What is a Pure Spam Manual Action?

Have you noticed a sudden drop in your website’s rankings or even complete removal from search results?

This situation is alarming for any website owner. You have invested time, money, and effort. Yet your site is not showing up where it should be.

The culprit? A Pure Spam Manual Action.

Google takes spam seriously to protect users from deceptive or harmful content. According to a 2023 report, Google issued over 4.3 million manual actions. And Pure Spam was one of the top offenders. When your website violates its Webmaster Guidelines, especially with severe spammy practices, it is penalized. This manual action can significantly impact your site’s visibility. It leads to a loss of traffic and revenue.

But here’s the good news: you can recover. You can get your site back on top if you know what a pure spam manual action is, why it happens, and how to fix it. Websites that recovered from a pure spam penalty saw an average traffic restoration of 80% within six months.

Let’s dive deep into this issue and find out how you can safeguard your site.

What Is a Pure Spam Manual Action?

A Pure Spam Manual Action is a penalty issued by Google’s Web Spam team. It is applied when a website engages in aggressive, deceptive, or manipulative behaviors. This action is one of the strictest penalties.

It targets websites that blatantly disregard Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Common reasons include cloaking, keyword stuffing, scraped content, auto-generated content, and phishing or malware.

When this action is applied, Google may remove the site from search results. Or can significantly reduce its rankings. Site owners are notified through Google Search Console with a message explaining the issue.

Further Read: Understanding Google E-E-A-T: What It Means and How It Impacts SEO

How to Identify a Pure Spam Manual Action?

It is not always easy to spot a Pure Spam Manual Action. But there are some key signs:

Search Console Notification

Google sends an alert through the Search Console if your site faces a manual action. The message outlines the reasons and affected sections of the website. For instance, it may state, “Your site has been flagged for pure spam.”

Sharp Decline in Rankings

If your site suddenly drops in rankings or disappears from search results, it’s a sign of a penalty. Check to see if the decline happens at the same time as getting a message.

Traffic Drop

A significant decrease in organic traffic often signals a manual action. Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor traffic patterns.

Site Inspection

Review your content, backlinks, and on-page SEO practices. If they violate guidelines, they’re likely the cause of the penalty.

Common Causes of Pure Spam Manual Actions

Pure spam penalties happen when people use high-risk SEO techniques on purpose to change search results. However, over 75% of manual actions result from website owners’ unintentional violations of guidelines. Here are some common reasons:

1. Domain Previously Used for Spam

It can be bad to buy a domain name without checking its history first. The performance of your site will be affected by domains that have been linked to spammy activities in the past. Before you buy a domain, use Ettvi’s Suspicious Domain Checker.

This tool scans the domain's history for any red flags. Such as spam activities, malicious content, or manual penalties imposed by search engines.

2. Article Spinning

Article spinning uses tools to rewrite content automatically. It creates low-quality, redundant pages. For example, spinning a product review into dozens of nearly identical articles reduces quality. When Google sees this kind of content, it marks it as not original.

3. Phishing or Malware Hosting

Hosting malware or phishing scams puts users at risk. Also, it goes against Google's rules. For instance, a website that has been hacked and shows fake login pages to steal credentials will face a manual action. Make sure your site is protected by strong security measures.

4. Doorway Pages

These are low-quality pages that were made to rank for certain keywords and send people to a different site. For example, it is against Google's rules to make multiple city-specific pages with the same content. Focus on user-centric content to avoid penalties.

5. Auto-Generated Content

It is against the rules to use tools to make text that does not mean anything. For example, a page filled with randomly generated sentences like “Buy shoes at good price” lacks value. Google prioritizes human-written, engaging content.

6. Link Farms

If you use link farms to get your site ranked higher, they can hurt it. In these networks, you trade backlinks with sites that are not relevant or are not very good. 100 backlinks from sites that are not related can lead to penalties. Focus on organic link-building.

7. Scraped Content

It is very suspicious when you copy content from other websites without adding your own unique thoughts. Like, copying competitor product descriptions makes your own less unique and less valuable to users. 

Elizabeth Tucker, Director of Google's Search Product, says that the March 2024 Google update is meant to get rid of 40% of the useless content in Google Search. So invest in creating unique, high-quality content.

Further Read: What is SEO Optimized Content

8. Keyword Stuffing

When pages are overloaded with repeated keywords, the content does not seem natural and is not good for users. Too many times of saying things like "Best coffee shop, buy coffee here, coffee deals" will get you in trouble. Instead, use keywords naturally within meaningful content.

9. Hidden Text and Links

It is deceptive to hiding keywords or links in the background using white text or small fonts. Invisible links to sites that are not related, for instance, are against the rules. Always keep content visible and relevant.

10. Cloaking

Cloaking shows different content to users and search engines. For example, it is against the rules to send people to a gambling site while showing search engines a health article. Maintain transparency in content delivery.

11. Link Exchange

Google's rules say that exchanging links with other sites too much to change your rankings is not allowed. If you create a “You link to me, I’ll link to you” scheme, it undermines search quality. Focus on building genuine, value-driven connections.

The Impact of a Pure Spam Manual Action

When a pure spam manual action happens, it can be very bad for a website. Some of the impacts include:

• Loss of Rankings: Your site may completely vanish from search results.

• Traffic Drop: If people can not find your site, your organic traffic might drop.

• Revenue Loss: Reduced traffic leads to fewer conversions and lower income.

• Damaged Reputation: A flagged website can lose credibility with users and clients.

Statistically, over 40% of penalized sites experience long-term effects on their rankings. Even after resolving the issue. This shows how crucial it is to avoid practices leading to such penalties.

Steps to Recover from a Pure Spam Manual Action

It takes time and work to recover from a pure spam manual action. Follow these steps:

Analyze the Penalty

First, log in to Google Search Console and look over the notification. Understand the specific violations. And determine which pages or practices triggered the penalty.

Conduct a Comprehensive Audit

Review your site thoroughly to identify and remove spammy practices. Focus on:

• Removing duplicate or low-quality content.

• Fixing cloaking issues.

• Eliminating keyword stuffing.

• Cleaning up harmful backlinks.

Clean Up the Spammy Practices

Remove or improve low-quality content. Replace spammy content with unique, valuable, and user-focused content. Prioritize originality and relevance to meet Google's standards. End deceptive practices like cloaking or hidden text. Audit your link profile and get rid of any bad backlinks.

Align with Google’s Guidelines

Familiarize yourself with Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Implement changes to ensure your site meets quality standards. 

Use Tools for Assistance

Make sure your site's directives are correct and follow the rules with Ettvi's Robots.txt Validator. You can also monitor and inspect the indexation-controlling parameters using this tool.

Use Ettvi's IP Blacklist Check to identify and block malicious IPs affecting your site. Search a domain IP through a domain name system blacklist database. Enter a domain name or domain IP to find if it is blacklisted or not.

Keyword stuffing is a common issue that can lead to penalties. Use Ettvi's Free Keyword Density Checker to easily analyze the frequency of keywords in your content. This tool gives you detailed information about whether your content has the right amount of keywords (1–2% is recommended for SEO).

Duplicate or scraped content can significantly harm your website's credibility. Use Ettvi's Free Plagiarism Checker to ensure your content is original. It scans your text against billions of web pages and highlights any matches. So you can rewrite or remove plagiarized sections.

Submit a Reconsideration Request

Once you have fixed all issues, submit a detailed reconsideration request. Use Google Search Console for this. Explain the steps you have taken to resolve the violations. Also, express your commitment to following guidelines.

Monitor and Improve

After submission, monitor your rankings and traffic. Recovery can take weeks. So stay patient and continue improving your site. Even after the penalty is lifted, continue monitoring your site for any violations. Use Google Analytics to track traffic recovery and maintain compliance.

Best Practices to Avoid a Pure Spam Manual Action

You can avoid penalties and make sure your website is successful in the long run by taking the following steps:

• Publish quality content: Focus on creating valuable, user-centric content. Avoid automated or spun content.

• Follow ethical link-building strategies: Build organic backlinks by offering valuable resources and engaging with your audience.

• Maintain transparency: Use consistent messaging for both users and search engines. Avoid cloaking or hidden redirects.

• Regular audits: Periodically review your website’s practices and ensure compliance with Google’s guidelines.

Final Thoughts

A Pure Spam Manual Action can feel like a major setback. But it is also an opportunity to reassess and improve your website’s practices. You can get back on track and make your online presence stronger by figuring out what caused the penalty and fixing it.

Focus on maintaining ethical SEO practices. Deliver user-first content to stay in Google’s good books. Stay proactive, focus on quality, and keep your audience’s trust at the forefront. These steps will not only help you avoid penalties but also ensure long-term success in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Remember, the path to recovery takes time. But with persistence, you can restore your website’s rankings and build a stronger online presence. Follow best practices, monitor your site, and use helpful tools like those from Ettvi to stay ahead.