What to Do If Your Website URL Was Banned by Facebook

by TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION 4/29/2015 04:04:00 am 0 comments Alexa Rank Android Backlink Blogger Cara SEO Coreldraw X7 Microsoft Mozilla OS Office Office 2013 Pingblog SEO News Template Blog Tools Ubuntu OS Windows 7

There is nothing more jarring than finding out that your website has been banned by Facebook. This often occurs with no warning because the algorithms that run to protect users from spam and malicious websites are completely automatic. This article will discuss why a website URL might be banned from Facebook and the steps that can be taken to resolve the matter.

Why Was the Website URL Banned from Facebook?

Facebook cares about its users and, as a result, has very strict rules about what is allowed on Facebook and what is not. Unfortunately, some of those rules are not actually written anywhere that can be accessed by the common user. There are several reason why a person or website might be banned, but the most common is if a user does the same action “too many times.” The number of times an action can be performed is unknown by most people, but doing it more than that number will have your account labeled as potentially malicious. Actions that cannot be performed too many times include friending people, messaging people, joining too many groups, and sending too many identical emails. The most common reason why a website URL might be banned is it was posted too many times in a promotional manner by the same person.

Another reason why Facebook might block a URL is if it on a list from another website, such as a security company. These companies can have problems with their watch lists, just like Facebook can.

Why is it Important to Not Be Blocked?

It is critical to ensure that a URL for a business is not blocked because, should customers encounter a link that is labeled “possibly malicious,” they are much less likely to actually continue to the site and will distrust the company. This will result in a smaller audience, a greatly reduced amount of web traffic, and falling revenue. As a result, being blocked from Facebook is a problem that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

How Can I Fix This Problem?

There are a few different methods that can be used to stop a website from being banned on Facebook.

Contact Facebook

One of the most reliable ways that can be used to get a website unblocked from Facebook is to contact them. There are two ways that this can be done. If there is no message that is alerting the person who manages the page that the website has been blocked, then that person will need to go through the contact forms located on the “Help” page. If there is a message that alerts users to the fact that a website has been banned, then the first thing that needs to be done is to click on the “Let Us Know” link that is located at the bottom of the message. This button will lead to a form that can be used to contact Facebook and inform them of the precise problem, as well as alert them to the fact that the URL is not spam. The reply times differ from person to person, but this is definitely the first step that anyone can try.

Contact the Company that Might Have You on a List

One common culprit is McAfee’s advisory listing. McAfee is a highly respected web security company that has a list of websites that potentially pose threats to the common user. The algorithms that they use to determine if a site is potentially dangerous can create false positives from time to time. Facebook’s algorithms take these advisory listings seriously, so the fastest way to get back onto Facebook is to get off the advisory listing. Simply contacting the company and explaining the situation will solve the problem in many cases.

Appeal to Friends, Family, and Customers

If it seems as though Facebook is not taking notice of the fact that the website has been blocked, then it might be time to contact friends, family, and customers and ask them to also contact the company on your behalf. This will result in a greater number of messages being sent to Facebook about the problem, which will force a greater amount of attention to be paid to the problem. This does not produce immediate results, but will usually cause Facebook to work more quickly to unblock the URL.

Appeal Directly to Facebook Security and Developers

There are many different Facebook officials that have their own pages, including the security network, the developers, marketing, and Facebook in general. One way to get more attention paid to the problem is to like all of the official pages and then, when any of them posts content, make a comment. At the end of that comment, be sure to mention the problem. One great way is to start a forum thread on Facebook Help about the problem and then link that forum question to the comment. This will repeatedly draw attention the problem and hopefully get it resolved within as short a time as possible.

Use a URL Shortener

Another option for addressing having a blocked URL on Facebook is to use a URL shortener. Facebook blocks most URLs that have been run through programs such as these, but there are a few that have had some degree of success with regards to getting past the ban. The main one that is used is the Google Shortener, which can be found here. When attempting this method, it is best to be careful about the number of times a shortened URL is posted because, in many cases, posting a URL an excessive number of times is what caused the URL to be banned in the first place. Posting a limited number times and seeing if the URL is still blocked is advisable.

Change Your Domain Name

This method of action if a URL is blocked on Facebook may seem to be slightly extreme, but it is the most effective way of resolving the issue if Facebook has done nothing. Before using this method, it is best to give Facebook at least a month to act. If you have not received a message from Facebook regarding the matter, or if the URL has not been unblocked within this time, other options should be sought. It is possible for you to purchase a new domain name. Transfer all of the content from your site so that it is under the new domain name. Once this has been completed, all of the links that used to be directed to the original URL can now be redirected to the new URL.

Having a URL blocked on Facebook is often simply a waiting game. It is up to Facebook to determine whether or not the URL is worth reinstating and sometimes that decision-making process takes an extended period of time. Because there are not a lot of reliable ways to bypass the block, it is best to appeal to Facebook and draw as much attention to the problem as possible. In extreme cases, purchasing a new URL and having it be the redirect to all of the old links might be the best option.