Websites attract manual penalties from Google when they are discovered to violate Google\u2019s link-building, content, and SEO guidelines. Below are the reasons that can lead to a manual penalty from the search giant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Unnatural or spammy links to the website<\/li>
- Keyword stuffing or hidden text (Black hat SEO)<\/li>
- Low-quality spammy content<\/li>
- Cloaking or sneaky redirects for SEO mileage<\/li>
- Spammy free hosts<\/li>
- A spammy structured markup<\/li>
- Duplicate content <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Unnatural or spammy links can come from web directories, article directories, irrelevant sites, & spam sites, and often results in degrading your website\u2019s ranking and traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to check if you have a manual penalty? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Manual penalty alerts are forwarded by Google to the Search Console. If your organic traffic or ranking has dropped suddenly, check your Search Console for Google Penalty notification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Algorithm update<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nowadays, Google algorithm updates are real-time but news about some major Google updates focused on specific industries and locations is floated online to inform webmasters and marketers. In the past, massive updates like Google Panda and Google Penguin (the most recent was March 2019 Core Update<\/a>) made millions of websites that violated Google guidelines disappear from Google search results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Google algorithm updates are unpredictable, they are basically done to improve the search experience and give preference to deserving sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to check if you got caught in an algorithm update? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If you experienced sudden traffic loss and ranking drop, head over to see check news related to Google updates. If your traffic or ranking drop has coincided with an algorithm update, then, there is a huge chance that it is the reason behind the SEO disaster. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Why](\"https:\/\/www.upreports.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/frogs-1037868_1280-1024x669.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHTTP to HTTPS upgrade <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
HTTP is a web structure for transferring and receiving information. It frequently retrieves HTML web pages. HTTPS (S for SECURED) allows secured transactions and authorization over the web. Google has nowadays started giving ranking and search mileage to sites that have HTTPS certification. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you recently updated from HTTP to HTTPS and forgot to make the update in your Google Analytics & Search Console, you will not see the actual traffic and ranking data. That\u2019s because the website is still fetching the data for the old structure which is no longer working. Meaning, you didn\u2019t lose the traffic and ranking; you are just seeing the wrong data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to check if HTTP is the problem?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you have recently upgraded to HTTPS, then, there is a 99% chance that this is the reason for negative traffic and ranking data. Simply make the upgrade in your Google Analytics and Search Console. No need to worry!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hire top SEO experts for quick website ranking and traffic recovery. Start a conversation<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lost backlinks <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When was the last time you checked the status of your backlinks to see whether they are growing or declining? Websites are always losing backlinks, and it happens for a lot of reasons. This is the reason why businesses and webmasters are so obsessed with link building. Below are some common reasons behind lost backlinks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Website shut down <\/li>
- Page deletion <\/li>
- Change in link structure <\/li>
- Manual removal of backlinks<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
if you recently experienced a drastic Google ranking drop, then, there is a chance that you lost some high-authority backlinks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to check lost backlinks?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Use links and search analysis tools like Ahrefs<\/a> to check the status of your backlinks. If you have lost a lot of them, it\u2019s time to create more! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data migration <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Data migration can be in form of cloud migration, application migration, or storage migration. \u00a0While doing substantial changes to your site like redesigning it, changing the CMS platform, or shifting to HTTPS (already covered) can sometimes go wrong. A small ignorant move will lead to bad SEO and lead a dramatic drop in the website\u2019s ranking and Google traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lack of data governance, expertise, planning, insufficient data preparation software and skills, and unproven migration methodology is the most encountered challenges during the process of data migration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.upreports.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Screenshot-from-2019-04-15-102000.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow do check loss due to data migration?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Pretty simple, if your website traffic and ranking have dropped after any type of website migration, then, most probably that\u2019s where the problem is. Speak with your migration team to check what went wrong! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bounce rate jump <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A website\u2019s bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave quickly rather than continuing to view other pages. Bounce rate is used as a measurement of a website\u2019s overall engagement. If the engagement is less, means the ranking is less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The lack of a user-friendly interface, high loading time, and irrelevant content are major reasons behind the high bounce rate. A bounce rate in the range of 20 to 40 percent is excellent. 41 to 55 percent is roughly average. A bounce rate of over 70 percent is disappointing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to confirm bounce rate-related ranking & traffic loss?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Analytics is the easiest way to check bounce rate-related data. The bounce rate often jumps when we undertake website redesign and end up making the website really heavy. So, if you recently redesigned a website, do check its load time! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Want to secure your website\u2019s online visibility? make sure you create an effective <\/em>SEO website redesign strategy<\/em><\/a> <\/em>
Negative SEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nNegative SEO aims at decreasing a competitor’s site rankings in search engine results. It includes creating spammy or unnatural links to the site, content scraping, and sometimes hacking the site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Negative off-page SEO targets your website without internally affecting it in any way. A negative off-page SEO manipulates the site’s backlinks or externally duplicates its content. An unethical practice, it is used by rivals to get mileage through digital sabotage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Negative on-page SEO attacks are complex to perform and involve actually hacking a website. It can be done in many ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Altering your website\u2019s original content<\/li>
- Getting your website deindexed<\/li>
- Modifying the redirects<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
How to identify negative SEO? <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If your website is hosted on a CMS platform, check website logs to locate access from unusual locations and systems. Looking at an activity log can also help in identifying damaging site changes. Hire a website security expert to identify core script changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Factors that lead to gradual traffic & ranking loss <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The above listed are the most common reasons behind a sudden drop of a website\u2019s ranking. There are other factors as well that degrade your website over time, without creating a sudden visible impact. If you want to avoid your website\u2019s failure in the long run, make sure you control these factors in advance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aggressive competitors<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Competitors can not only overrun your business by defaming you but also by deploying better digital marketing strategies. Stay updated with the latest SEO techniques and follow professional digital marketing ethics while creating links, content, and online presence. It will improve your website\u2019s ranking and organic visibility on search engines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Audience behavior changes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If a website is not user-friendly, there is a possibility that your user customers will shift to other alternatives over the passage of time. This will drop your website\u2019s Google ranking and traffic slowly. To avoid this, it is very essential to create a responsive and user-friendly website and undertake timely enhancements to keep it modern & user-friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poor content quality <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Content is the most critical factor behind the success and failure of a website. If you fail to create original and engaging content for your website, the traffic will grow very slowly. To maintain a good rank, the best way is to create quality content consistently. By doing this, more and more users will interact with your website and stay with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Domain authority<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Domain Authority creates a direct impact on your website\u2019s ranking. If your website lacks relevant content and backlinks, there is no way your rank will improve. If your website has a good DA and it is improving consistently, it will not lose its Google traffic dramatically in the coming times. While Domain Authority is a third-party measurement of website performance, it is widely consulted by marketers and webmasters for benchmarks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Want to dominate the first page of Google? Do it with modern SEO services<\/a>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.upreports.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/domain-2-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPoor link building<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Poor link building is a result of backlinks from irrelevant sources or websites. A negative link will harm your website\u2019s identity and lead to a substantial fall in its rank. Concentrate on getting links from genuine websites which themselves have good authority in relevant topics. Getting backlinks from such sites will indirectly improve your website\u2019s ranking too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A follow-up traffic & ranking note<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The top 3 search results on the internet get over 50% of Google\u2019s traffic. Once you have identified the source of sudden organic ranking and traffic loss, the bounce back will depend on the right remedial steps. It goes without saying that websites ranking well on Google fetch more business than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t forget, \u00a0SEO helps a website rank on Google. Whether you are redesigning your website, creating backlinks, or promoting your business, follow proper SEO techniques to retain its authority and visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your website has dramatically lost its ranking and you need expert advice to fix the issue, we are here to help! Reach us at hello@upreports.com<\/a> and we will do everything in our power to get back what was lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learn about our most popular digital marketing services: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social media marketing services in India<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
SEO services\u00a0in India<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reputation management services in India<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n