What Is The Google Filter? How Do I Check If My Site Has It?

The Google filter is a penalty imposed on a given website due to the use of illegal positioning methods aimed at increasing the website’s position in search results. It is worth noting that receiving a filter leads to a decrease in the visibility of the website on the web, and thus to a significant decrease in visits – in extreme cases, even removal from the search results. 

How does Google punish unruly sites?

The search engine uses two types of filters – algorithmic and manual. The latter is imposed by the Google Webspam Team or by Google algorithms for a given period of time. In this case, we receive information about the load on our website in the Google Search Console tool. 

As for the algorithmic filter – we are not informed that it has been applied because it is applied automatically by the algorithm. Usually, applying it is associated with a large accumulation of keywords on the page or duplication of content. To avoid the risk of a penalty, it’s a good idea to align your website with the guidelines and do some basic analysis. 

How do I check if my website has a Google filter?

It is worth checking the search positions in relation to given phrases on an ongoing basis. When we notice a significant drop in results, which lasts for several days, it may be a sign that our website has an algorithmic filter. Another helpful step is to check your search analytics data in Google Search Console. When using Google Analytics, we have the option of checking the number of visitors from the organic results on our website. 

Let’s remember to analyze what Google might have imposed a filter on us for. It’s a good idea to roughly set a date for lowering your position and reducing the number of visits. It is also necessary to consider whether our home page has changed recently, linking to it or to subpages.

Every company wants to get the highest positions in the search results, which is why it uses modern tools that allow it to appear in the online zone. Filters are applied to pages when using illegal positioning techniques or errors on our site. It’s worth getting to know Google’s guidelines and strictly following them to avoid this type of unpleasantness.

Also Read : Important Aspects Of a Sitemap – What Should You Remember?