How to Recover from a Google Penalty

A sudden and significant drop in your website’s organic traffic can be a terrifying experience for any business owner. One of the most common causes of such a drop is a Google penalty. A Google penalty is a manual or algorithmic action taken by Google against a website that has violated its webmaster guidelines. If you’ve been hit by a penalty, don’t panic. With a strategic approach, it is possible to recover. Here’s how.

1. Identify the Penalty

The first step in recovering from a Google penalty is to identify what type of penalty you have received.

• Manual Penalty: A manual penalty is issued by a human reviewer at Google when they find that your website is not compliant with their guidelines. You can check for manual actions in your Google Search Console account under “Security & Manual Actions.”
• Algorithmic Penalty: An algorithmic penalty is an automated penalty that is triggered by one of Google’s algorithm updates, such as Panda or Penguin. These are more difficult to diagnose, as there is no direct notification from Google. You will need to correlate the drop in your traffic with the dates of known algorithm updates.

2. Address the Root Cause

Once you have identified the type of penalty, you need to address the root cause of the issue. Common reasons for a Google penalty include:

• Low-Quality or Thin Content: If your website has a lot of low-quality, duplicate, or thin content, you may have been hit by a Panda-related penalty. The solution is to conduct a thorough content audit and either improve, consolidate, or remove the low-quality content.
• Unnatural Backlinks: If you have been engaging in spammy or manipulative link building practices, you may have been hit by a Penguin-related penalty. You will need to conduct a backlink audit, identify the toxic links, and either have them removed or disavow them using Google’s disavow tool.
• Keyword Stuffing: Over-optimising your content by stuffing it with keywords can also lead to a penalty. Review your content and ensure that you are using keywords naturally and in a way that provides value to the user.

3. Submit a Reconsideration Request (for Manual Penalties)

If you have received a manual penalty, you will need to submit a reconsideration request to Google after you have fixed the issues. In your request, you should be honest about the mistakes you have made, detail the steps you have taken to fix the issues, and provide documentation of your efforts.

4. Be Patient

Recovering from a Google penalty can be a long and arduous process. It can take several weeks or even months for Google to review your reconsideration request or for the next algorithm update to roll out. During this time, it’s important to be patient and continue to focus on creating a high-quality, user-friendly website.

Our Overall Thoughts

A Google penalty can be a major setback, but it is not insurmountable. By taking a systematic approach to identify the cause, address the issues, and communicate with Google, you can recover your rankings and get your website back on the path to success. The key is to learn from your mistakes and commit to a long-term, white-hat SEO strategy that is focused on providing value to your users.

Need help recovering from a Google penalty?

Our team of SEO experts at Validus Media has extensive experience in penalty recovery.

Contact us today for a free penalty analysis and recovery plan!