Google Penalty Recovery
Traffic gone overnight? Enquiries dried up after a Google update? I’ll work out what actually happened, whether it’s a manual action, an algorithm update or a technical problem, and put together a clear plan to win your visibility back.
Diagnosis First
before anything is changed
Manual or Algorithm
the cause properly identified
Honest
about what recovery looks like
Plain English
no jargon, no scare tactics
Sound Familiar?
A sudden drop in traffic is stressful, especially when your business relies on it. The first job is working out what’s really going on.
Your Search Console graph falls off a cliff on a single day, and it hasn’t come back since.
Google has flagged a manual action against your website, and you’re not sure what it means or what to do.
Your pages dropped around the time of a Google core or spam update, and nothing you’ve tried has helped.
Spam pages, odd search results or thousands of links you didn’t build, often a sign of a hacked website or negative SEO.
What Happened?
People call every drop a Google penalty, but there are three very different causes, and each one needs a different fix.
A person at Google has reviewed your website and applied a penalty, usually for unnatural links, thin or spammy content, or hacked pages. It shows in Search Console, and it can be lifted with a reconsideration request once the problem is fixed.
Not a penalty as such, but a change in how Google ranks websites. Core and spam updates can reshuffle results overnight. Recovery means improving what Google now values, and often waiting for a later update to see the benefit.
Sometimes it isn’t Google at all. An accidental noindex, a botched migration, broken redirects or a blocked website can look exactly like a penalty, and are usually much quicker to fix.
What I Do
Recovery starts with finding the real cause, not guessing. Everything after that is based on what your data actually shows.
Pricing
Every recovery is different, so I start with a diagnosis and then give you a fixed price for the work needed to put it right. No open-ended retainers.
Manual actions, algorithm drops and technical problems diagnosed, explained and fixed.
Why Me
I’ve worked in SEO for most of the fifteen years I’ve been building websites, and I publish my own search research, including results that didn’t go the way I expected. When your traffic drops, you need someone who looks at the evidence, not someone selling a quick fix.
He’s very thorough in his research and advice and always makes solid recommendations that give results.
Kelly Croutear
Associate Director of Group Marketing, LinkedIn recommendation
The Process
Four steps, and you’ll always know what’s happening and why.
Tell me when the drop happened, what changed around that time and what you’ve already tried.
You give me access to Search Console and analytics, so I can see exactly what Google sees.
I work out whether it’s a manual action, an algorithm update or a technical problem, and explain it plainly.
We agree the fixes, they get done, and progress is tracked until your visibility starts coming back.
Reviews
“Chris has been a fantastic resource for me in the process of launching my solo consultancy last year, from re-designing my website to advising me on how to boost traffic, deal with pitfalls…”
Tina Fordham
Founder, Geostrategist, Advisor and Author · LinkedIn
“Chris has plenty of knowledge and is guiding me through the do’s and don’ts of websites and SEO.”
Mandy Ward
Self-Publishing Guidance · LinkedIn
“Evans Creative redesigned my electrical website and it jumped up 50+ places in the Google listing.”
Paul Campbell
Electrician · Trustpilot
Questions
Something else on your mind? Ring or WhatsApp me. You’ll get a real answer from me, not a sales script.
Check the Manual actions report in Google Search Console. If there’s a message there, you have a manual penalty. If there isn’t, but your traffic dropped sharply, it’s more likely an algorithm update or a technical problem, and that needs a closer look.
It depends on the cause. Technical problems can often be fixed within days. Manual actions are reviewed once a reconsideration request is sent, which can take weeks. Algorithm drops usually take longest, as improvements are often only rewarded in a later update.
No, and be wary of anyone who says they can. What I can promise is a proper diagnosis, honest advice about your chances and sensible work to give your website the best possible opportunity to recover.
Only if there’s a real reason to. Disavowing links is mainly for manual actions caused by unnatural links, or clear evidence of a large, harmful link problem. Used wrongly, it can do more harm than good.
Probably not. Drops after a migration are usually caused by missing redirects, changed page addresses or pages accidentally blocked from Google. See my website migration service.
It depends on what caused the drop and how much work it takes to fix. I’ll diagnose the problem first, then give you a fixed price for the recovery work.
It’s possible. Spam pages, strange search results or warnings in Search Console can all point to a hacked website. Cleaning it up and securing it is part of the recovery.
Yes. My local SEO services keep things moving in the right direction, and a technical SEO audit can spot problems before they cost you traffic.