A manual penalty is a penalty that is applied to a website by a human reviewer at Google rather than by an algorithm. Manual penalties are typically imposed when Google’s quality guidelines have been violated significantly and can result in a website’s rankings being lowered or even removed from the search results altogether.
Manual penalties can be imposed for a variety of reasons, including:
Spamming: Engaging in tactics such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, or creating duplicate content.
Link schemes: Building links to a website using manipulative tactics, such as buying links, participating in link farms, or using automated link-building tools.
Hacking: Compromising a website and using it to distribute malware or to host spammy or illicit content.
Abusive user-generated content: Allowing user-generated content on a spammy, offensive, or illegal website.
If a website receives a manual penalty, it will be notified via a message in the Google Search Console. The website owner can then take steps to fix the issue and submit a reconsideration request to Google, providing details on the actions taken to address the problem. After review, Google will decide whether or not the penalty should be removed.
It is important to note that manual penalties can significantly harm a website’s visibility, so taking action as soon as possible is essential to resolve the issue and submit a reconsideration request.
Also, See: Bounce Rate