A Google manual action is a measure taken after a human reviewer determines that some pages on a website do not follow Google’s spam policies or other Search guidelines. It can affect a specific part of a website or the whole site, depending on the issue.
A manual action is different from an algorithmic ranking change. Google reports manual actions in the Manual Actions report in Search Console and explains the issue and affected scope. This guide shows how to check for a manual action, understand common types, fix the underlying problem and request a review.
What Is a Google Manual Action?
A manual action means a Google reviewer has found that a site is not compliant with Google’s policies. Depending on the issue, affected pages may rank lower or be omitted from Google Search results.
Manual actions are not the same as a normal ranking fluctuation. A change in traffic or rankings alone does not prove that a manual action has been applied. The official place to confirm one is the Manual Actions report in Google Search Console.
Manual Action vs. Algorithmic Ranking Change
| Manual action | Algorithmic change |
|---|---|
| Applied after human review. | Applied automatically by Google’s systems. |
| Shown in the Search Console Manual Actions report. | Usually has no individual manual-action notice. |
| Report identifies the issue and affected scope. | May affect visibility without identifying a specific policy violation. |
| Requires fixing the reported issue and submitting a review request. | Requires diagnosing site and search changes; there is no reconsideration request for an algorithm update. |
If traffic falls, check the Manual Actions report and Security Issues report first, then investigate indexing, technical changes, content quality, search demand and known ranking updates. Do not assume every decline is a penalty.
How to Check for a Manual Action in Google Search Console
- Sign in to Google Search Console.
- Select the correct website property.
- Open Security & Manual Actions in the navigation.
- Select Manual Actions.
- Review the report. If Google has identified an issue, read the action name, description and affected scope.
- Open the examples provided, where available, and investigate the affected pages or links.
If the report says no issues detected, Google has not reported a manual action for that property at the time you checked. This does not guarantee that the site has no technical, content or algorithmic visibility problems.
Common Types of Google Manual Actions
The exact actions Google can apply are documented in its current Search Console help page. Common categories include:
1. Unnatural links to your site
Google has identified a pattern of artificial, deceptive or manipulative links pointing to your website. Examples can include paid links intended to pass ranking credit or participation in link schemes.
2. Unnatural links from your site
Your website links out in ways that violate Google’s link spam policies. Review paid placements, excessive exchanges and other outbound links created primarily to manipulate rankings. Qualify advertising and sponsored links appropriately.
3. Thin content with little or no added value
Pages may provide little original value, such as certain automatically generated pages, doorway pages or copied content with no meaningful contribution. Review whether each affected page genuinely helps visitors.
4. Cloaking or sneaky redirects
Google detects different content being shown to users and search engines, or redirects that send visitors somewhere unexpected. Review server rules, scripts, plugins and mobile-specific behavior.
5. Spammy structured data
Structured data may be misleading, irrelevant or inconsistent with visible page content. For example, markup might describe reviews or products that are not actually present on the page.
6. User-generated spam
Unmoderated comments, forum posts, profiles or other user submissions may contain large amounts of spam or manipulative links. Review affected areas and add suitable moderation and abuse-prevention controls.
7. Other policy-specific actions
Google’s report can include other issues, such as hidden text or keyword stuffing, hacked content, site reputation abuse, or other deceptive practices. Always follow the exact issue named in your own report rather than relying on a generic checklist.
How to Fix a Google Manual Action
Do not start by changing random pages or disavowing every suspicious backlink. First identify the exact violation in Search Console and follow the relevant policy guidance.
- Read the full report: record the action name, explanation, affected scope and example URLs.
- Understand the policy: open the relevant Google spam policy or structured data guideline.
- Audit the affected area: inspect all pages, templates, links or markup related to the reported issue.
- Fix the cause: remove or correct the violating content, links, markup or behavior—not just the example URL.
- Check the whole affected scope: make sure the issue is fixed across all affected pages.
- Document the work: keep examples of removed links, revised pages, moderation changes and technical fixes.
- Verify accessibility: ensure Google can crawl the corrected pages and they are not unintentionally blocked by login requirements, robots.txt or noindex directives.
- Request a review: use the Request Review option in the Manual Actions report when the site is ready.
How to Handle an Unnatural Links Manual Action
Link-related actions need careful investigation. Do not assume that every low-quality-looking backlink is harmful or that a third-party toxicity score is evidence of a Google violation.
- Export available backlink data from Search Console and any supporting backlink tools.
- Identify links that your organisation or an agent deliberately created through paid schemes, excessive exchanges or other manipulative methods.
- Contact site owners and make a good-faith effort to remove links that violate the policy.
- Where removal is not possible, consider whether the links meet Google’s criteria for disavowal.
- Keep records of outreach, removals and links that could not be removed.
- Submit a clear review request describing the actions taken and supporting evidence.
Google advises against blindly disavowing all backlinks. The disavow tool is intended for specific cases involving a considerable number of artificial or low-quality links that have caused, or are likely to cause, a manual action. Most websites do not need to use it.
Read the Google disavow links tool guide before preparing a disavow file.
How to Fix Thin Content or Scaled Content Issues
- Review the affected pages and identify content that is copied, shallow, automatically generated without added value or created mainly to manipulate search visibility.
- Improve pages with useful original information, first-hand expertise where relevant, clear examples and accurate details.
- Remove pages that serve no useful purpose and cannot be meaningfully improved.
- Consolidate genuinely overlapping pages where that helps users, using appropriate redirects and canonical signals.
- Review sitewide templates and publishing processes so the same issue does not return.
Do not simply add words to a page to make it longer. The goal is to provide real value and address the issue identified by Google.
How to Fix Structured Data Manual Actions
- Read the structured data issue and affected examples in Search Console.
- Compare the markup with the content that visitors can actually see.
- Remove unsupported, misleading or irrelevant properties.
- Make sure reviews, ratings, products and other marked-up information meet the relevant feature guidelines.
- Test corrected pages with Google’s Rich Results Test where applicable.
- Check representative templates and all affected URLs before requesting review.
Valid syntax alone does not make markup eligible for rich results. The structured data must also follow Google’s content and feature policies.
How to Write a Reconsideration Request
Once every issue in the report has been fixed, select Request Review in Search Console. Your request should be clear, honest and supported by evidence.
A useful request explains three things:
- The problem: identify the policy issue and acknowledge what caused it.
- The corrective work: describe the actions taken across the affected pages or links.
- Prevention: explain the process changes that will help prevent the same issue in the future.
For a link-related issue, include examples of links removed, outreach attempted and links that could not be removed. For a content issue, explain which pages were improved or removed and how editorial quality checks have changed.
Do not claim that work was completed if it was not. A concise, evidence-based request is more useful than a long explanation without verifiable actions.
What Happens After You Submit a Review Request?
Google will confirm that the request has been received and provide status updates in Search Console. Reviews can take several days or weeks, and link-related reviews may take longer. Wait for the decision on the open request rather than submitting repeated requests.
If Google revokes the manual action, the action is no longer applied. That does not guarantee immediate recovery of previous rankings or traffic. Search systems need to recrawl and reassess the site, and other ranking factors may still affect performance.
If the request is rejected, read the response carefully, identify what remains unresolved, complete the missing work and submit another request only after the issues have been addressed.
Manual Actions vs. Security Issues
These reports are different:
- Manual Actions: reports policy violations that can affect how pages appear in Search, often involving attempts to manipulate search results.
- Security Issues: reports signs that a site may be hacked or may harm visitors, such as phishing or malware.
A site can have one type of issue without the other. Check both reports when investigating a serious search visibility or website safety problem.
How to Prevent Future Manual Actions
- Follow Google’s spam policies when building links and publishing content.
- Use transparent advertising and qualify paid links appropriately.
- Publish content that offers meaningful value instead of mass-producing shallow pages.
- Moderate comments, profiles, forums and other user-generated areas.
- Keep structured data accurate and consistent with visible content.
- Review redirects, scripts and plugins for unexpected behavior.
- Monitor Search Console’s Manual Actions and Security Issues reports.
- Use documented editorial and SEO processes for employees and external agencies.
Manual Action Recovery Checklist
- Have you checked the correct Search Console property?
- Have you read the exact manual action and affected scope?
- Have you reviewed the relevant Google policy?
- Have you audited all affected pages, links or markup?
- Have you fixed the underlying issue everywhere it applies?
- Can Google crawl the corrected pages?
- Have you documented the changes and supporting evidence?
- Does your review request explain the problem, fix and prevention steps?
- Are you monitoring the review status in Search Console?
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a traffic drop mean my website has a manual action?
No. Check the Manual Actions report in Search Console. Traffic can fall because of algorithmic changes, seasonality, technical problems, indexing changes, competition or reduced search demand.
Can a manual action affect only some pages?
Yes. Google may apply an action to a specific section or set of pages, or more broadly across a site. The report describes the affected scope.
How long does manual action recovery take?
Review times vary. Google says many reconsideration reviews take several days or weeks, while some link-related cases can take longer. Ranking recovery after an action is revoked is not guaranteed to be immediate.
Should I disavow every suspicious backlink?
No. Investigate how links were acquired and follow Google’s disavow guidance. Routine disavowal of every low-quality-looking link is not recommended.
Can I request a review before fixing every affected page?
You should fix all issues identified in the report before requesting review. Incomplete cleanup can lead to rejection.
Is a manual action the same as being deindexed?
Not always. Some actions can reduce visibility or affect particular sections, while others can result in pages being omitted from Search. Read the exact action and scope in Search Console.
Official Google Resources
- Google Search Console: Manual Actions report and issue-specific fixes
- Google Search Console: Reconsideration requests
- Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google Web Search
- Google Search Console: Disavow links to your site
Final Thoughts
A Google manual action is a documented policy issue, not simply a sudden ranking drop. Start with the Manual Actions report, follow the exact guidance, fix the full affected scope and keep evidence of your work. Submit a review request only when the site is ready. Long-term prevention comes from useful content, honest link practices, accurate structured data and regular Search Console checks.