Algorithm Recovery
If you're struggling with low site traffic and poor visibility online, our expert Manchester SEO team is here to help.
Are You at Risk of Disappearing from Google Search?
The thought of vanishing from Google's search results overnight is a nightmare for any business owner. Imagine waking up to find your source of leads and revenue drastically reduced due to a penalty you didn't even know existed. This is a genuine risk if SEO guidelines and algorithm updates are not meticulously followed.
Our approach involves not just fixing penalties but safeguarding your site against future threats by keeping abreast of the latest changes in search engine algorithms. We ensure that you not only recover but also thrive in a competitive digital landscape.
Are algorithm penalties and poor SEO holding you back?
As search engine algorithms become more sophisticated, potential penalties and pitfalls are more abundant than ever. Getting it right can be vastly rewarding, but if you fall foul of the many potential restrictions search engines stipulate, you could find your business affected by low traffic, poor conversion rates and more challenging monetisation.
Essentially, your site is a sales tool, so you want it to be as visible to your potential clients and customers as possible. Noticing something is wrong is the first step – poor site performance on search engines is the most significant hallmark of algorithmic penalties. But then you'll need specialist assistance to put things right. That's where our expert algorithm recovery support can help you get back up and running as quickly and cost-efficiently as possible by assessing and fixing key issues in the fabric of your site.
If you've been hit by a manual penalty or suspect that slow sales and poor visitor numbers could be down to recent algorithm changes and inadequate SEO, it's best to seek professional help sooner rather than later before issues escalate further. With dedicated penalty recovery support from us, you can continue to confidently build your site as a valuable and reliable source of revenue.
Understanding algorithmic penalties
Algorithmic penalties tend to be the most common businesses come up against when trying to secure enhanced visibility for their site – and many still aren't aware that they exist. Algorithmic penalties can be numerous – and you generally won't know there's an issue until you start to see tell-tale signs such as low traffic and dropping rankings. From sneaky redirects to keyword stuffing, many seemingly innocuous things could trigger a penalty – some unintentional and innocent, others genuine oversights or attempts to trick the algorithm. Algorithm updates like Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird regularly introduce new guidelines that sites can fall foul of. So failing to keep on top of these (or understand what they are looking for) is another issue behind penalties.
Often, companies are unaware of these issues until they're investigated, especially if they've been relying on third-party management without clear reporting or haven't updated their site for some time. Unfortunately, algorithmic penalties won't go away on their own—and over time, as they accumulate, they have an even more significant and long-lasting impact on your online profile, viability, and profitability.
Our Penalty Recovery Process
Each and every website is different, so we adopt a unique approach for our clients tailored to their business, sector and objectives. Here's a step-by-step overview of our recovery process:
Site Audit
Before work starts, we perform a comprehensive audit to identify the root cause of the penalty and highlight any other underlying issues which could affect your visibility online.
Issue Identification
As well as a top-level review we take the time to pinpoint specific issues which could cause problems later down the line such as duplicate content, unnatural links and keyword stuffing.
Strategy Development
Once we have a clear impression of what's going on behind the scenes, we create a tailored recovery plan based on the identified issues, keeping in mind your budget and future objectives.
Implementation
Addressing each issue in priority order, we take targeted actions to remedy and improve critical aspects of your site, such as content improvement, link removal or disavowal and on-page optimisation.
Monitoring and Adjustment
Once the initial remedial work has been completed, we'll continue to monitor your site to ensure a complete recovery and prevent future penalties.
Algorithm Recovery FAQs
Here are some of the most common questions we're asked about algorithmic penalties and our recovery service. If you don't see what you're looking for here, please get in touch.
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Penalty recovery times vary greatly as they depend on the specific type of penalty, the overall number of issues on your site, and how severe or complex each penalty is to fix. Penalties have a cumulative and collective impact on your site's search health, so if there are numerous issues, it can take some time to unpick and remedy them. Manual penalties might take several weeks to a few months to be fixed entirely, whereas some algorithmic sanctions can take months or even years to be fully remedied.
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Most penalties are fixable, but as mentioned above, some take longer than others to recover from. In very extreme cases, more intensive remedial work or a complete start from scratch may be necessary, but you'll be informed of the specific strategy and process we will be applying during the investigative and reporting stages.
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Google (and other search engines) won't always tell you outright if you have been affected by an algorithmic penalty, but there are a few pretty clear signs to look out for. Sudden or significant drops in traffic are usually signs that something is going wrong. It's also worth searching in incognito mode for key search terms to monitor your ranking, as dramatic decreases in rankings for specific keywords and terms is another sign something's not quite right.
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Manual and automatic or algorithmic penalties are the two main types of SEO penalties companies must be aware of. Manual actions occur when a Google reviewer identifies a violation of webmaster guidelines on your site – these are usually flagged up within your site's Google Search Console. Automatic or algorithmic penalties occur when your site fails to keep up with or falls short of amended and updated algorithms, which then affect your site's performance.
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As outlined above, you should receive a notification if you receive a manual penalty from Google. Look through the signs of algorithmic penalties and determine whether you can identify any in relation to your website – if you have one major problem or several significant ones for instance, the impact should be noticeable.
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Best-practice techniques implemented from the very beginning are the most effective way to avoid Google penalties. Solid SEO strategies are built on white-hat techniques and carefully implemented technical and creative approaches. They form a strong foundation which allows you to grow your site's influence and revenue incrementally over time. This is why investing in great SEO from the get-go is so important – but if you've been unfortunate enough to be affected by penalties even after paying for SEO support, it's not too late to get a professional team on your side to make things right.
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Backlinks are still a valuable aspect of any SEO campaign – but buying or selling links to improve site rankings is forbidden according to Google's guidelines. Authentic, genuine backlink connections are best to boost organic traffic. Some would argue that paid links have their place, but this is a very risky strategy. If Google misconstrues your efforts, you'll likely get hit by a penalty. Our recommendation is always to build natural links over paid ones.
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The short answer is yes – slow load times are among the key criteria Google uses to rank relevant, quality sites and content sources. Slow load times are frustrating for users, but also indicate that your site isn't as efficient as it could be. Thankfully, slow load times are usually relatively easy to fix. They also significantly contribute to poor conversion performance, making them a really effective place to start if you want to have the biggest impact across multiple areas.
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Google does penalise duplicate content – now more than ever before. Content is king, as it is one of the leading indicators Google uses to form an impression of your site's relevancy and authenticity. In the old days of SEO, it was easy to trick the relatively simple algorithm by pasting chunks of duplicate text onto every page of a website. This saved time and money whilst boosting visibility. But it's now actively identified as a rogue technique that significantly impacts rankings and visibility. This also applies to sites relying on ChatGPT or pasted content from competitor websites instead of having original copy written for them from scratch.
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In extreme cases, Google can remove your site from search altogether (or at your request), but it does not have the power to physically take your site down from its servers. Google's intervention usually only occurs when severe and serious breaches, such as sensitive data leaks, have been identified. If your site is absent from Google search, it may have been removed or blocked.
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