X
    Categories: GoogleSEO

Triggering Manual Action Won’t Fix Algorithmic Search Issues in Google

Normally SEOs don’t set out to trigger a Google manual action unless they are specifically testing something.  But Gary Illyes was asked an interesting question on Twitter.  If a site had some kind of algorithmic penalty, would causing a manual action, then fixing it, cause the algorithmic issue to be lifted?

As you can imagine, the answer is no.  An algorithmic issue is just that – an algorithmic issue.  Filing a reconsideration request to fix a manual action, whether it is for pure spam, schema markup spam or one of the many other manual actions, would only fix that one issue, not anything else that impacts the site positively or negatively.

Here is the exchange on Twitter:

While this should be common sense to most SEOs, it might not be as common sense to everyone.  And  I have heard SEOs ask about this kind scenario previously too.

If you have lost rankings due to algo changes, you can sometimes get a better idea of what might have happened if you can correspond a date to one of the known ones.  However, even then, some algo changes even with known dates are just speculations by the SEO industry.

But if you can’t identify anything specific, and there are no manual actions, then work on improving the qualitty on the site as a whole.

The following two tabs change content below.

Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.
Jennifer Slegg :Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.