Google Recovery – Algorithm Updates, Manual Penalty

Google Recovery Services

We offer Google recovery services to improve rankings negatively affected by Google algorithms or penalties. We can manage corrective actions, and the Google reconsideration process.

About Google Penalties on Websites

Google continually works to improve the quality of information shown on search results pages. These efforts include penalizing, and sometimes de-indexing, websites and other content. Google uses algorithms and manual actions to identify and demote problem websites.

Google algorithms are effectively programs that work real-time to find sites that are low quality, using tricks to improve ranking, or otherwise score poorly in terms of ranking factors. Most algorithm generated penalties are the result of inferior web design, and shoddy attempts at search engine optimization (SEO).

Google manual actions are applied when sites are believed to have malicious code or otherwise be an unsafe site to visit. Manual penalties almost always result from a website being hacked, and hackers adding malicious code to the website. Consequently your “good website” can become viewed as a “bad website”, resulting in a sudden and dramatic loss of rankings. Below is a typical Google message confirming the manual action has been removed.

The reality of Google penalties

If your website gets hit with a manual penalty or algorithm penalty, and experiences the normal ranking losses, your business can suffer.

Recovering from a Google penalty is often not a fast or easy process. It can take many months of tedious work to recover from a manual penalty or algorithm based penalty. We have been able to get some sites cleared of penalties in as little as 10 days however; ultimately the timing and decisions are all up to Google.

Google Analytics

Hopefully your website already has Google Analytics working for you. If not, we can install Google Analytics and other important Google Business Solutions.

Mitigating the chances of a penalty

Are you concerned about being penalized? Be proactive! Ask us about doing a site audit to identify potential problems, and consult with you on corrective actions. If there are any issues we can work with you to resolve them, and position you to avoid trouble with Google.

Has your site been penalized? Our SEO specialists know how to recover from search engine penalties, especially Panda and Penguin algorithms.

If you attempt to clean up your site, and do not know exactly what you are doing, you can make your situation far worse. If your site has been hit with a penalty you need professional help.

Google Manual Penalties

Manual Penalties Caused by Hacking

Most people become aware of a manual action when the notice a sharp, extreme and sudden loss of rankings. A manual penalty is assessed when your site has major trust problems. It’s common for a site to drop eight or more pages when a manual penalty is applied.

To receive a formal manual penalty notice you must be using the Google Search Console, and have completed the site verification process. Google’s Search Console, formerly Webmaster Tools, is an extremely valuable tool.

If you are not already utilizing Search Console we can handle this for you. We offer specialized services to set-up and configure Google Business Solutionsthat improve internet marketing programs.

Penalties don’t go away on their own

First, it is important to know that unless you take specific and deliberate actions a penalized site is never going to have penalties removed.

Google recovery to reverse a penalty requires a LOT of knowledge to identify the problems, know how to resolve them, and work with Google to have changes reviewed and approved. The work required can be as relatively simple as disavowing bad links or as extreme as needing to rebuild your website and change hosting servers.

Google recovery requires totally different approaches for undoing bad design and bad SEO work, versus dealing with a hacked website. We know how to handle both situations. We are very proficient in dealing with hacked WordPress websites including hardening WordPress websites.

Major Google Algorithm Changes

Learn which algorithm could be affecting your organic or local search rankings

Google Rank Brain

Google Rank Brain is an algorithm using a machine learning (artificial intelligence) technology. Rank Brain is a major part of Hummingbird (the primary algorithm), and utilizes processes such as “stemming” (similar to LSI).

Rank Brain rolls out in 2016 so causes for penalties can only be guessed as being related to better matching website content with search queries.

Google Mobile Friendly Update

Google Mobile Update (aka Mobilegeddon) is an algorithm update that established a preference for mobile-friendly websites. Non-mobile friendly sites suffered significant organic search rankings losses in search results shown on mobile devices.

Cause is crystal clear – you need a mobile friendly website, meaning a site using responsive website design, and not just a “mobile version” of your site.

Google Panda Algorithm

Google Panda is an algorithm model that evaluates your entire site, and evaluates overall quality. This penalty affects your total ranking footprint, and subsequent modifications to this algorithm usually make the ranking losses even worse.

Specific causes could be low quality content, and bad SEO practices such as keyword stuffing, doorway pages, and duplicate content.

Google Penguin Algorithm

Google Penguin is an algorithm model which looks at the link profile of a website. Specifically, Penguin finds unnatural inbound link patterns that appear to be hyper aggressive attempts to manipulate organic rankings.

Specific causes are back links from blog wheels, link farms, sites that sell back-links, and a high volume of links from spammy or irrelevant sites.

Google Phantom Quality Updates

Google’s Phantom 1, 2 and 3 are algorithm changes applying tighter “quality signals” with a broad brush impact. They resulted in significant changes to organic search engine rankings. Google has not provided any specifics on this update.

Suspected causes for Phantom 2 issues are sites without valuable content, lacking in useful, informative, or engaging content.

Google Pigeon Algorithm

Google Pigeon is an algorithm update that affected local search results, not website rankings.This update moves local search rankings for a business according to traditional search ranking signals.

Causes for drops in local search rankings could be due to depth of content in Knowledge Graph, accuracy of information and actual click throughs.