Dealing with a Google Penalty - ask for re-inclusion or wait it out?

[kamikaze Optimizer]

So I am helping a friend of mine as discussed (thanks tedster) here: [webmasterworld.com...]

Please assume that it is very clear that my friend has received a penality, his site is not passing PR to his important sub-domains.

So lets assume that my friend has cleaned up his acts that caused this penality.

Does he simply just wait it out or should he ask for a re-inclusion via WMT?

[tedster]

There's a good chance that link sellng and buying penalties are placed manually. I would always submit a reconsideration request if there's even the slightest chance the penalty is not merely algorithmic.

[kamikaze Optimizer]

Yeah, my thoughts also.

But somehow by having 'tedster' state it, it makes the point more clear. :)

[tshirtdeal]

what does a reconsideration request offer?

Does your site have to be out of index to do this?

[kamikaze Optimizer]

what does a reconsideration request offer?

In Google Webmaster Tools, there is a place to request it.

Does your site have to be out of index to do this?

Good question, I do not believe so.

[tedster]

No, you definitely do not need to be out of the index to make the request - that's the reason Google changed the name of the request from "reinclusion" to "reconsideration".

[Marcia]

I've seen some sites where it seems that some of the outbound links are passing PR, yet other outbound links on the same site appear not to be passing PR.

I seem to remember reading something "official" or "quaisi-official" about penalties being on that granular a level, though I can't remember where I read it. But it does seem to be the case that some links can be filtered but not others.

Speculative (granted), but isn't it possible?