Lost traffic overnight? Let’s find out why.
Diagnosis and recovery for manual actions and algorithm-related traffic drops — from spammy links and thin content to helpful-content and core updates. Clear answers first, then a realistic recovery plan.
- Root-cause diagnosis
- Manual action cleanup
- Recovery roadmap
At a glance
- Diagnosis
- 1–2 weeks
- Covers
- Manual & algorithmic
- Approach
- White-hat only
Not every drop is a penalty — but every drop has a cause.
A manual action is a penalty applied by Google’s team, shown in Search Console — usually for unnatural links, spam or thin content. An algorithmic drop happens when an update re-evaluates your site; there is no notice, just lost rankings.
The recovery path is different for each. Manual actions need cleanup and a well-documented reconsideration request. Algorithmic drops need an honest look at content quality, user experience, links and technical health compared with what now ranks.
We start by finding the real cause — sometimes it is not a penalty at all but a technical issue, a migration mistake or a tracking error.
Get help if…
- Search Console shows a manual action
- Traffic dropped sharply after a Google update
- A previous agency built paid or spammy links
- Large parts of your site are thin or AI-generated
- You are not sure why traffic fell
How we recover lost traffic.
Careful diagnosis and white-hat fixes — no shortcuts that create new problems.
Drop diagnosis
Matching the drop to updates, changes and data.
Link audit & cleanup
Finding and removing or disavowing harmful links.
Content quality review
Thin, duplicate or unhelpful content identified.
Technical review
Ruling out technical causes and migration errors.
Reconsideration requests
Documented, honest requests for manual actions.
Recovery tracking
Monitoring rankings and traffic through recovery.
The recovery process.
Diagnose properly, fix thoroughly, then rebuild.
-
01
Weeks 1–2
Diagnose
Data, update timelines, links, content and technical checks.
- Data analysis
- Update mapping
- Root cause
-
02
Weeks 2–6
Clean up
Links, content and technical issues fixed.
- Link cleanup
- Content fixes
- Technical fixes
-
03
As needed
Request & wait
Reconsideration for manual actions; patience for algorithmic.
- Reconsideration
- Documentation
- Monitoring
-
04
Ongoing
Rebuild
Better content and authority for sustainable growth.
- Quality content
- Earned links
- Reporting
Results our clients talk about.
The best measure of our work is what happens to our clients’ businesses. Here is what a few of them say.
Within a few months our service pages were ranking for the searches that actually bring in enquiries. The monthly reports are the first marketing reports I genuinely read.
Penalty recovery questions.
Straight answers to the questions we hear most about this service.
Still have a question?
Talk to a strategist. We usually reply within a few hours on working days.
Manual actions appear in Google Search Console under “Manual actions”. If nothing is listed, your drop is algorithmic or caused by something else, such as technical issues.
Manual actions can be lifted within weeks of a successful reconsideration request. Algorithmic recovery usually takes months, often until the next relevant update.
No one can. We can guarantee a thorough diagnosis, honest advice and white-hat fixes that give you the best chance of recovery.
Only when there is a clear pattern of manipulative links, especially with a manual action. Disavowing the wrong links can do harm, so we are careful.
Related services.
Start with a free audit — we will tell you exactly where the opportunities are.
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