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This Is Why Google Is Unlikely To Send Warnings For Google Penalties

Google Penalties

In a recent Webmaster Hangout, a publisher impacted by a link-based penalty said the manual action placed a strain on his business. He raised this concern to John Mueller if they can offer warnings before imposing Google penalties that dry out up all search traffic, which every SEO expert and publisher can find truly helpful.

Publisher Asks if Google Can Send Out Penalty Warnings

The publisher pointed out that he has twelve employees in his team, but the penalty resulted in a disruption to their business. A warning sends in advance would have offered him a chance to prevent such disturbance.

The Challenge of Sending Penalty Warnings

Mueller offered a comprehensive response, saying there are factors beyond the control of a publisher.

Mueller offered this explanation:

“Okay, now with regards to sending a warning, that’s something we do discuss from time to time. I don’t know if that’s something that will change.

The primary reason why we tend not send a warning is that when we run into this kind of situation where the web spam team notices that there’s a problem, then usually that’s something that’s affecting the normal search results already.

So that’s something where users are seeing bad results and we know users are seeing bad results, then that’s something where we want to take action as quickly as possible and to resolve that.

So for the most part, that’s always kind of tricky to say we would send a warning when we know it’s currently in a bad state”.

Request for a Warning Predicated over a Questionable Presumption

All publishers impacted by a manual action penalty must know this.

Mueller shared his thoughts:

“One other thing, especially with regards to linking reconsideration requests… one of the tricky parts there is that sometimes the site’s rankings is partially due to some of these link schemes that they were doing.

So by fixing those link schemes and removing them or disavowing them, then you’re removing some of that… artificial support that was for that website as well.

So it won’t necessarily be the case that when the manual action is resolved that it’ll pop back up right at the same place as it was before.

Just because you’ve… removed that artificial aspect and like well you’re in the natural place again which might be a little bit lower than before.

It depends a little bit on how the algorithms looked at that in the past”.

The query about receiving warnings before getting Google penalties assumes that given a chance to sort out the bad links the publisher will go back to the top of search results automatically. However, that is very rare to happen.

Instead, the website will start ranking where they are meant to rank. They need to start from this dropped position and work their way to the top again.

Most of the time, a company gets rid of links after receiving a manual action, with hopes to return to the search results. Instead, they are dissatisfied to see ranking drop for their website.

Addressing a penalty is simply the first step in website rehabilitation. The next task is to create a sustainable link building approach that is in line with the guidelines from Google. In terms of rankings, you’re either working or falling behind.

Will Google Send Warning Ahead of Time?

Considering the insights from John Mueller, they are unlikely to send out warnings to SEO companies and publishers before issuing Google penalties in the situation where the spam activity is working. Google’s top priority is to fix the search results so that they will not show web pages that are artificially boosted.

Google My Business Implements Feature Restrictions And Removals Amid COVID-19 Breakout

Due to the limitations caused by the COVID-19 breakout, Google is temporarily getting rid of some features from Google My Business.

“During the unprecedented COVID-19 situation, we are taking steps to protect the health of our team members and reduce the need for people to come into our offices. As a result, there may be some temporary limitations and delays in support as we prioritize critical services”.

As of now, these functions will probably be temporarily restricted or not available.

Reviews and Q&A

Google My Business will never be posting any new reviews, review replies, or new Q&A for an indefinite time. However, Existing reviews, review replies, and Q&A can still be viewed.

Presumably, any newly posted reviews, replies, and questions will be posted eventually when Google has the resources to do this.

In a statement to Search Engine Journal, local marketing professional Bill Hartzer shared his insights on the implementation of these restrictions:

“Most likely, Google is doing this because they want to make sure that the information provided is valid and from trusted sources. I can only imagine how quickly the Q&A could potentially get out of hand if they allowed anyone to answer questions”.

New Listings, Claims, and Verifications

For the time being, examining new listings, claims, and verifications for critical health-related businesses will be the priority of the support team of Google My Business.

Because of this, with Google prioritising crucial services, delay for publication of new listings, claims, and verifications should be expected for other types of businesses.

Business Details Edits

Google’s prioritisation of essential services will also impact the review on business details edits.

This can include reviews for:

  • Changes in open and closed states
  • Temporary closures
  • Special hours
  • Business attributes
  • Business descriptions

It may take some time for businesses who do not provide critical, health-related services to see any edits go live on their GMB listing.

Google Posts Not Impacted

Google is not really limiting Google Posts features. This means GMB listings to publish posts can still be used if there are new updates to be shared with customers.

However, this is subject to change as time passes by because today’s situation is unpredictable. With this, all SEO professionals and publishers are asked to make the most of Google Posts while it’s still accessible.

Information in this post was gathered from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/advance-warning-of-penalties/356450/ and https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-my-business-temporarily-removes-features-due-to-covid-19/356300/. Click these links to learn more.

If you will hire a reliable SEO company to help you handle your website rankings and performance, getting the most rewarding results can be done much easier. Visit Position1SEO to see how we can help.

google penalties
Author: Jason Ferry
Jason Ferry is an SEO specialist based in the United Kingdom. Taking pride in his many years of experience in the search engine optimisation industry, he has honed his skills in various digital marketing processes. From keyword marketing, website auditing, and link building campaigns, to social media monitoring, he is well-versed in all of them. Jason Ferry’s excellent skills in SEO, combined with his vast experience, makes him one of the best professionals to work with in the industry today. Not only does he guarantee outstanding output for everyone he works with, but also values a deep relationship with them as well.

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