One of the things that Facebook holds the right to do is block content that could be harmful to users like spam and links that could lead to a site that has been infected with malware. Facebook’s algorithm isn’t perfect, and sometimes links are blocked when they shouldn’t be. If you have a Facebook business account and notice that the traffic referrals have slowed down significantly or you can no longer share the URL to your website, then there are a few things that could have happened. Facebook blocks links for some of the following reasons; when a Facebook Community Standard is violated, the link to the site being shared has been infected with malware, Facebook’s algorithm made a mistake, or another account reported it.
Whatever the reason may be, here are the three steps on how you can get the ball rolling on getting your URL unblocked. This process is pretty straightforward, but it isn’t instant, so there will be a waiting period.
Step 1: Check That Facebook Is Actually Blocking Your Website
First, we recommend checking to be sure Facebook has actually blocked your website’s URL. You don’t want to go through the trouble of filing a report if this isn’t the problem you’re facing.
To accomplish this, you’ll need to use Facebook’s Sharing Debugger tool:
Enter your website’s address here. If Facebook is blocking it, you’ll see an error message that says Facebook can’t review your site because it doesn’t follow the Community Standards. From there, you can follow the prompts to get it working smoothly again.
Step 2: Review Facebook’s Community Standards and Make Any Necessary Changes
Before you assume that Facebook has made a mistake in blocking your URL, it’s best to review the Community Standards to be sure you haven’t inadvertently violated any of them. Otherwise, your appeal will likely be denied, and you’re just wasting your time.
Facebook’s Community Standards are in a reasonably readable format and shouldn’t be too tedious to review. However, there’s also a quick way to check your business page for recent violations.
Navigate to your Facebook page and look for the Page Quality tab. This page will show you any violations you’ve committed so you can resolve them. If everything checks out here and your review of the Community Standards doesn’t turn up any other possible violations, you can move on to appealing your case to Facebook.
Step 3: Resubmit Your Website to Facebook for Consideration
If you’re ready for Facebook to take another look at your website, you can submit a request back in the Sharing Debugger tool. Click on the let us know link in the error message:
From here, you will be taken to a simple submission form that gives you the ability to explain why you think Facebook made an error when it blocked your URL:
We also encourage you to reach out to the Facebook Business Help Center if you have continued issues.
Just remember to be patient, there are over three million businesses that actively advertise on Facebook and can be dealing with similar issues that you are dealing with. With WhiskerCloud’s Content Plan, you’ll get full social media management and personalize support from our team on issues on your Facebook page. Dealing with an issue? Please be sure to reach out and let us know.
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