaranteed.
Relevance
- Required to recover from manual actions.
- Restores eligibility for organic visibility.
- Demonstrates compliance and accountability.
- Supports long term trust rebuilding.
- Protects domain reputation after violations.
Applications
- Manual action recovery processes.
- Link scheme and spam remediation.
- Content quality corrections.
- Policy compliance enforcement.
- SEO risk governance programs.
Metrics
- Reconsideration approval or rejection status.
- Time to manual action removal.
- Ranking recovery timelines.
- Organic traffic restoration trends.
- Recurrence of manual actions.
Issues
- Incomplete cleanup leads to rejection.
- Poor documentation delays recovery.
- Repeated violations reduce trust.
- Overlooking root causes causes recurrence.
- Recovery timelines can be prolonged.
Example
A website received a manual action for unnatural backlinks. The owner conducted a full backlink audit, removed manipulative links, submitted a disavow file, and documented every step. After submitting a detailed reconsideration request, the manual action was revoked and rankings gradually returned.