Are Google Core Update ranking losses a soft penalty?

In a recent Google Office Hangouts webinar, a question was asked about whether ranking losses from a Core Update result in a soft penalty for a website.

What is a soft penalty from Google?

A soft penalty has been a term used in the SEO (search engine optimisation) industry for over 22 years, but it doesn’t actually exist – and there’s no half-penalty either. The only penalty from Google is a manual action – you can check if your website has had a manual action by visiting the respective section in Google Search Console.

Ranking drops aren’t always related to a penalty on your website. They can be caused by:

– Content-related issues
– Google’s algorithms improving to give better search queries
– Website quality issues
– Competitors having content that is better than that on your website

Therefore, the answer to whether Google Core Update ranking losses are due to a soft penalty is no, as updates that are published on the ranking updates page within Google’s Search Central aren’t penalties at all.

What does Google recommend if your rankings drop?

Google recommends that you review and follow its general guidelines for content to help improve your website’s performance in search results. For example, you can look at competitors to see why your content isn’t doing as well and then improve your own content to help boost its performance.

Another factor to look at is making sure that your website has the best user experience, as this now a ranking factor for Google. Looking at improving your page load times, for example, can help to improve your performance and will make sure that visitors to your site have a better experience.

Your website should be one of the biggest generators of new business, and harnessing the power of search engines can help to increase awareness of your business and, ultimately, get more sales and leads. To find out how we can help at Engage Web, get in touch and have a chat with our team.

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Jonathon Roberts

Jonathon lives and breathes marketing, boasting a degree in Business Management and Marketing Management and a diverse list of experiences both professional and voluntary. Having grown up in the thick of the digital and social media age, he has been quick to dive into online marketing and search engine optimisation in his career and spare time, spanning such fields as academics, local business and sport.

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