How to Recover From Any Google Penalty

SEO is a complex game full of surprises. Even with best intentions, it’s possible to invest in your SEO only to have your site penalized by a Google algorithm update or manual action.

If you notice your website traffic suddenly drop or your position in the SERP ranking falling, your site may have been a victim of a Google penalty.

Fixing these penalties should be a top priority, as a drop in your search engine ranking can result in lost customers and lost sales.

Luckily, appealing and rectifying these penalties is possible, but you need to understand the cause before you can fix the problem.

In this article, we’ll show you how to figure out if your site has been penalized and explain exactly what to do to fix your score.

What Is a Google Penalty?

A Google penalty is a punishment that Google delivers to sites that fail to follow their Webmaster Guidelines.

Penalties can be given automatically by Google’s algorithms or manually, by any of Google’s human auditors.

Some penalties are the result of Google algorithm updates, such as in the case of the Panda and Penguin updates.

Think of Google penalties like a red card in soccer. The referee (Google) says you did something wrong and you are forced to sit out the rest of the game.

When you receive a penalty, your website, much like the soccer player, is forced to sit out until a solution is found. This usually means you may no longer be listed in search results or your ranking for targeted keywords drops.

While Google penalties are designed to stop black-hat SEO tactics and other online rule-breakers, they can also happen to sites that made an honest mistake or did nothing wrong at all. Sometimes, it’s simply an error on Google’s end that will need to be fixed.

What Are Common Causes of Google Penalties?

The following triggers often cause Google penalties:

keyword stuffing
hidden links
duplicate content
irrelevant keywords
bad redirects
cloaking
spyware, adware, and viruses
data issues
bad links

There are many ways to get a Google penalty, but they are often triggered by black-hat techniques or tactics intended to fool search engine bots.

There are two main types of Google penalties:

Algorithmic Penalties: Often caused by algorithm updates or changes.
Manual Penalties: Created by human auditors working for Google to ensure quality standards. These are usually given if you violate Google’s Terms of Service.

You can check if you have received a manual penalty in the Google Search Console.

For manual actions, go to Security & Manual Actions, then Manual Actions. If you see a green checkmark that says “No issue detected” you’re in the clear.