Identify how frequently each penalty case occurs.
Test the accuracy of our backlink audit algorithm when it evaluates profiles and labels links as toxic.
Finding ways to improve the tool to provide the best solution to address Google penalties and avoid them in the future.
Create a foundation for a step-by-step guide that will help you recover from Google penalties and build a solid backlink profile.
The list of factors and combinations that can cause manual penalties based on “unnatural” links is not entirely obvious.
It is difficult for SEO professionals and webmasters to detect the exact weak points in a backlink profile.
Based on the results of our research, we are going to see what we need to do to find toxic links, deal with Google penalties, see how to avoid them in the future and how to build a solid backlink profile .
Google Penalties - Infographic
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Our key findings on unnatural inbound links
1.- A single bad link does not lead to a penalty
No, you cannot receive a penalty for a single unnatural link.
We have analyzed the examples of unnatural inbound links that Google provides to webmasters and have conducted a detailed audit of the profile of the penalized websites.
Judging by this data, it is often the case that a combination of 2-3 or more types of manipulations (via links) trigger penalties.
This means that once a month, you should audit your backlink profile to detect irregularities, both for internal and external links.
Google Penalties - Tweet @JohnMu
I can't help you with that since you don't mention the website. If you want me to give you advice, you need to be more clear on what you need. The manual actions of unnatural links are due to larger patterns, not just 2 links.
— @JohnMu - Twitter
2.-
Google doesn't distinguish between recent and old toxic links, meaning bad links created years ago can still trigger a manual penalty.
Websites that had unnatural inbound links in 2019-2020 were penalized for links from 2016-2018.
3.- Reputation is not important for Google when interpreting the unnaturalness of a link
Google does not necessarily discriminate based on the source of your inbound links; if a link demonstrates manipulative or unnatural tactics, it will be flagged as such.
4.- By penalizing, Google seeks to do so in a total way
Google will penalize entire websites and properties more often than specific pages or sections.
5.- Exact match anchors should be treated with great care
In almost 50% of cases, there is the presence of money anchors , links that use an exact text match with the words that a website is trying to position.
Google's algorithms have proven to be very good at detecting such anchor texts and sending them to Google's spam team.
6.- In most cases, you are alone
When Google contacts webmasters, it usually does not provide examples of unnatural links.
You can expect to see a couple of examples of bad links pointing to your site only after you submit a second reconsideration request.
This is another factor that complicates the recovery of a penalty