{"id":78302,"date":"2020-03-26T11:37:11","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T18:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/?p=78302"},"modified":"2023-09-20T22:48:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T05:48:54","slug":"manual-link-penalties-still-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bruceclay.com\/blog\/manual-link-penalties-still-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Yep, Manual Link Penalties Still Happen and It\u2019s Your Job to Regulate Guest Posts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Several years ago, when the Penguin algorithm update hit target spam links, link penalties were at the center of most conversations in the SEO community.<\/p>\n

But then things got quiet. When Penguin rolled into the core algorithm in 2016, Google said it would devalue spam links rather than demote sites. But that didn\u2019t mean<\/a> manual penalties would go away:<\/p>\n

\"Conversation
\nConversation on Facebook with Googler Gary Illyes<\/em><\/div>\n

Fast-forward a few years, and we are still hearing about manual link penalties (albeit not as often). Just recently, however, the SEO community has reported manual link penalties related to guest posts.<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> in Search Engine Journal (SEJ) in February reported a manual penalty against a page that Google believed contained a link that violated its guidelines.<\/p>\n

From what I gathered from the report, there was a link with branded anchor text within a guest post without a nofollow that was possibly a paid placement.<\/p>\n

Here was the manual-action message from Google, as reported in the article at SEJ:<\/p>\n

\"Unnatural
\nManual action message from Google, originally published on Search Engine Journal<\/em><\/div>\n

In a conversation about this article on LinkedIn<\/a>, someone accurately pointed out:<\/p>\n

\"LinkedIn<\/p>\n

Also in February, Alan Bleiweiss reported a client\u2019s manual link penalty, suggesting it had to do with guest posts as well:<\/p>\n

\n

And a client just got slapped with an unnatural outbound link penalty. This is the price you pay when you allow “guest posts” without proper due diligence, or without ensuring your site is not exposed to shady tactics.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Alan Bleiweiss (@AlanBleiweiss) February 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To be clear, these penalties are not likely against guest posts per se. They are against the same types of links that Google has said are unacceptable for years. But that doesn\u2019t mean website publishers can adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards guest content.<\/p>\n

As a reminder, these<\/a> are the kinds of links that Google doesn\u2019t want you to have. And just because Penguin devalues links versus demoting sites, we are not in the clear. Manual actions still exist, and they can deeply impact a business<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The following video with former Googler Fili Wiese published in March 2020 discusses these manual actions further:<\/p>\n