{"id":34827,"date":"2013-08-12T21:43:34","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T16:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=34827"},"modified":"2026-10-12T19:13:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T13:43:28","slug":"confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Check for a Manual Action in Google Search Console (and Fix It)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In August 2013 Google added the Manual Actions viewer to Webmaster Tools, finally showing site owners whether a human reviewer had penalised their site, which pages were affected and why. I called it a great step. It&#8217;s still in Google Search Console today. Here&#8217;s how to check for a <strong>manual action<\/strong>, fix it and get it removed in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34836\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/manual-actions-viewer2.png\" alt=\"Manual action report in Google Search Console\" width=\"499\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/manual-actions-viewer2.png 499w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/manual-actions-viewer2-300x186.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 499px) 100vw, 499px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> In Google Search Console, open <strong>Security &amp; Manual Actions &gt; Manual actions<\/strong>. &#8220;No issues detected&#8221; means you have no manual penalty. If an action is listed, read the type and affected pages, fix every instance of the problem, then click <strong>Request review<\/strong> and explain what you changed. Reviews usually take days to a few weeks.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_88 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acd77a35ec36\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6acd77a35ec36\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#Common_manual_action_types\" >Common manual action types<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#How_to_fix_a_manual_action\" >How to fix a manual action<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#Manual_action_vs_algorithmic_drop\" >Manual action vs algorithmic drop<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#How_long_does_a_manual_action_review_take\" >How long does a manual action review take?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#Will_rankings_return_immediately_after_removal\" >Will rankings return immediately after removal?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/08\/confirm-manual-webspam-google-penalty\/#Do_manual_actions_expire\" >Do manual actions expire?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Common_manual_action_types\"><\/span>Common manual action types<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Unnatural links to your site:<\/strong> bought or manipulative backlinks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unnatural links from your site:<\/strong> selling links that pass PageRank.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thin content with little or no added value:<\/strong> scraped, auto-generated or doorway pages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pure spam:<\/strong> aggressive spam techniques.<\/li>\n<li><strong>User-generated spam:<\/strong> spammy comments or forum posts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Site reputation abuse:<\/strong> third-party content published to exploit a site&#8217;s rankings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Structured data issues<\/strong> and <strong>cloaking or sneaky redirects<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_fix_a_manual_action\"><\/span>How to fix a manual action<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Read Google&#8217;s description and sample URLs carefully.<\/li>\n<li>Fix the problem across the whole site, not just the samples.<\/li>\n<li>For link actions, remove bad links where possible and use the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2012\/10\/google-disavow-links-tool-cleans-bad-backlinks\/\">Google disavow tool<\/a> for the rest.<\/li>\n<li>Document what you did (spreadsheets of removed links, deleted pages).<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Request review<\/strong> and explain the cause, the fix and steps to prevent it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Manual_action_vs_algorithmic_drop\"><\/span>Manual action vs algorithmic drop<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most traffic drops aren&#8217;t manual actions; they come from core updates or competitors. If the report says no issues, use a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2013\/07\/use-google-penalty-checker-to-confirm-panda-penguin-impact\/\">Google penalty checker<\/a> approach to compare traffic with update dates, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/10\/find-web-pages-losing-traffic\/\">find the pages losing traffic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Google explains each type in its <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/9044175\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Manual Actions report help<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_long_does_a_manual_action_review_take\"><\/span>How long does a manual action review take?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Usually several days to a few weeks. You&#8217;ll get a message in Search Console.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Will_rankings_return_immediately_after_removal\"><\/span>Will rankings return immediately after removal?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Not always; recovery depends on what remains after the fix.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_manual_actions_expire\"><\/span>Do manual actions expire?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Some do eventually, but it&#8217;s best to fix and request a review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In August 2013 Google added the Manual Actions viewer to Webmaster Tools, finally showing site owners whether a human reviewer&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":34836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,3,41],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-google","category-search-engine-optimization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34827"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64804,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34827\/revisions\/64804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}