How can I get relisted at Google?

First off, you need to figure out what caused you to get delisted at Google in the first place. That's not always easy to do, unfortunately, but most people I've talked with in this situation have recently made changes to their site based on an SEO consultant or some tip they got off a forum or mailing list. Look very, very closely at those and make sure that they're all acceptable to Google by reading Google's helpful Guidelines for Webmasters.

Once you believe that you have your site cleaned up, you'll want to read the information on Google's Request for Reinclusion page, which details:

"How to request reinclusion of a site that has violated the webmaster guidelines -- Complete this form if you reviewed your site, found that it violated our webmaster guidelines, and you have made changes to your site so that it adheres to the guidelines. We will evaluate your site to determine if it is currently penalized and if the site no longer violates our guidelines

"Note that this process may take some time. Allow several weeks for evaluation."

Before we leave this topic, however, my friend and colleague Allen Williams adds the following useful note:

"While this may work, can't say it doesn't, what I've seen is that when approaching Google about getting re-included, they're less than forthcoming about what the actual problem(s) were, so you still end up driving around in the dark a good portion of the time, and still, sometimes, don't 'correct' whatever your supposed mistakes were.

"I do recall one colleague of ours talking about getting wiped once, and figuring out what he thought was the problem, fixing it, then going to them asking for a review and getting re-included. It did take time, but as I recall it wasn't weeks, just a few days. He was in fairly regular and direct contact with them about it though.

"If you know the reason you've gotten removed, you'd certainly have a greater chance of getting re-listed.

"I also seem to recall hearing someone else suggesting that you tell them it was a mistake and to blame everything on "the programmer" or "webmaster" even if the programmer or webmaster was you.

"It's certainly worth doing/trying, and helpful, but it is not a guarantee of re-inclusion."

I hope that these pointers will help you cancel out your delisting and get relisted in Google. If you are having ongoing problems learning what SEO techniques are legit and which are a problem, I encourage you to check out my book Growing Your Business with Google.