Google: No Comment On What Triggers Manual Action Penalty Reviews

Jun 25, 2015 - 8:17 am 23 by

Wavy Gradient Wide Google

Joe Hall asked on Twitter a question many SEOs are wondering, what triggers Google to conduct a manual review of a web site for a manual action penalty?

Google's Gary Illyes was the only Googler to reply to the question, basically saying, no - he won't say:

But of course, we can speculate.

The obvious review is triggered when someone submits a reconsideration request. But before that, what may trigger it?

Well, we know Google is constantly hunting down link networks, so they can quickly find all the patterns in a network and review those manually quickly.

The others may be triggered via spam reports that any user can submit. Or public outings on blogs, social media, news and more.

Others speculate via disavow files, maybe linkages to spammy sites in Google Webmaster Tools (Search Console) and Googlers just stumbling on sites.

What do you think are the number one and two ways Google is triggered in reviewing a site?

Forum discussion at Twitter.

Update: I was unfair with my story headline and tone of this post. If you look, it wasn't that Google's Gary Illyes would not say, it is that he doesn't know. So that was my mistake. Gary said later on that he will look into what he can find out. Meanwhile, John Mueller responded with these three videos that share some insight:

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Google Search Engine Optimization

Google: If Searchers Don't Use Your Page In Search It May Be Removed

Mar 20, 2025 - 7:31 am
Bing Search

Bing Buy Now Button Goes Directly To Checkout

Mar 20, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google Maps

Google Business Profiles Fixed The Reverification Bug

Mar 20, 2025 - 7:11 am
Bing SEO

Bing Webmaster Tools Down Has Been Down Hours

Mar 19, 2025 - 1:10 pm
Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: March 19, 2025

Mar 19, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

Google Confirms Volatility Prior To March 2025 Core Update Was Not That Core Update

Mar 19, 2025 - 8:01 am
Previous Story: Google Isn't Paying Matt Cutts But He Is Still On Leave Through End Of 2015