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Google penalty is SEO’s worst nightmare. Whether it is a manual penalty or a Google algorithm update, the result could be a significant drop in search engine results ranking, and as a result – a drop in traffic and sales. Continue reading about 9 of the biggest Google penalties and algorithm updates.

9 Google Penalties and Algorithm Updates

1. 1. Low Quality Penalty

A manual Google Penalty focused on websites that offer low quality, duplicated or automated content.

2. 2. Spam Penalty

Google penalty given to websites with plenty of copied or scraped content, or to websites that use cloaking methods to hide links and deceive visitors.

3. 3. Unnatural Links Penalty

This Google penalty usually refers to links bought or built in bulk without any logical relationship between the linking source and the linked site.

4. 4. Mobile Usability Penalty

Also known as Mobilegeddon, this Google penalty is focused on non-mobile friendly websites.

5. 5. Panda Update

The most famous Google algorithm update, Panda focused on low quality content and created quite a stir in its days.

6. 6. Penguin Update

Another notorious Google algorithm update, Penguin focused on low quality backlinks.

7. 7. Hacked Sites Penalty

Google may penalize a hacked site and remove its entire content from the index.

8. 8. DMCA Penalty

Google may penalize a website that copied content and breached the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by removing it from the search results.

9. 9. Fred Update

The latest major Google algorithm update for now, Fred hit websites with low quality content, lots of ads and affiliate links, and dubious backlink profile.