How to write a reconsideration request after a link penalty

A reconsideration request is a short, factual document. Google’s Manual Actions help page, as checked in October 2026, says a good request does three things: it explains the exact quality issue on your site, describes the steps you have taken to fix it, and documents the outcome of your efforts. For unnatural links, that means showing which links broke the rules, what you removed, and what you disavowed and why.

Write the request last. The work it describes has to be finished first.

Check that a request applies to you

A reconsideration request exists only for manual actions. Open the Manual Actions report in Search Console. If it shows “Unnatural links to your site”, it will also say whether the action affects the whole site or part of it.

If the report is empty, do not look for a form to fill in. Rankings lost because algorithms now ignore certain links cannot be appealed, because nothing has been applied that could be lifted. Link penalties and recovery explains how to tell the two cases apart.

Do the work first

Google’s help page sets out the steps for this manual action. In summary:

1. Download the list of links to your site from Search Console.
2. Check the list for links that break Google’s link spam policy. If the list is large, start with the sites that link to you most and with links created in the last few months.
3. Contact the owners of those sites and ask them to remove the links or stop them passing credit, for example with a nofollow attribute.
4. Use the disavow tool for links you could not get removed.
5. Select Request Review.

Search Console’s list is not complete, so most audits add exports from one or two backlink tools. Backlink audit and toxic links covers how to classify what you find. The usual groups are paid placements, private network links, large-scale guest posts with keyword anchors, widget and sitewide links, and comment or forum spam.

Stop all link buying while this is in progress. A request that describes a clean-up while new paid links appear will fail.

Keep evidence as you go

The request is only as strong as your records. Keep a spreadsheet with one row per linking domain:

Column	What to record
Linking domain and example URL	Where the link is
Type	Paid, network, guest post, widget, comment, other
Origin	Which vendor, campaign or employee created it, if known
Contact attempts	Dates of each email or form submission
Result	Removed, nofollowed, no reply, refused, asked for payment
Final status	Removed, or in the disavow file

Two or three contact attempts, a week or so apart, is the usual practice. That is a working method, not a number Google states. If a site demands money to remove a link, note it and disavow the domain.

Put the spreadsheet in a shared document that anyone with the link can view, so a reviewer can open it.

Build the disavow file

List what you could not remove. Disavow at domain level, using the format domain:example.com, for sites that exist to sell or pass links, so that every page on them is covered. Add comment lines that say why groups of domains are included.

Be careful with scope. Google’s John Mueller said in September 2026 that the tool “does have effects”. Disavowing good links removes their value. Include the links that break the policy and leave the rest.

What the request should contain

Google’s page names three elements. The structure below covers them and adds a fourth that reviewers look for in practice, which is how you will prevent a repeat.

1. What happened. State plainly what kind of links were built, over what period, and by whom. If an agency did it, say so and say the contract has ended. If you bought links yourself, say that. Reviewers see evasive requests every day.

2. What you did. Give numbers. How many linking domains you reviewed, how many you judged to break the policy, how many site owners you contacted, how many links were removed or changed to nofollow, and how many domains are in the disavow file. Link to the spreadsheet.

3. What remains and why. Google asks specifically for “an explanation of any links you were unable to remove”. Say that owners did not reply, refused or asked for payment, and that those domains are disavowed.

4. What changes from now. Describe what stops this recurring: the vendor is gone, paid placements now carry a sponsored attribute, a named person approves link work, a written policy exists. Link buying policy and governance gives a structure for that policy.

A plain outline

Use your own words and your own figures. This outline shows the order, not text to copy.

• One sentence naming the manual action and its scope.
• Two or three sentences on how the links came about.
• The audit: sources used, total domains reviewed, number found to break the policy.
• The removal work: number contacted, number removed, number changed to nofollow, with a link to the evidence.
• The disavow file: date uploaded, number of domains, why they could not be removed.
• The changes to how the business handles links.
• A named person and their role.

Keep it to what a reviewer can verify. A few hundred words with evidence is better than a long apology.

Common mistakes

• Submitting before the work is done. A disavow file uploaded the same morning with no removal effort looks like a shortcut.
• Disavow only. Google’s steps put removal requests before the disavow tool.
• Vague language. “We cleaned up some low-quality links” tells the reviewer nothing.
• Blaming without fixing. Naming a previous agency is fine. It does not replace the clean-up.
• Reviewing a sample. If the action is sitewide, the audit must cover the whole profile.
• Resubmitting unchanged. A second request needs more work behind it than the first.
• Continuing the tactic. New paid links during the review undo the request.

What happens next

Google’s help page says most reviews take several days or weeks, and that link-related requests may take longer. You receive a confirmation message when you send the request, telling you the review is in progress. Google asks you not to resubmit before you have a decision on an outstanding request.

If it is rejected, the action stays. Go deeper: older links, more link types, a wider disavow file, more removal attempts. Then submit again with the new figures.

If it is accepted, the manual action is removed. Do not expect the old rankings back in full. The links that held them up have been removed or disavowed, so the pages now rank on what is left. Mueller said in September 2026 that recovery “can take quite some time, sometimes many months”. Replacing lost links with earned ones is the real recovery, and digital PR and link reclamation are the usual starting points.

When not to file one

Do not file without a manual action. Do not file for a domain you intend to abandon, which is common for disposable sites in high-risk markets. And do not follow this process if the action is “Unnatural links from your site”: that one concerns links you sell or place on your own pages. The fix is on your site, not in your backlink profile, and Google’s help page asks you to remove or qualify those links before you select Request Review.

Where to go next

If you need software for the audit, see the backlink tools comparison. To understand why the action was applied, read how Google detects paid links. Terms such as manual action and disavow are defined in the glossary.