GlossarySEO
What is a manual action from Google?
Also called: Google penalty, manual penalty, reconsideration request
Definition
A manual action is a penalty applied by a human reviewer at Google when pages on a site break Google's spam policies. Affected pages rank lower or disappear until you fix the issue and request review.
Manual action, explained
Most ranking drops are algorithmic: an update changed how Google weighs things, and no person looked at your site. A manual action is different. Search Console's Manual actions report says it happens when a human reviewer at Google has determined that pages on the site are not compliant with Google's spam policies, and that most manual actions address attempts to manipulate the search index.
You'll know because it's listed in the Manual actions report in Search Console, usually with an email notification. The report names the issue and whether it affects the whole site or specific pages. Types include unnatural links to or from your site, thin content with little or no added value, cloaking and sneaky redirects, hidden text and keyword stuffing, user-generated spam and structured data issues.
Recovery follows a set path: understand the violation, fix it on every affected page, then submit a reconsideration request that explains the problem, what you changed and the result. Google's help page warns that fixing only some pages won't earn a partial return, and that reviews can take several days or weeks. Structured data manual actions remove rich result eligibility without necessarily affecting normal ranking.
If the report says "No issues detected", your drop isn't a manual action. Look at core updates, technical changes or competition instead.
Why it matters for founders
Buying links, joining link exchanges or mass-publishing thin pages can all lead here. It's rare for honest sites, but when it happens it can remove most of your organic traffic until it's resolved.
Example
A site that bought dozens of sidebar links gets an "Unnatural links to your site" action. It removes or disavows the paid links, documents what it did, and files a reconsideration request.
Common mistakes
- Assuming every traffic drop is a penalty without checking the report.
- Filing a reconsideration request after fixing only a few pages.
- Vague reconsideration requests with no evidence of the fix.
- Repeating the same tactic after the action is lifted.
Sources
- Search Console Help: Manual actions report
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search
Checked
Related terms
- Link schemeA link scheme is any practice of creating links to or from a site mainly to manipulate search rankings, such as buying links, excessive link exchanges or automated link building. Google calls it link spam.
- CloakingCloaking is showing search engines different content from what users see, in order to manipulate rankings. It's a named violation in Google's spam policies and can lead to a manual action.
- Thin contentThin content is a page with little or no original value for the reader: boilerplate, near-empty templates, copied text or pages that exist only to rank. Google often won't index it.
- Scaled content abuseScaled content abuse is Google's spam policy against generating many pages primarily to manipulate search rankings rather than help users, whether the pages are made by AI, people, scraping or a mix.