It is the worst feeling to see your website ranking drop overnight due to an SEO penalty. If the penalty level is not harsh then it is possible to recover recover by taking necessary actions.
In this comprehensive guide, you will learn about different types of SEO penalties and a comprehensive guide to recovery.
Understanding SEO Penalty by Google
Before you do anything, you need to understand the kind of penalty your website may have received. Don’t rush and start applying changes without knowing the details, it can make things worse particularly for soft penalties where things may not be very clear.
Google Manual Penalty vs. Algorithmic Penalty
Google penalties can broadly be categorised into two main types: manual penalties and algorithmic penalties.
- Manual Penalties: These are penalties imposed manually by Google’s human reviewers. They often result from clear violations of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, such as unnatural link schemes, increasing the cost of search engines to manipulate the ranking.
- Algorithmic Penalties: These penalties are algorithmically applied by Google’s ranking algorithms. They can be related to poor link building, duplicate or AI-generated content etc.
Poor link-building penalty by Google
One common reason for Google penalties is poor link-building practices, such as acquiring spammy or irrelevant backlinks. Google considers these practices as attempts to manipulate search engine rankings and penalises websites accordingly.
AI-generated SEO content penalty
AI content that is generic and adds no value to users will get hit by the algorithm.
AI-generated content that lacks quality and originality. Google values high-quality, user-focused content and penalises websites that rely on AI-generated content for rankings.
There are still many websites that are still running using AI content but it’s not a safe practice. It’s completely fine to use AI tools for research and planning but not to generate real content.
How to recover from SEO penalty?
The first step in the recovery process is to find out the kind of penalty the website may have received. Once that is done, applying the necessary changes can help to recover.
Finding out SEO penalty type
Various steps are required to find out the type of penalty the website may have received.
- Content Analysis: A thought analysis of website content with the help of tools and manual review can give a good indication if the website was penalised due to content issues like AI-generated content or mass content upload to manipulate SEO ranking.
- Backlink Audit: This is one of the most common reasons for websites getting hit by SEO penalties. Indeed, pointing quality links to your website can quickly boost the SEO ranking but poor link-building practices and lead to SEO penalties. Google Search Console and third-party tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush can be used to assess the links & their impact.
- Duplicate Content Issues: Your ranking can suffer due to duplicate content, assess the website and if you find duplicate content issues create a plan to tackle it.
This is a serious business, work with a trusted Google penalty recovery expert and consider the following points for your general knowledge.
The SEO penalty recovery process
Once the ranking drop reasons are identified then its time to act on those and re-submit the site to Google.
Disavow unnatural backlinks
For penalties related to unnatural backlinks, the process of disavowing harmful links is crucial. Create a list of toxic backlinks and submit a disavow file through Google Search Console. This action informs Google to ignore those links when assessing your site’s authority.
Remove duplicate or poor content
In cases where duplicate or poor-quality content is the issue, you must remove or improve this content. Duplicate content can confuse search engines, while low-quality content can harm your site’s reputation.
Build brand trust & authority
Brand reputation is critical. Show necessary signals that the business is real like optimised Google My Business profile, LinkedIn & other social pages, author bio etc.
If you have video content make it available on YouTube with necessary links.
SEO Penalty FAQs
Can you recover from Google’s penalty?
Yes, you can recover from Google penalties with the right strategy and actions.
Is Google penalty recovery expensive?
The cost of recovery varies depending on the severity of the penalty and the work required. Investing in professional help may be necessary but can be cost-effective in the long run. Learn more about SEO costs in Australia.
How long does it take to recover from the Google penalty?
Recovery times vary but can range from weeks to several months, depending on the penalty type and corrective actions taken.
Getting Help
Working with a reliable penalty removal expert. We at webapex, provide comprehensive SEO guidance and build a recovery plan to ensure you get your desired ranking back.
