Imagine your website suddenly drops in search rankings or disappears from search results altogether. This can be due to a manual action imposed by Google.
What is a manual action?
A manual action is a penalty applied by a human reviewer at Google when they determine that pages on a site violate Google’s spam policies. These violations can include manipulative link practices, thin content, cloaking, and other forms of webspam.
Why are manual actions important?
- Impact on visibility: Manual actions can drastically reduce your site’s visibility in search results, leading to a significant loss of traffic.
- SEO health: Addressing manual actions is crucial for maintaining the overall health and integrity of your website’s SEO.
Common reasons for manual actions
- Unnatural links: Links that are intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking in Google search results.
- Thin content: Pages with little or no added value, often copied from other sites.
- Cloaking and sneaky redirects: Showing different content to users than to Google.
How to address a manual action
- Identify the issue: Use Google Search Console to identify the specific reasons for the manual action.
- Fix the problem: Remove or disavow unnatural links, improve or remove thin content, and ensure no cloaking or sneaky redirects.
- Request review: After making the necessary changes, request a reconsideration from Google through Search Console.
By understanding and addressing manual actions promptly, you can recover your site’s rankings and maintain compliance with Google’s guidelines.
