Google “penalties” come in two distinct forms: manual and algorithmic.
Manual penalties are issued by an actual person at Google who’s reviewed your site and found it breaking the rules. You’ll know if this happens because Google Search Console will flag it with a notice explaining exactly what’s wrong. Common triggers include buying backlinks, hiding text from visitors, or running spam tactics that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
Algorithmic penalties work differently. There’s no human reviewer and no official notice. Instead, your rankings drop when Google’s automated systems detect issues during an algorithm update. These drops target problems like thin content, keyword stuffing, or suspicious link patterns. Technically it’s not a “penalty” but the result feels identical: your traffic disappears.
Either way, the underlying issues tend to be similar. Most penalized sites have one or more of these problems:
Knowing whether you’re dealing with a manual action or an algorithmic drop changes how you recover. Manual penalties need a formal fix-and-request process. Algorithmic issues require you to improve your site and wait for Google to reassess it.
Not every ranking drop is a penalty. Sometimes Google just prefers a competitor’s content, or your site has technical issues affecting it. So how do you know if you’re actually penalized?
Start with Google Search Console. This is where Google communicates directly with site owners. Open the Manual Actions report in the left sidebar. If you’ve been hit with a manual penalty, you’ll see a clear message explaining what triggered it and which pages are affected. No message? Then it’s not a manual penalty.
Next, check your traffic patterns in Google Analytics. Look for sudden drops rather than gradual declines. If your organic traffic fell 40% or more within a few days, compare that date against Google’s algorithm update history. Sites like Search Engine Roundtable track major updates. When your drop happens within a few weeks of a Core Update or Spam Update, you’re likely dealing with an algorithmic issue.
Finally, run a quick indexing check. Type “site:yourdomain.com” into Google (replace with your actual domain). This shows which pages Google has indexed. If key pages are missing or your total page count has dropped dramatically, something’s wrong. It might be a penalty, or it could be a robots.txt error or security issue that’s blocking Google from crawling your site.
Once you’ve confirmed what you’re dealing with, you can tackle it properly. Manual penalties need a formal reconsideration request. Algorithmic drops require site improvements and patience.
Manual penalties require direct action. Google has flagged specific problems on your site, and you need to fix them before asking for the penalty to be lifted. Here’s how to work through it.
Open Google Search Console and check the Manual Actions section. Google’s notice will spell out exactly what’s wrong. It might say you’ve got unnatural links pointing to your site, or that pages contain thin content with little value. This tells you where to focus your effort.
Don’t just patch things up and hope for the best. If Google flagged spammy backlinks, you need to deal with all of them properly.
Run a backlink audit using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush. Look for links from dodgy sources like link farms, private blog networks, or paid directories. Contact the webmasters and ask them to remove the links (most won’t respond, but you need to try). Then use Google’s Disavow Tool for everything you couldn’t get removed.
If the issue is content quality, be ruthless. Delete pages that add no value. Merge duplicate content. Rewrite thin pages properly. Half measures won’t cut it because Google’s reviewers have seen every shortcut.
Keep a record of everything you’ve done. Create a spreadsheet tracking links you’ve removed, content you’ve deleted, and emails you’ve sent to webmasters. You’ll need this evidence for your reconsideration request.
This is where you ask Google to review your site again. Write it like you’re explaining the situation to a real person, because you are.
Be honest about what went wrong. If you hired a dodgy SEO agency, say so. If you didn’t realize paid links violated the rules, admit it. Then explain exactly what you’ve fixed and what safeguards you’ve put in place.
Keep it concise but thorough. Attach your documentation or summarize the key actions you’ve taken. Google’s reviewers handle hundreds of requests, so make yours clear and complete.
If approved, the penalty lifts and Google reassesses your site. Rankings won’t bounce back overnight, but you’ll see gradual improvement as pages get recrawled.
If rejected, read Google’s feedback carefully, fix what you missed, and resubmit. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt.
This is usually the biggest issue. Google’s algorithm updates, particularly the Helpful Content system, target sites that publish thin, generic, or poorly-written AI-generated content that doesn’t help anyone.
Go through your pages honestly. Does each one answer a real question or solve a specific problem? Or are they just there to rank for keywords? If you’ve got dozens of short articles that say basically the same thing, consolidate them. Delete pages that add nothing unique. Rewrite weak content so it’s genuinely useful, not just keyword-stuffed fluff.
Look at what’s ranking above you now. What are they doing differently? Usually it’s more depth, better examples, or clearer explanations.
Sometimes sites get too clever with SEO and it backfires. If every internal link uses exact-match anchor text, if your paragraphs are packed with the same keyword phrase, or if your content reads like it was written by an algorithm, Google’s Spam Updates will catch it.
Read your content out loud. Does it sound natural? Would you talk like this to a customer? If not, rewrite it. Vary your anchor text. Let your content breathe instead of cramming keywords into every sentence.
Even if you didn’t build spammy links yourself, your site might have attracted them over time. Dodgy directories, hacked sites with random outbound links, or old SEO tactics from years ago can still drag you down.
Run a backlink audit. Export your link profile from Google Search Console or use a tool like Ahrefs. Flag anything that looks suspicious: links from irrelevant foreign sites, directories you’ve never heard of, or sites that exist purely to host links. Try contacting site owners to remove them, then disavow the rest.
Algorithmic recovery doesn’t happen on your schedule. Google needs to recrawl your site, reassess the changes, and then run another algorithm update. Depending on which update hit you, this could take weeks or months.
Keep monitoring your traffic in Google Analytics and your rankings in Search Console. Look for small improvements rather than expecting everything to bounce back overnight. Sometimes recovery happens gradually as Google recrawls different sections of your site.
If you’ve made genuine improvements and still see no movement after several months, you might have missed something. Go back through the checklist and look deeper.
Once you’ve recovered from a penalty, the last thing you want is to end up back in the same position. The good news is that most penalties are avoidable if you stick to fundamentals and don’t cut corners.
Forget about shortcuts. Paying for links, joining private blog networks, or submitting your site to hundreds of low-quality directories will eventually catch up with you. Google’s gotten very good at spotting artificial link patterns.
Instead, focus on creating content that people actually want to link to. Publish original research, useful guides, or tools that solve real problems. Reach out to journalists or bloggers in your industry when you’ve got something genuinely newsworthy. Guest post on reputable sites where your expertise adds value, not just to get a backlink.
It’s slower than buying links, but it’s also permanent. Quality links from relevant sites build authority that lasts.
Here’s a simple test: if someone lands on your page from Google, do they get their question answered, or do they bounce back to search for something better?
Google’s algorithm updates, especially the Helpful Content system, have gotten ruthless about thin content that exists purely for SEO. Write for humans first. Answer questions thoroughly. Use examples. Share what you actually know instead of rehashing what’s already ranking.
And keep your content fresh. A blog post from 2012 is possibly outdated and potentially harmful if the advice no longer applies. Update or delete old content that’s no longer accurate.
Algorithm updates happen regularly, and they can hit without warning. Follow the Google Search Central Blog so you know when major updates roll out. If your traffic suddenly drops and it coincides with an update, you’ll at least know where to start looking.
Pay attention to what Google says in their documentation. When they publish new guidelines or update existing ones, it’s usually because they’re cracking down on something specific.
Don’t wait for a penalty to audit your site. Set a reminder to review things quarterly. Check for broken links, duplicate content, pages that have gone thin over time, and technical issues like slow load speeds or mobile problems.
Tools like Screaming Frog or Sitebulb can crawl your site and flag issues automatically. Your backlink profile should get reviewed too. New spammy links can appear even if you’re not building them yourself.
Catching problems early means you can fix them before Google does it for you with a penalty.
Manual penalties can lift relatively quickly once Google approves your reconsideration request. Most requests get reviewed within one to three weeks, though complex cases can take longer.
If approved, you’ll see the manual action disappear from Search Console immediately. But that doesn’t mean your rankings bounce back the same day. Google still needs to recrawl your site and reassess your pages. You might see improvements within days, or it could take a few weeks for rankings to stabilize.
If your request gets rejected, add another two to three weeks for the next round of fixes and resubmission.
This takes longer because you’re waiting on Google’s schedule, not yours.
Algorithmic changes happen when Google runs an update to the specific system that penalized you. Core Updates typically roll out every few months. Spam Updates are less predictable. If you got hit by a Helpful Content issue, your recovery depends on when Google next refreshes that system.
Best case scenario: you fix everything and see gradual improvement over four to eight weeks as Google recrawls your content. Worst case: you’re waiting three to six months for the next major update.
Some sites see partial recovery first. A few pages start climbing back while others lag behind. This is normal. Google reassesses different parts of your site at different times.
Recovery speed isn’t just about the penalty type. A small site with 5 pages and a single bad backlink will recover faster than a large ecommerce site with thousands of thin product descriptions.
Your site’s overall authority matters too. Established sites with strong backlink profiles tend to bounce back quicker than newer sites still building trust with Google.
And your industry plays a role. Highly competitive sectors like finance or legal services face tougher scrutiny, which can slow recovery.
Most penalty recoveries take between one and six months from the day you start fixing issues to the day you see meaningful ranking improvements. Some are faster. Some take longer.
The waiting is frustrating, but rushing the fixes to speed things up usually backfires. Google can tell when you’ve done the minimum versus when you’ve genuinely improved your site.
Some penalties are straightforward enough to fix yourself. If you’ve got a small site, basic SEO knowledge, and a clear manual action notice pointing to a specific problem, you can probably handle it.
But penalty recovery gets complicated fast, especially on larger sites or when you’re dealing with years of accumulated SEO baggage.
You’re guessing at what caused the problem. If you can’t pinpoint why your rankings dropped or which part of your site triggered the penalty, you’re likely to waste time fixing the wrong things.
Your backlink profile is a mess. Auditing thousands of backlinks manually is tedious, and knowing which ones are actually harmful takes experience. Miss the toxic links and your reconsideration request gets rejected. Disavow good links by mistake and you hurt yourself further.
You’ve tried fixing things but nothing’s improved. Maybe you’ve submitted a reconsideration request that got rejected, or you’ve made changes but your rankings are still tanking. At that point, fresh eyes and deeper expertise usually find what you’ve missed.
The penalty is costing you real money. If enquiries have dropped 60% and every week you wait means lost revenue, trying to learn penalty recovery on the fly is expensive. Faster resolution pays for itself.
A good SEO agency will audit your site properly, identify the specific issues Google’s flagging, and create a detailed fix-it plan. They’ll handle the tedious work like backlink analysis, content reviews, and reconsideration requests. More importantly, they’ll spot patterns and problems you might not know to look for.
They’ll also help you avoid making things worse. Plenty of site owners accidentally trigger new penalties while trying to fix old ones because they don’t understand the nuances of Google’s guidelines.
If you’re confident about what’s wrong and how to fix it, go ahead and tackle it yourself. But if you’re uncertain, or if the stakes are high, getting professional help usually saves time and money in the long run.
Google penalties feel catastrophic when they happen, but they’re fixable. Most sites can recover if you identify what went wrong, fix it properly, and give Google time to reassess your improvements.
The difference between a quick recovery and a prolonged struggle usually comes down to accuracy. Fixing the wrong things wastes months. Missing hidden issues means rejected reconsideration requests. Understanding Google’s systems and knowing where to look saves you from going in circles.
If you’re dealing with a penalty right now and need help working through it, we’ve guided plenty of New Zealand businesses through this exact process. We’ll audit your site, identify what triggered the drop, handle the fixes, and manage the reconsideration process if needed.
Get in touch and we’ll figure out what’s going on with your rankings.
AI is changing how people shop online, with ChatGPT and Google now recommending products directly…
If your Google Ads are sending every click to the same page, you're likely missing…
Time lapse videos can bring your website to life by showing your work in action.…
Running an online store without clear policies can lead to confusion, complaints, and lost trust.…
With short-form content dominating social media, is there still value in writing long blog posts?…
Getting people to visit your website is one thing; turning that interest into real leads…