Have you noticed that your website’s traffic has bottomed out recently? It can be very difficult to figure out why this sudden drop has happened, the first thing you should check is if you’ve been hit by a Google penalty. This can happen when a new Google update hits or if your website has been found to be using spammy techniques to make your site rank.
Here’s everything you need to know about why you were hit with a penalty and how to get it removed:
Why Did This Happen?
Before you can even think about trying to fix the problem you need to understand why it has happened. Think of it like trying to plug a leaky pipe with the water still running – even if you do manage to get a patch over it, after a little while the leak will simply start back up again.
Do the research to find out exactly where you went wrong. It could be that you had unnatural links, keyword stuffed your website or been spammy with your anchor text. Any of these can be penalised by Google, even if you’ve done it accidentally, which will remove you/ lower your position in the search engine results.
What Next?
Once you’ve figured out why you got the slapped wrist you will need to start making the repairs. Poor quality, unnatural links will need to be removed by contacting webmasters or by having them disavowed – in Google’s Webmaster tools you can find out who link to your site the most which can make the process of sending disavow requests much more streamlined.
Not all links need to be removed, you can use nofollow on partner sites or simply request removal if you can gain a dialog with the webmaster. It is important not to go Gung-Ho here and remove every link to your site – carry out a link audit to find out which of your links are good and ensure they stay put.
Clearing up your site copy is a much easier process, but it can be just as time consuming. Go carefully through your site and rewrite the content in a way that is meant for the reader rather than to be picked up by search engines. The more natural it looks to Google the better it will be for you – in other words less is more when it comes to keywords.
Document Your Work
When it comes to sending Google reconsideration requests, they won’t take you on word of mouth – that’s why you should record your work in Google Docs, showing exactly what you’ve done to try and remove these links. This can be a very time consuming process, but it is absolutely vital in getting your website back on its feet. So, if you’re struggling to make your website perform, get in touch with us about our SEO services today. Call, email or pop to our office in London and we’ll use our expertise to get you back on track in no time!
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