Twitter Search – Help! I Don’t Show Up In Twitter Search!

Thank you to my friend @MayhemStudios Calvin Lee, who helped me with this issue a great deal!

I understand from Calvin, that since most websites, including Google, index Twitter for their ranking purposes, that if you do not show up in Twitter search, you may as well be dead. You do not exist.

{Click to enlarge}
Perish the thought!

Anyone who has been removed from search always wants to know the same two things:

A. How can I get back into search?
B. What did I do to be taken out of search so I can avoid it in the future?

A. How can I get back into search?
First, check to make sure this is the actual problem. Go to Twitter Search and type “from:yourname” in the search box. If you see no results, this post is here to help! If you see results, you probably are showing up in search and may have some other issue.

{Click to enlarge}
Either way, unless your problem is fixed, go to status.twitter.com to see if there is any current problem at Twitter. Check “Known Issues”. If there is no mention of a problem with search, go ahead and file a support ticket. You could say something like, “I am gone from search and believe I need to have my cache cleared.” Please be patient and wait overnight for a response. If you have waited “too long” and cannot stand the pain any longer, send ONE @reply to @delbius with that same message and include your ticket number to help keep duplicate requests to a minimum. Please know this is her personal account,  so please do not bother her unless you absolutely must. PLEASE DO NOT EVER ask for RTs on any support issue or message to Delbius!

B. What did I do to be taken out of search so I can avoid it in the future?
There are a couple of things that could have happened. You can stop doing these things to reduce your risks, even if you are still in search.

1. Do not repeat a tweet or link within at least approx. 4 hours (timing is ballpark and greatly appreciate @webaddict for telling me that recently. I had been trying to figure if the timeframe was in hours, days, weeks, years?) So take note particularly if you want someone to vote for you or you promote blogs, radio shows, products or services. No matter how innocent and wonderful your cause, if you repeat the tweet and/or link too soon, it could knock you out of search. Instead, mark your tweet a favorite, then you can tell your friends to see the link in your favs. RTing is more important and appreciated than ever!

{Click to enlarge}
2. Do not use untrusted 3rd party apps that cause your account to tweet without you typing, such as “TweeterAdder” or “that guy’s crazy idea”. I used to say I try everything, but I have since revised that viewpoint! Stay away from these guys: also the penguin, who else? Anyone who says you must agree to tweet something from your account, in general, should be avoided – just close the tab!
3. Sometimes “it’s not your fault”. Occasionally, there is a search bug that still requires the clearing of cache by Twitter Support. These things happen.

Here are some reasons it happens straight from Twitter Support.

{Click to enlarge}

* Posting duplicate content (links or tweets)
* Misuse of hashtags (words followed by the ‘#’ sign)
* Sending automated tweets or replies
* Using bots or applications to post similar messages based on keywords
* Posting similar messages over several accounts
* Abusing trending topics
* Aggressively following and un-following people (a common spam tactic)
* Re-posting public content without attribution to the author

via Twitter Support

I am guilty of doing both repeating tweets and ‘helping people help me’ with their “crazy ideas”. I openly admit this because anyone can search your account for anything at any time for any reason on Twitter. We should be reminded our statements are extremely public and act accordingly. Usually, your tweets from before your search problem existed do not ever appear, but do show up from that point forward. People search takes a few days longer to resolve, from my understanding. Please be patient. If your tweets have been removed, it is in an effort to keep Twitter from having repetitive content which I think we can all agree is a very good thing.

If you fall out of search, it doesn’t mean you’re necessarily a spammer or a bad person, but maybe you were not aware that repeating tweets or links with slightly varied content, such as directed at different people, was something to avoid. It is. So now you know. Go forth and sin no more!

More Articles from Anita Nelson at ModelSupplies
Help! I Don’t Show Up In Twitter Search!

What It’s Like To Be #TwitterSuspended

5 “Get Followed Fast” Finds!
My Twitter Mosaic – Fabulous Tweeps!

Careful What You Tweet
How to Become Instantly RT-able (A Twitter Guide)

by Anita Nelson @ModelSupplies on Twitter – Follow me!