Google Penalty

Google Penalty: Recognize and eliminate Google Penalty

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InfoFlash PR

According to a study by Ahrefs, almost every company will encounter a Google penalty at some point in its online life. Some even experience it multiple times.

What are penalties?

The so-called Google Penalty is a measure taken by Google to penalize websites that violate the Google Webmaster Guidelines.

There are different levels at which sanctions can affect:

  • Penalties at the keyword level mean, for example, that the ranking position for one or more search terms on your site deteriorates. The other keywords are not affected.
  • Accordingly, a penalty at the URL or directory level affects a specific URL on your site, which suddenly loses ranking positions.
  • Even worse: When the entire domain is affected by a Google penalty and loses massive amounts of traffic.
  • In some cases, it can even lead to delisting, the most severe sanction, which means that the website is removed from the Google index.

In order to prevent such severe sanctions, you first need to understand when and why a site is penalized in the first place.

When will my site be penalized?

Penalties can be imposed both algorithmically and manually. Algorithmic penalties are triggered by “filters” such as the Google Panda Update, which check certain aspects of websites and automatically impose sanctions in case of violations. Manual penalties, on the other hand, are issued by Google employees and can occur due to spam practices, unnatural backlinks, and other violations.

What can cause a Google penalty?

The reasons for penalties can vary greatly and affect different areas of your website. 

Content of your website:

  • Hidden content – ​​this is text that isn’t visible to users (e.g., white text on a white background). This is supposed to have a positive impact on rankings, but it’s penalized. Legitimate hidden content, however, is content that’s collapsed (e.g., FAQs).
  • Keyword stuffing/keyword spamming – this means using too many search terms in your text. The keywords should be distributed and inserted as naturally as possible.
  • Thin content – ​​refers to content that does not provide added value (e.g., low word count, duplicate content, no relevant content)
  • User-generated spam – this is spam generated by users of blogs or forums, for example, in the comments. Spam can also be found in reviews.

Link profile of your website:

  • Unnatural backlinks – these include bad links leading to your website. “Bad links” include purchased, swapped, broken, or spammy links.
  • Unnatural links – these include bad links leading from your website. Just like backlinks, bad links are penalized.

Technology of your website:

  • Structured data – this is labeled content/information specifically for search engines, for example, to create rich snippets. Google imposes penalties for, for example, structured data that doesn’t match the page content or incorrectly labeled data. Google’s Structured Data Guidelines
  • Cloaking – Cloaking refers to an HTML practice in search engine optimization (SEO) in which different content or pages are presented to search engines and users. The goal of cloaking is to deceive search engine algorithms to achieve a higher ranking in search results while displaying something different to users. Cyber ​​Crime Consulting can also help identify and resolve such unfair practices.

Of course, general violations of Google’s guidelines, such as adult or racist content, will also be penalized.

How do I know if I’ve received a penalty from Google?

In contrast to algorithmic penalties, manual penalties are relatively easy to detect.

Any penalties are reported in the “Manual Actions” section of Google Search Console. This is crucial for responding to problems early.

Once the circumstances have been remedied, a reconsideration request will be submitted. 

Typically, such penalties—if identified—can be resolved relatively quickly. Rankings typically return within 3-5 days.

Things get more difficult with algorithmic penalties. They are imposed using the Google algorithm.

The penalty most people are familiar with is the Google Penguin penalty. Penguin has been an integral part of the algorithm since September 2016. This means that bad links (toxic links) are immediately affected, but can also be removed very quickly. Compared to manual penalties, however, these penalties are much harder to detect. This is because there is no “blue letter” from Google; instead, you have to monitor your rankings. 

However, some signs may indicate an algorithmic penalty:

  • Significant ranking loss: A sudden and significant drop in search rankings may indicate an algorithmic penalty. This can apply to specific keywords or the entire website.
  • Traffic decline: A significant decline in organic traffic to your website that is not due to seasonal fluctuations or other obvious factors could indicate a penalty.
  • Sudden loss of visibility: If your website suddenly becomes less visible in search results and many pages are no longer indexed, this could indicate an algorithmic change.
  • Disappearance from the index: A complete or partial removal of your website from the search engine index is a clear sign of problems.

Slight fluctuations are completely normal. However, you should keep an eye on your website’s visibility, rankings, and traffic. 
Regular monitoring is essential to identify potential problems early and respond quickly in the event of a penalty.

How can penalties be avoided?

Avoiding Google penalties requires a strategic approach to search engine optimization.

Here are some best practices to avoid penalties:

1. Follow the Webmaster Guidelines: Read and follow the official Google Guidelines. 

2. Provide high-quality content: Create unique and relevant content to meet the needs of your target audience. Older content should be updated occasionally to keep your site vibrant and up-to-date. After all, a website must constantly demonstrate its quality!

3. Promote natural link building: Focus on organic, high-quality links. Regularly reviewing your links helps identify harmful or unnatural links. These links can then be removed through a link audit or disavowed by Google (using a disavow file).

4. Monitor technical SEO: Review the technical aspects of your website. Pay attention to fast loading times, secure connections, and a clear website structure.

5. Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is optimized for mobile devices to meet Google’s mobile-first approach.

6. Monitor rankings and traffic: Using SEO tools like Semrush, you can monitor changes in your rankings and traffic. Before and after Google updates, you should pay particular attention to your site’s visibility and the ranking of your keywords so you can react quickly if you’re hit with a penalty.

7. Stay informed:  Especially in the SEO area, you should stay informed about current developments and Google updates and exchange information via forums or SEO communities, for example.

It’s important to note that not all changes following an update are negative. Sometimes updates can also provide opportunities for improvement. Through comprehensive analysis and proactive measures, you can ensure your website is well prepared for future updates.

Examples of penalties

If you look at history, there are numerous prominent punishments

In 2006, BMW’s PageRank was reduced to 0. The company was penalized by Google for installing so-called doorway pages. These are pages optimized for a specific keyword and intended as a doorway to the main website. This violates Google’s guidelines.

In January 2012, the Google Chrome browser website was penalized by reducing its PageRank from 9 to 7. The browser was kicked off the first page for important keywords such as “browser.”

In January 2014, Expedia’s visibility fell by 25%. Its share price fell by 4.5%.

In December 2014, the lyrics site Rap Genius launched its affiliate program. Participants were asked to publish lyrics with a special link that led to the Rap Genius site and included Justin Bieber links. This move was planned because they expected Justin Bieber’s upcoming album to generate high demand, and they wanted to capitalize on this. The site was immediately manually penalized by Google. The result: 700,000 fewer visitors per day.

Such examples are common. Sometimes a company can recover and get back on its feet. Sometimes it sinks into insignificance.

Very often, there is a combination of algorithm changes that affect a site.

The Panda algorithm penalty had been overcome. The content had been corrected and enriched with plenty of backlinks. Then Penguin 2.0 struck, and the site lost visibility.

At the beginning of 2016, Baby Markt decided to start with a new domain because the old one had burned.

This example shows how an algorithm can strike and leave you with no chance of recovery. In this case, a large number of their own domains were used because there was no real backlink concept. In some cases, 60 or 70 percent of their own domains were directed to their own content. All under the same IP address. What initially had a boost then led to a devaluation.

But there are also numerous examples of companies that react quickly and then release the relevant updates and prisoner chains and recover.

This client was able to survive a Penguin penalty in late 2013 by removing the bad links. A Panda (E) penalty was avoided in 2015 by making appropriate content changes. In 2017, the company was attacked and quickly recovered thanks to its approach to negative SEO attacks. The  Google Core Update of March 2018 struck again (primary links and content). Appropriate responses were made at each stage. The company is recovering and ranking for its key keywords.

For another example of how Google almost ruined a company, check out our blog.

Conclusion

Google penalties can have a significant impact on online success. Therefore, it’s crucial to actively engage with Google’s guidelines, pursue a sound SEO strategy, and regularly check Google Search Console. By taking proactive measures, website owners can ensure that their websites not only remain visible but also retain user trust. 

Link risk management refers to the active monitoring of link profiles so that you can intervene in an emergency without causing a disaster. Google penalties will always occur. Some are noticeable due to Google’s blue letter, others go unnoticed. If your business model generates a large proportion of customers through Google, then active link risk management is necessary.

In addition, a Google-safe content strategy protects you from being penalized for your content.

Stay informed and adapt your strategies accordingly to achieve long-term success in online marketing.

FAQs

There are different levels of Google penalties:

  • At the keyword level: Penalties affect the position of one or more search terms, which worsen in the ranking.
  • at URL or directory level: The ranking loss due to the penalty affects a specific URL on your site.
  • At the domain level, the Google penalty affects the entire domain, which loses massive traffic.
  • Delisting: The most serious sanction is delisting. This means the website is removed from the Google index.

Manual penalties are reported via Google Search Console. Automatic penalties are only discovered through excellent SEO monitoring.

Each filter—and this is ultimately a penalty—has different effects. What they all have in common, however, is that visibility suffers. Visitor numbers generally decline as well.

Google ranking penalties affect all companies that rely on Google as a key customer source. When traffic drops, clicks from organic searches are often lost.

Direct searches are usually only marginally affected (e.g., whenever someone types in www.example.com).

For small businesses, such penalties can quickly lead to bankruptcy. Our example of a Stuttgart copy shop, whose visibility plummeted completely, demonstrates that even local businesses are affected. Such a penalty can ruin a company.

Therefore, it is especially important to be able to assess link risks.

The effects of Google penalties can be far-reaching, ranging from a decline in organic traffic to a loss of user trust and even financial losses. In the worst case, a website can even be excluded from the Google index, resulting in a significant loss of visibility.

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