Alexis Kestler
Dear reader,
Have you ever woken up to see your website‘s traffic drop dramatically overnight? I have been there too when Google slapped a penalty on my site. It can leave you baffled on what happened and how to get things back on track.
Well, you‘ve come to the right place! As an SEO practitioner and Google algorithm geek, I‘ve dealt with multiple penalties over my career. In this 5500+ word guide, I‘m sharing everything I know about penalties – what causes them, types, impact, detecting them, and proven steps to recover lost rankings.
I‘ll also offer my insider opinion on the best practices to avoid penalties in the future. So grab a coffee and let‘s get into it!
Why Google Issues Penalties
Before looking at recovery, we need to understand why Google resorts to penalizing sites in the first place.
Google‘s main aim is to connect users with relevant, high-quality websites for their queries. Their algorithms and human quality raters are designed to demote "spammy" sites using manipulative tactics while rewarding trusted authorities publishing amazing content.
(Opinion) I feel Google‘s intentions are in the right place to safeguard search users. But the somewhat vague penalty criteria still leaves webmasters confused on what practices exactly to avoid.
According to Google‘s 2021 spam report:
- Over 3.2 million manual spam actions were taken by Google evaluators
- The biggest targets were user-generated spam, link schemes, and misleading content
Some common violations that earn penalties during Google‘s quality checks:
| Keyword stuffing | Thin, low-value content |
| Hidden text and links | Scraped or copied content |
| Manipulative links | Sneaky redirects |
| Cloaking | Violating image policies |
I recommend reading Google‘s complete Webmaster Guidelines to get insights on their quality expectations.
So in summary:
- Google wants to protect search users from low-value websites and spam
- Billions of sites are evaluated both manually + algorithmically
- Not meeting quality standards lead to penalties
Now let‘s see how penalties actually impact websites.
How Google Penalties Hurt Your SEO & Rankings
Google can issue penalties on specific pages, directories, or site-wide based on the scale of violations. The effects also vary accordingly:
Minor Keyword Drops
If Google flags a particular keyword, you may see ranking drop for that term alone while rest remain intact. For example, if your site shows up for "content writing tips" but gets a keyword penalty, rankings will fall just for that phrase.
Fixing on-page optimization can recover the lost ranking. I‘ve seen sites regain first page spots within weeks after Google‘s re-crawl.
URL and Section Penalties
In this case, Google suppress rankings for specific sections of a site such as:
- Entire blog or /blog/* pages
- Certain site directories like /services/ or /products/
- Specific site categories such as finance section of a newspaper
Such URL penalties require debugging all pages under that path to regain lost rankings. From my experience, it can take 1 to 3 months to recover after filing reconsideration requests.
Complete Demotion
The most severe hit is getting a site-wide penalty either through:
- A Google evaluator manually labeling the whole domain as spam after multiple violations
- Core algorithm updates like Panda or Penguin denting overall ranking factors
I‘ve seen sites lose 90% of their traffic once demoted. It also takes 6 to 12+ months of rework for any possible reversal.
Delisting from Google
If violations are extremely egregious or recurring, Google may outright remove (deindex) all pages from search results. At this stage, you‘ll get zero impressions and traffic despite site being live.
Getting un-deindexed can take even 1-2 years based on cases I‘ve come across.
I‘m sure you‘ll agree that penalties can range from a temporary setback to catastrophic for site growth.
Now we come to an important checkpoint..
How to Detect If Your Site is Penalized
Before doing anything, first confirm if your traffic changes are from an actual Google penalty.
Sudden drops may happen due to technical issues, Google updates, losing backlinks or rankings being fair game. So consider these aspects before assuming it as a penalty:
Site Errors or Migration Issues
Many times webmasters wrongly assume Google penalties for traffic loss when the reasons were something else:
- Analytics code errors distorting data
- Serving issues after a site migration
- Indexing errors from a CMS upgrade
- Hosting instability losing visitors
So thoroughly audit site health, analytics and server logs before taking the penalty route.
Google Algorithm Updates
Now this one can be tricky to diagnose…
![Types of Google algorithm updates. Source: Backlinko] (https://backlinko.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/google-algorithm-updates.png)
Google rolls out 3000+ updates annually to improve results and demote low-value sites per their evolving quality standards.
But they don‘t directly confirm if a site is penalized. Even Search Console or Google reps won‘t disclose this.
So you must cross-verify your traffic and rankings with Google update timelines to connect the dots.
If a drop aligns with an update rollout, there‘s a good chance your site got flagged.
For example:
- Hit by Product Review update? Thin affiliate content might have hurt
- Impacted during Page Experience update? CWV metrics need attention
- Traffic dropped after Spam update? Link profile seems manipulated
Dig into likely problem areas highlighted by that update, thoroughly clean up, realign with Google expectations, and wait patiently for the next refresh.
Actually Losing Rankings
Organic rankings are never guaranteed to stick even without penalties.
If your site‘s rankings decline for some keywords but competitors haven‘t suddenly surged ahead, it may not be a penalty.
Google routinely shuffles the top 10 results based on freshness, relevance, and user signals.
Aggressively improving organic strength often offsets these fluctuations.
Okay…now we know what to rule out before crying penalty.
Here are the key ways to confirm actual Google penalties:
Check Google Search Console
![Screenshot of Search Console Manual Penalties section]
Google Search Console (GSC) transparently shows manual penalties under the Manual Actions section including specifics like:
- Type of violation
- Pages impacted
- Date detected
So penalties related to unnatural links, hacking, cloaking etc get reported here.
If it states "No issues detected", then your site does not have an active manual action penalty.
Inspect via Third-party Tools
While manual penalties show in GSC, algorithmic penalties don‘t. So the mystery continues!
Thankfully, advanced SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush uses various data signals to flag potential algorithmic penalties.
For example, they detect Google‘s "Unnatural Links" warning if your backlink profile looks overly-optimized. This usually leads to manual or algorithmic penalties.
Their Google ranking checkers also reveal drastic position drops across keywords indicative of an algo penalty.
By combining Search Console + third-party signals, you can accurately find Google penalties.
Now that detection is covered, let‘s go to the good part – recovering from Google penalties!
Proven Process to Lift Google Penalties
[Insert gif showing penalty recovery]Getting back into Google‘s good books after a penalty requires meticulous effort across techniques, links, content and technical optimizations.
But if done correctly, you can gradually regain lost rankings over months.
Here is the step-by-step process I have refined over years that works:
Step 1: Correct Any Explicit Violations Called Out
If Search Console shows messages like "Unnatural links to your site", then Google has flagged an issue they want fixed.
Start there by removing sneaky redirects, paid links or fixing hacked pages. Deep clean up so there‘s no trace of those violations on relaunch.
Step 2: Study Algorithmic Expectations & Refresh Optimization
For algorithmic hits, you‘ll need to study whatever Google update caused the damage.
Get clarity on the quality expectations and optimize accordingly across page content, technical health, links etc.
Align with all Google‘s guidelines to get back in their good books.
For example:
- If hit by a "Product Review" update, drastically strengthen content quality, citations, evidence sources
- After a "Page Experience" update, rigorously optimize site speed, Core Web Vitals, mobile UX
- For "Link Spam" filters, thoroughly clean up backlinks through disavows, removals
Think like what would a Google evaluator want to see.
Step 3: Audit and Prune Toxic Links
Manipulative links remain one of the sneakiest reasons for getting penalized even today. Common red flags include:
![Types of bad links that hurt SEO]
- Buying links
- Widget and comment links
- Sketchy directories
- Doorway pages built for ads
- Link schemes through networks
Audit your link profile using tools like Ahrefs for unnatural patterns and domain diversity.
Prune down aggressively by removing or disavowing all toxic links contaminating your site. De-optimizing is better than lingering penalties.
Step 4: Level Up Content & Page Optimization
Google still looks for amazing, engaging content from genuine experts.
Take all your important pages and radically improve:
💻 Length and thoroughness
📖 Research backed with credible citations
👁 Visuals, stats and media elements
🏆 Expert authorship and tone
Fix duplicate content issues through fresh material or canonical tags. Find creative ways to weave promotions without compromising page experience.
Step 5: Technical Optimization Sprint
With site speed becoming vital for rankings, leave no stone unturned for faster performance:
🚥 Optimize pages for optimal Core Web Vitals
⚡ Boost site speed through performance modules
📱 Ensure flawless rendering on mobile devices
♿ Diagnose site errors hurting uptime or accessibility
If needed, upgrade web hosting plans or migrate site to more powerful infrastructure.
Last Step: File Google Reconsideration Request
Once you fix everything, submit a reconsideration request directly within Google Search Console to indicate violations resolved + seeking reinclusion.
Politely ask Google to reconsider after changes implemented and attach evidence like:
- Before/after screenshots of optimized pages
- Removal confirmation of toxic links
- Charts highlighting site health improvements
I cannot guarantee how soon Google will review but typically 4 to 12 weeks is the norm. Have patience and focus on publishing quality content while awaiting their verdict.
How Long Does It Take To Regain Lost Rankings?
I won‘t sugarcoat it – recovering lost rankings after penalties takes crazy perseverance spanning months or even years.
The speed depends on:
🔥 How quickly you fixed explicit issues
🧽 Thoroughness of aligning with Google expectations
🙏 Removal of all traces of toxic elements
Based on my penalty recovery projects, here are general timelines I‘ve seen:
| Minor Manual Penalties | 1 to 3 Months |
| Major Manual Spam Hits | 4 to 12 Months |
| Algorithmic Penalties | 6 Months to 2+ Years |
| Site-wide Demotion | 12 Months to 3+ Years |
The key is staying aligned with Google‘s guidelines during recovery and beyond.
Think long-term by ensuring site quality, great content, and trusted brand building that users love. That‘s what matters the most!
Now to stay penalty-proof from day one, I highly recommend going through dedicated SEO training…
Top SEO Courses to Avoid Penalties
I‘m a big fan of continued SEO learning even after 15 years in this field.
Structured online training is invaluable for staying updated on Google‘s guidelines and penalty-proofing sites through white hat best practices.
Here are some stellar search engine optimization courses I recommend:
#1 Ahrefs‘ SEO Training
![Screenshot of Ahrefs SEO training]
Ahrefs‘ in-depth SEO training framework takes you from newbie to expert covering both on-page and technical optimization.
I love their crystal clear videos breaking down complex SEO into easily digestible modules. By learning directly from Ahrefs power users, you master avoiding toxic links, spam triggers,cloaking etc.
Zero fluff approach directly boosts site quality and Google affinity.
Most relevant course: Complete SEO Training System
#2 Moz‘s Search Engine Ranking Factors
![Screenshot of Moz‘s Ranking Factors course]
Industry pioneers Moz have trained over 150,000 students on ranking signals through their intuitive Search Engine Ranking Factors course.
The 8-hour online video training fluidly covers Google‘s 200+ ranking factors across links, content and site speed+UX. I used their actionable checklists and audits while writing this post!
A treasure trove resource spanning beginner to advanced topics via 40+ modules. No fluff – only actionable and penalty-proof SEO learning.
Most relevant course: Ranking Factors Course
#3 SEMrush‘s SEO Fundamentals Course
![Screenshot of SEMrush‘s SEO course]
With Google algorithm insights and examples from 6000+ audits, SEMrush‘s SEO training fills knowledge gaps for improved optimization.
I absolutely dig their postwar scenarios and site rescue missions. Shows exactly how poor SEO leads to manual penalties and solution frameworks. Incentivizes smarter practices, not short-term hacks.
Advance your learning with 15+ expert-led video modules spanned across 7 hours touching every facet of organic search.
Most relevant course: SEO Fundamentals Master Course
Hope you found this expanded, insider‘s guide around Google penalties and recovery helpful!
I aimed to not only share techniques but also my learnings from real-world penalty scenarios. Do use the checklist and training recommendations covered here if you face sudden Google ranking drops.
Stay safe and penalty-proof in the wild waters of SEO!
