Manual Action (Google Manual Action Penalty)

What is a Manual Action in SEO?

A Manual Action, also known as a Google Manual Action Penalty, is a search engine penalty imposed by a real person at Google when your website is found violating Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Unlike algorithmic updates that apply penalties automatically, a manual action is the result of a human review of your site by Google’s webspam team.

When issued, a manual action can severely reduce your website’s visibility in Google search results, or in extreme cases, remove it from the index altogether until corrective steps are taken.

Why Do Manual Actions Occur?

Let’s explore the most common violations that trigger a manual action and what they mean in the context of SEO.

1. Unnatural Links

Manual actions are frequently issued when websites:

• Buy or sell backlinks

• Participate in link schemes

• Accumulate spammy or irrelevant backlinks

These violate Google’s principle of earning links naturally through high-quality content.

2. Thin or Low-Value Content

Websites with pages that offer little or no original content may be penalized. Examples include:

• Scraped or auto-generated pages

• Doorway pages designed just to rank

• Pages created solely for ad revenue

3. Cloaking & Sneaky Redirects

Cloaking means showing different content to users than what is shown to search engines. This misleads both and results in harsh penalties.

4. Keyword Stuffing

Unnaturally repeating the same keyword across a page can be interpreted as an attempt to manipulate rankings and can result in a manual penalty.

5. User-Generated Spam

Forums, blog comments, or community profiles may attract spam. If these go unmoderated, Google might penalize the entire site.

6. Hidden Text or Links

Tactics like placing white text on white background or hiding links using CSS or JavaScript are considered manipulative practices.

7. Structured Data Misuse

If your schema markup misrepresents content (e.g., fake reviews, false star ratings), Google may take manual action.

8. Hacked Content

Sites that have been hacked or compromised and host malware, spam, or phishing pages can be penalized for unsafe browsing.

9. Copyright Violations

Hosting pirated or copyright-infringing content (like illegal movies, music, or software) may trigger removal from search results under DMCA guidelines.

10. Spam on Free Hosts

If your website is part of a free hosting service that contains many low-quality or spammy sites, it may be impacted by association.

How to Detect a Manual Action?

You can detect and diagnose a manual action by:

• Visiting Google Search Console

• Navigating to Security & Manual Actions > Manual Actions

• Checking for listed violations (e.g., “Unnatural links to your site” or “Pure spam”).

If you see a penalty listed, your rankings are likely suppressed until the issue is resolved.

Example Scenario: Unnatural Links Penalty

Let’s say you manage a jewelry e-commerce store. Suddenly, your rankings and traffic drop.

Upon checking Search Console, you receive a notification:

Manual action for “Unnatural links to your site.”

You investigate and discover hundreds of spammy backlinks from low-quality article directories and link farms. Here’s how you handle it:

1. Use Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to audit your backlinks.

2. Reach out to webmasters to remove toxic links.

3. Use Google’s Disavow Tool to tell Google to ignore the bad ones.

4. Submit a Reconsideration Request, explaining:

   • What went wrong

   • What you did to fix it

   • What you’ll do to prevent it again

5. Google reviews your request and, if satisfied, removes the manual penalty.

Recovery Tips

1. Fix the Root Cause

Whether it’s spammy links, low-quality content, or cloaking, remove or fix the exact issue highlighted in Search Console.

2. Submit a Reconsideration Request

Write a clear and transparent explanation of what you fixed and how.

3. Be Patient & Monitor

Manual reviews take time. Monitor your Search Console notifications and rankings after submission.

Manual Action vs Algorithmic Penalty: What’s the Difference?

Final Thoughts: Why Manual Actions Matter in SEO

Manual actions are one of the most serious setbacks in SEO — but they are also fixable.

By understanding why they happen and proactively addressing issues:

• You protect your site’s integrity and visibility

• You restore trust with search engines

• You avoid long-term ranking loss and domain devaluation

Always follow Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, focus on authentic content, and prioritize ethical SEO practices. Prevention is always better (and easier) than recovery.