If you notice a sudden drop in traffic after Google’s latest algorithm update, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are steps you can take to recover from the spam update and get your website back on track.
Google is constantly changing its algorithm to improve the quality of search results for its users. Sometimes, these changes can harm websites that are not in compliance with Google’s guidelines.
What is Google’s Spam Update targeting?
Google’s spam update targets websites engaged in spammy activities, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, and participating in link schemes. If your website was impacted by this update, taking action as soon as possible is important to minimize the damage.
Things to look out for:
Keyword Stuffing
This is when a web page includes an excessive amount of keywords in an attempt to rank higher in the search results.
Duplicate content onsite and offsite
Having the same or very similar content on multiple pages of your website, or on other websites, can hurt your chances of ranking well. Make sure all the content on your site is unique and original.
Hacked Content
Another thing that can trip up your website is hacked content. This is when someone has gained access to your website and added malicious content.
Cloaking
If you have text or links on your website that are hidden from visitors but still readable by search engines, this could be seen as a form of deception and result in a penalty.
Link Spam
Creating links to your website that are not editorially given can also result in a penalty. This includes things like link farms, link wheels, and other link schemes. Content farms: Content farms are websites that are filled with low-quality, often plagiarized content. They exist solely to generate revenue from advertising and don’t provide any real value to visitors.
Scraping
Scraping is the process of copying content from other websites and passing it off as your own. This can include everything from full articles to small snippets of text.
Generated Content
This is content that is created by automated means, such as through a script or bot. It is often of low quality and doesn’t provide any real value to readers.
User-Generated Content
Blog comments and forum posts are a form of user-generated content. Spam comments will often try to promote a product or website and are usually not relevant to the discussion providing no value to the audience.
Sneaky Redirects
Sneaky redirects are when a website redirected users to a different page than the one they were expecting, without them knowing.
Here are a few steps you can take to do so:
1. Assess the situation
The first step is to look at your website and see if any areas could be improved. Are there any pages that are stuffed with keywords? Are any links that seem unnatural or out of place? If so, those are the areas you need to focus on first.
Some tools you can use to identify the problem:
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics
- SEMRush
- Screamfrog
2. Make the necessary changes
Once you’ve identified the areas of your website that need to be fixed, it’s time to make the changes. This may involve removing unnecessary keywords, cloaking pages, or removing links that could be considered part of a link scheme.
3. Monitor your progress
After making the necessary changes to your website, monitoring your progress closely is important. Check your traffic levels and keyword rankings regularly to see how you’re doing. It may take some time for your website to recover fully, but if you stay patient and monitor your progress, you should eventually see an uptick in traffic and rankings.
If Google’s spam update recently hit your website, don’t panic! We can help you recover quickly and get your website back on track. Our team of experts can assess your website and make the necessary changes to help you recover quickly. Contact us today to learn more!