Google, are you listening? Would be nice to get Matt Cutts on this to see some action accordingly… keep reading…

Earlier this week I had my first experience with a client calling me with one of those warning alert links that Google places on the search results pages letting everyone in the Internet Search UNIVERSE know that if they click on the site, it may be harmful to their computer… the warning link reads something like “This site may harm your computer”.

And BTW, this client is a very established business that depends on their website for big-time revenue. Needless to say, A LOT of money was lost.

We took immediate action and got the issue resolved within 24 hours, but again, A LOT of money was lost.

So, ok… my beef:

While Webmaster Tools might be somewhat helpful at (somewhat) various times, it gives no helpful specifics, no helpful reports in times when needed most. In a situation like this, it would SO much better serve the webmaster if Google could provide specific detection dates (so we can access those specific log files to isolate the issue) and/or specific findings (so we can further isolate, know what to look for - and when).

The only thing a webmaster can do is request a review, send it out into some “UNKNOWN Google WORLD” and HOPE it gets seen by someone? Please!… can it BE any more impersonal and/or ambiguous? Try going thru this just once and you’ll know first hand.

Of course…when something like this happens, it’s urgent. It’s critical to get the issues resolved as quickly as possible - so when a review request is made, it would be nice to have not only a confirmation that a review actually took place, but have a report sent (for Christ’s sake!) giving details. This could allow the webmaster the vital information needed to equip him/her with knowledge and possibly avoid such occurrences from happening in the future.

Unfortunately Google does not send or provide any reports via Webmaster Tools (or anywhere else) regarding info and/or results from a review. The only indications we have that the review request was granted was that the warning link was removed from the client’s site in the search results pages – and the warning was gone on the client’s Webmaster Tools Overview page. And suppose if we had not successfully resolved the issue, the warning link would have remained, along with the warning notice on Webmaster Tools?

Why can’t these reports be simply set up to generate certain helpful information automatically and downloaded to their Webmaster Tools? Why not? It can’t be THAT difficult??!!?? It’s the Almighty Google, of course!

Yesterday, I inquired about this issue with a Google rep at a Search conference I was attending and the Google rep I spoke to knew nothing about reports generated for this purpose or the future of reports generated for this purpose… why did I even bother? She was kind enough, tho, to ask for my business card. I haven’t received any emails from her yet…

So, now I’m proceeding with multiple blog posts as well as getting the word out on the Google Webmaster Central, Twitter, Facebook and any other medium I can speak out on…maybe speaking out will generate a response from someone at Google? (but am not holding my breath!)…. maybe if I was Danny Sullivan, I’d have Google’s ear?

Lastly, now that I’ve experienced this (thru client experience), I am especially empathetic to honest, hard-working webmasters/businesses (small, medium or large) that have had this happen to them…. and what it might have done to their business’ revenue stream while trying to ‘go up against’ the power of Google’s influence in search.