Manual Actions

What are manual actions?

Manual actions are direct interventions by Google employees in a website's ranking. Unlike algorithmic penalties, these are imposed by humans when Google detects violations of the Webmaster Guidelines. These actions can affect individual pages, entire sections of a website, or the entire domain.

Types of manual actions

1. Spam actions

• Unnatural links to your site: Artificially built backlinks
• Unnatural links from your site: Spam links on external pages
• Hacked content: Compromised website with malicious content
• Thin content with little or no added value: Low-quality content
• User-generated spam: Spam in comments, forums or reviews

2. Cloaking and sneaky redirects

• Cloaking: Different content for crawlers and users
• Sneaky redirects: Hidden redirects to unwanted content

3. Keyword stuffing

• Excessive use of keywords in content
• Hidden keywords in HTML code

4. Pure spam

• Automatically generated content
• Scraped content without added value
• Doorway pages

Detection of manual actions

Check Google Search Console

1. Manual actions report: Direct notification of imposed actions
2. Security issues: Warnings about hacked content
3. Performance reports: Sudden traffic drops
4. Indexing reports: Deindexed pages

External indicators

• Ranking losses: Sudden drop in SERPs
• Traffic decline: Significant reduction in organic traffic
• SERP removal: Complete removal from search results

Analysis of the manual action

1. Identify action type

2. Identify affected pages

• Domain-wide action: All pages affected
• Partial action: Specific sections or pages
• Page-specific action: Individual URLs

3. Determine timing of action

• Check GSC notification
• Analyze traffic data
• Evaluate ranking history

Recovery strategies

1. Remove unnatural links

Step-by-step guide:

1. Conduct backlink audit
   • Collect all backlinks with tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush
   • Identify toxic links
   • Analyze competitor link profiles
2. Attempt link removal
   • Contact webmasters
   • Send professional emails with removal requests
   • Implement follow-up strategies
3. Create disavow file
   • List non-removable toxic links
   • Submit disavow file in Google Search Console
   • Perform regular updates

2. Improve content quality

Fix thin content:

• Expand and deepen content
• Create clear added value for users
• Create original, high-quality content
• Implement regular content updates

Eliminate keyword stuffing:

• Establish natural keyword density
• Integrate LSI keywords
• Optimize content for users, not crawlers

3. Fix technical issues

Hacked content:

• Restore website security
• Remove malware
• Perform security updates
• Implement monitoring systems

Cloaking and redirects:

• Eliminate different content for crawlers and users
• Remove hidden redirects
• Ensure consistent content for all users

Submit reconsideration request

Preparation

1. All issues fixed: Complete resolution of identified violations
2. Create documentation: Detailed listing of all measures taken
3. Set up monitoring: Continuous monitoring of website quality

Request content

• Problem analysis: Detailed description of detected violations
• Measures taken: Step-by-step documentation of fixes
• Future prevention: Measures to prevent future violations
• Evidence: Screenshots, documentation and monitoring data

After the request

• Be patient: 2-4 weeks processing time
• Continue monitoring: Continuous monitoring of the website
• Further optimizations: Implement additional improvements

Preventive measures

1. Regular audits

• Monthly backlink checks: Early detection of toxic links
• Content quality assessment: Regular evaluation of content
• Technical monitoring: Continuous monitoring of website performance

2. Quality guidelines

• Content standards: Clear guidelines for high-quality content
• Link building ethics: Ethical strategies for backlink building
• Technical standards: Best practices for website development

3. Team training

• SEO awareness: Training all stakeholders on SEO basics
• Guidelines compliance: Regular updates on Google guidelines
• Monitoring tools: Training on the use of SEO tools

Common recovery mistakes

1. Incomplete resolution

• Superficial fixes: Only fixing symptoms, not causes
• Partial link removal: Not removing all toxic links
• Half-hearted content improvements: Insufficient quality improvement

2. Wrong prioritization

• Technical before content problems: Wrong order of measures
• Quantity over quality: Focus on number rather than quality of links
• Short-term solutions: Lack of sustainable strategies

3. Insufficient documentation

• Missing evidence: No documentation of measures taken
• Unclear communication: Vague descriptions in reconsideration requests
• Lack of monitoring: No continuous monitoring

Monitoring and success measurement

1. Technical metrics

• Ranking positions: Monitoring keyword rankings
• Organic traffic: Continuous traffic measurement
• Indexing status: Monitoring page indexing
• Crawl errors: Monitoring technical problems

2. Quality indicators

• Backlink quality: Monitoring link profiles
• Content performance: Assessment of content quality
• User engagement: Measurement of user interactions
• Conversion rates: Monitoring goal achievement

3. Long-term strategies

• Sustainable optimization: Continuous improvements
• Risk management: Proactive identification of risks
• Scalable processes: Establish efficient workflows

Last updated: October 21, 2025