Search engines allow users to access an immeasurable amount of information with a click of a button. This has made search platforms an essential part of people’s life. Google, the most prominent search engine, processes over 8.5 billion daily searches.
Because of its influence, search engine optimization (SEO) is now very competitive. In an attempt to boost search ranking, website owners may be doing practices that do not comply with the guidelines. Getting a Google penalty could have long-term consequences, so businesses must learn to prevent these and keep online traffic flowing freely.
What is a Google Penalty?
A Google penalty punishes a website that does not follow Google’s Guidelines and other practices that the search engine enforces. These penalties can lead to a drop in organic traffic, which makes it challenging for a website to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs). Google imposes these penalties in two forms:
- Algorithmic Penalties are caused by changes or updates in Google’s algorithms.
- Google’s human reviewers issue Manual Penalties to ensure quality standards. They are often given if a website or a web page is found to have violated Google’s Terms of Service.
When Does Google Penalize a Site?
Understanding when and why Google penalizes a site is essential for maintaining strong search rankings. Google penalizes a site in the following instances:
1. Keyword Stuffing
On-page SEO strategies such as adding keywords to the title, headings, body, and meta description help Google understand the focus of a web page. However, keyword stuffing—the old SEO practice involving excessive keyword inclusion to a web page to boost rankings—incurs a Google penalty. This practice negatively impacts readability and creates a poor user experience (UX).
When a site is reported to be excessively using keywords, Google may take manual action or apply an algorithmic penalty.
2. Cloaking
Google also penalizes websites that engage in cloaking, wherein a website presents a different version of a web page to a human user and the search engine. This tactic violates Google’s guidelines and can lead to severe penalties, including complete removal from the search engine’s indexes.
3. Spammy Backlinks
Backlinks are crucial in SEO initiatives, but there are instances in which link-building strategies manipulate search rankings. This includes purchasing backlinks, excessive link exchanges, and using low-quality directories.
4. Poor User Experience and Site Performance
A website with poor user experience and site performance may also result in Google penalties. The Page Experience update prioritizes mobile-friendliness, speed, loading time, and visual stability.
5. Hacked Content or Website
Hacked websites may observe a decrease in online search traffic. This is because Google detects that a hacked site provides no value to a user. In worst cases, it may have malicious code and redirect users to harmful pages.
Google typically alerts users of hacked content through the Security Issues tab of the Google Search Console. Users can also see this warning next to the site URL in the SERPs.
How to Check if Your Website Has a Google Penalty
There are some helpful ways to check if the website has been subjected to a Google Penalty, which includes the following:
- Check Google Search Console’s Manual Actions Page
Aside from the significant drop in search traffic, the easiest way to see if a large Google penalty has hit the website is to look in Google Search Console. Google has added a Manual Actions tab to help clarify why the website is penalized.
This Image is taken from Semrush
- Cross-reference Google Updates with Drops in Website Traffic
It is also helpful to check sections of the website that have seen significant drops and assess whether they line up with an update or strategy that was implemented. More often than not, this gives insight into ways to adjust SEO strategy and address what needs to be done for Google Penalty recovery.
How to Solve Google Penalty?
If a website has been penalized by Google, recovering from it can be challenging and time-consuming. Here are some helpful steps to restore the website’s search engine ranking.
- Identify the Cause of the Google Penalty
One helpful step in recovering from a Google penalty is identifying the cause. Google usually sends a message to the site’s webmaster or owner through the Search Console with the reason for the penalty.
If it is a manual penalty, the problem must first be fixed before the website owner can submit a reconsideration request. According to a Kissmetrics study, only 5 percent of penalized websites submit a reconsideration request every month to recover their search engine rankings.
- Utilize Google Penalty Checker
With algorithm updates leading to shifts in Google, businesses need to use Google penalty checker tools to see if their sites are ranking well. Utilizing Google penalty checker helps determine whether a website has been negatively affected by an algorithmic update or human action. They also offer advice on how to resolve Google penalties.
- Remove Spam or Low-Quality Content
Removing low-quality content from the website as soon as possible is also essential. This may include eliminating duplicate website content, irrelevant keywords, and web pages that do not provide value to users.
- Fix Any Technical Issues
If the Google penalty is related to technical issues detected on the website, addressing these as soon as possible is essential. A technical SEO audit service can help detect and fix broken links, correct crawl errors, and ensure mobile-friendliness.
How to Avoid Google Penalties
Avoiding Google penalties is crucial for maintaining a website’s rankings and organic traffic. Since Google penalizes websites that do not comply with its Webmaster guidelines, it is important to follow the best SEO practices to ensure a robust online presence.
Here are some key strategies to prevent websites from getting Google penalties.
- Create High-Quality and Relevant Online Content
Creating high-quality, relevant, and original content can help prevent Google penalties. This may include writing blog posts, infographics, and videos that offer value to users. Moreover, refraining from having duplicate and auto-generated content that offers little value can help prevent penalties.
This Image is taken from Namech_k
- Build High-Quality Backlinks
Building high-quality backlinks that lead to a website is a crucial step to avoid Google penalties. This includes guest blogging on other websites, developing infographics, and ethical outreach.
According to Google Trends, interest in link building achieved an all-time high in October 2021, as they perceive it as valuable as content.
This Image is taken from Blogging Wizard
- Improve Website Speed and Performance
Google considers page speed a crucial ranking factor. Websites that load slowly can negatively impact user experience and trigger a drop in search engine rankings.
Improving website speed and performance is not just a technical concern but also a significant aspect of online business strategy that determines success. In a study conducted by Deloitte, a 0.1-second improvement in mobile site speed can lead to an 8.4 percent increase in conversions.
This Image is taken from Metric Theory
Resolve Google Penalties with SEO Experts at Digital Marketing Philippines
It can be challenging for a business to address Google Penalties on its own. With the help of SEO experts, companies can improve their website traffic and online visibility. To avoid a Google penalty, consider working with Digital Marketing Philippines (DMP).
As an agency with a helpful technical SEO consultant, we can navigate the fast-evolving online marketing landscape and adapt to the latest developments.
With more than a decade of industry experience, we excel at helping you become more visible online amid the competitive landscape. Our expertise in providing SEO services in the Philippines ensures the best practices and effectively leverages the best technical SEO services to provide relevant and impactful strategies in a constantly shifting digital environment.
Contact us today to kickstart improvements on your search engine rankings.
References:
https://www.oberlo.com/blog/google-search-statistics
https://neilpatel.com/blog/google-penalty
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/diagnose-fix-google-penalty
https://socioblend.com/blog/7-steps-to-recover-your-site-from-a-google-penalty/02/02/
https://mybusinessintegrated.com/improving-website-speed-and-performance-a-comprehensive-guide
https://web.dev/case-studies/milliseconds-make-millions
https://www.upgrowth.in/6-google-penalties-checker-tools-fix-seo-problem
Jomer B. Gregorio is a well-rounded expert when it comes digital marketing. Jomer is also known as a semantic SEO evangelist and practitioner. Check out our Digital Marketing Services today and let us help you in achieving positive and profitable results for your business.