How We Lifted a Manual Unnatural Links Penalty for Supplement Police

TL;DR

Manual penalty recovery for Supplement Police via disavowing unnatural links.

Transcript

in Christmas 2017 Google was handing out a whole bunch of manual review penalties I covered this in one of my videos analyzing what they were giving out penalties for you can find that link down below but what I'm talking about today was this particular site that got hit this site was a monster in the supplement niche it's called supplement police ... Read More

Key Insights

• Supplement Police, a major authority site in the supplement niche, received a manual penalty from Google for unnatural links in December 2017.
• The penalty was due to links that Google deemed unnatural, which included links from non-indexed pages, malware sites, and spammy sources.
• The recovery process involved disavowing links from spammy web 2.0 sites, over-optimized anchor texts, and links from penalized sites.
• The initial reconsideration request was denied, prompting further analysis and disavowing of higher metric links and EDU links, which were suspected to be part of the issue.
• The successful reconsideration request took over a month, highlighting the complexity and persistence required in penalty recovery.
• Post-recovery, the site experienced a link echo effect, temporarily maintaining rankings despite disavowed links no longer contributing to link juice.
• The process emphasized the importance of replacing lost link juice with new, high-quality links to sustain rankings in the long term.
• The experience underscored the necessity of a comprehensive approach to link profile management, including manual outreach for white hat link building.

Questions & Answers

Q: What was the main issue faced by Supplement Police?

Supplement Police faced a manual penalty from Google for unnatural links in December 2017. This penalty significantly impacted their search rankings, as Google identified links that did not appear to be naturally acquired. This required a comprehensive review and disavowal of problematic links to recover their search engine visibility.

Q: How did the team approach the penalty recovery?

The team approached the penalty recovery by first identifying and disavowing links from non-indexed pages, malware sites, and spammy sources. They also addressed anchor text over-optimization and disavowed links from penalized sites. The process involved multiple reconsideration requests until the penalty was lifted.

Q: What challenges were encountered during the recovery process?

The recovery process faced challenges, including multiple denied reconsideration requests. The team had to analyze and disavow higher metric links and EDU links, which were initially overlooked. The complexity of the link profile and the need for a thorough and persistent approach made the recovery process challenging.

Q: What is a link echo effect, and how did it impact Supplement Police?

A link echo effect refers to the temporary retention of ranking benefits from disavowed links. Supplement Police experienced this effect, maintaining rankings despite the disavowal of many links. This phenomenon provided a grace period to replace lost link juice with new, high-quality links to ensure sustained rankings.

Q: What steps were recommended post-recovery for Supplement Police?

Post-recovery, it was recommended that Supplement Police replace the lost link juice with new, high-quality links. The suggested strategy included manual outreach and white hat link building, such as guest posts without author boxes, to ensure long-term stability and compliance with Google's guidelines.

Q: Why was disavowing EDU links significant in this case?

Disavowing EDU links was significant because they were suspected to contribute to the unnatural link profile. Previous cases, like Ten Beasts, showed that disavowing EDU links helped in penalty recovery. This strategy was applied to Supplement Police, contributing to the successful removal of the penalty.

Q: How does the reconsideration request process work?

The reconsideration request process involves submitting a request to Google to review and lift a manual penalty after addressing the underlying issues. For Supplement Police, multiple requests were submitted, with initial denials prompting further analysis and disavowals until the penalty was eventually removed.

Q: What lessons can be learned from the Supplement Police recovery case?

Lessons from the Supplement Police recovery include the importance of a thorough analysis of link profiles, persistence in submitting reconsideration requests, and the need for a comprehensive strategy that includes disavowing problematic links and building new, high-quality links. The case highlights the complexity of penalty recovery and the necessity of adhering to Google's guidelines.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• In December 2017, Google issued a manual penalty to Supplement Police for unnatural links, significantly impacting its rankings. The penalty was addressed by disavowing spammy and irrelevant links, including those from non-indexed pages, malware sites, and over-optimized anchor texts.

• The recovery process involved multiple reconsideration requests, with initial attempts being denied. The successful strategy included disavowing higher metric links and EDU links, which were suspected to be part of the issue, leading to eventual penalty removal.

• Following recovery, Supplement Police experienced a link echo effect, maintaining rankings temporarily. The site's owner was advised to replace lost link juice with new, high-quality links through manual outreach and white hat strategies to ensure long-term ranking stability.