About the Client
Our client is a leading e-commerce pharmacy in India, selling medicines, OTC products, and offering diagnostic services. The company’s blog, a key asset that generated 6 million monthly visitors, received a Google manual penalty in August 2024. The penalty, caused by thin content, led to a complete loss of traffic, which fell to 3.8K by February 2025.
Challenges Faced
Before contacting us, the client’s internal team had already tried to lift the manual penalty three times, but each attempt failed. They came to us in February 2025, frustrated and unsure of how to proceed with recovering their most valuable digital asset. Our task was to succeed where they had not, to remove the penalty and restore their traffic.
Our Approach
We created a methodical plan to diagnose the penalty’s cause, rectify the core issues, and prove to Google that the problems were solved.
Preliminary Analysis
First, we used GSC and Looker Studio to analyze the penalty. We confirmed that a manual action, combined with a Helpful Content Update, affected only the blog section due to thin content. This confirmed why the traffic that started dropping on August 13th, 2024, disappeared completely.
Content Audit
We then performed a detailed review of 25 of their blog posts. We analyzed this sample content to identify the exact quality issues that needed to be fixed. This audit formed the basis of our feedback.
Content Recommendations
We provided our feedback to the client and worked with them through three revision cycles. This collaborative process continued until we were satisfied with the content quality. It helped us establish a clear quality standard for them to apply to all other articles.
Here are some of the recurring issues during the revision process, including:
Fluffy Content
Unnecessary or overly elaborate content can dilute the core message of an article, making it less effective and engaging for readers. During our review, we identified examples of fluff that affected the clarity and focus of the content.
Fluff Content Example:
“Did you know that pumpkin seed oil might have some powerful antimicrobial properties? It contains components that may fight against bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi that might cause various diseases. Studies have shown that pumpkin seed oil, even at a concentration as low as 2%, might inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms like Candida albicans, Escherichia coli and others.” (Screenshot)
Since two quotes were already featured in the first part of the article, we recommended removing this additional quote. Limiting the number of direct quotations helps maintain the reader’s attention and ensures the primary message stands out.
Unclear and Confusing Sentences
Sometimes, content can be confusing for readers due to unclear phrasing or unnecessarily lengthy explanations. Here’s how we addressed these issues for enhanced readability and user experience:
Example Sentence:
“Pregnant and breastfeeding women should not consume anything against their doctor’s advice.” (Screenshot)
We recommended rewriting the sentence for clarity and reassurance. This helps readers easily understand the importance of seeking medical guidance, while the tone remains supportive and informative.
Incorrect or Irrelevant Meta Titles
Misleading meta titles can confuse readers and impact SEO performance. In this instance, we noticed the meta title promised more remedies than were actually listed in the content.
Example Meta Title:
“Acidity Problems? 21 Home Remedies That Can Help”
We recommended accurately updating the meta title to reflect the true number of remedies discussed. Ensuring consistency between the title and content helps build reader trust and improves search engine relevancy.
Invisible or Broken Citation Links
Proper citation is essential for maintaining credibility and providing transparent sources for health information. During our review, we discovered that several citations embedded within the content were either invisible or broken on the live page.
Example: The supporting citation for this claim was not visible to readers.
“Black cumin seeds are gastro-protective. They are effective in reducing and preventing acidity and its symptoms like heartburn, pain, nausea, bloating, constipation, etc.” (Screenshot)
We advised correcting invisible and broken citations to ensure all references are clearly visible and accessible to readers. Reliable citations enhance the trustworthiness of the content and allow readers to verify the information provided.
Repetitive Content That Hinders Quality
Duplicate or similar sentences can disrupt the reading experience and lessen the impact of valuable information. In reviewing the article, we identified unnecessary repetition of a key point.
Example Content:
“They also pack a punch of vitamin K, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and other vital nutrients, making them a great addition to your diet.” (Screenshot)
We advised removing the repeated sentence to maintain clarity, conciseness, and overall quality. Eliminating redundancy allows the main message to stand out and helps create a more engaging, streamlined article for readers.
Successful Reconsideration Request
After the client’s three failed attempts, we helped them prepare and submit a legitimate reconsideration request. This request detailed the exact steps we took to fix the content issues across the blog, which ultimately led to the penalty being lifted.
Implementation Timeline
The client received the penalty in August 2024 and engaged us in February 2025. Our intensive content audit and improvement process took two months to complete. The manual penalty was lifted, and traffic started to recover in March 2025.
Results Achieved
Our systematic approach produced a clear and measurable recovery.
- From 3.8K monthly visitors in February 2025, the blog’s traffic grew to 470K monthly visitors by July 2025.
- The client’s traffic continues to recover as they update their remaining articles according to our new quality guidelines.
Conclusion
Recovering from a Google penalty requires a precise and thorough approach. For this client, we successfully diagnosed the core content problems, implemented a new quality standard, and guided them through a successful reconsideration request. The results speak for themselves.
If your website has been hit by a Google penalty, your traffic and business are at risk. Contact Growffic today for our expert Google penalty removal service and let us help you recover.
Note: We achieved these results while our Founder was a Partner at Zestard Technologies.