How to deal with thin content with little or no added value - Manual Penalty

[suhan]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum, though have heard lot about webmasterworld. Never thought of posting my own thread, coz i always used to get answers directly, without log in.

SO here is the reason why i joined.

I have a website which used to have affiliate links, deals & Coupons, etc. The website was ranking on 1st position, All of sudden got Manual Penalty for Thin content with little or no added value.

Next step what i did was remove all affiliate links and thin content from the website and submit the website for reconsideration.

Response was Negative.

After reading loads of articles and doing some research, i though of redesigning entire site and have only quality article on the website.

So i used latest wordpress installation with twenty fifteen theme, and updated 3-4 more unique articles to the website, so now i have around 15 pages on the website with unique content.

Submitted again for reconsideration. And got rejected once again.

So pls guys can u guide me where i am lacking, what shud i do actually to get Penalty revoked.

Thanks in Advance

[aakk9999]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Suhan!

You say that your site has 15 pages of quality articles now. How many pages/articles have your site had before the redesign, at the time you got manual penalty?

Regarding remaining 15 articles, regardless of their length, are they rehashed content of what can be found on the web elsewhere or are they offering something unique?

And lastly, when you submitted your reconsideration request, have you described to Google what you have done to your site?

[suhan]

Hello aakk9999,

Thanks for reply. Earlier i had only 5-6 articles, and now 15 after redesign. Regarding 15 articles they have quite a good length considering google guidelines.

And yes i clearly explained google, about the changes i made to the website.

[netmeg]

Regarding remaining 15 articles, regardless of their length, are they rehashed content of what can be found on the web elsewhere or are they offering something unique?

There's your answer right in there.

It doesn't matter if you rewrite your "articles" and make them longer if it's the same information that is found on a thousand or ten thousand or a hundred thousand other websites, because you're not adding value.

[suhan]

Sir,

All of my content are unique passing copyscape.

[supercyberbob]

No.

[rish3]

All of my content are unique passing copyscape.

In other words..."My content isn't copied word is word". That's good, but it's not the bar you have to meet to rank well these days.

It used to be easy to game google and get low quality content to rank well. It's not as easy to do it that way these days.

Their algorithm doesn't really know what quality is. That is, it doesn't actually read and understand your content. It does, however, know the telltale signs that usually surround quality. Things that are harder to fake than just a bunch of backlinks.

So, you can either invest a lot in faking it better, or invest in truly quality content. The cost difference between the two is much smaller than it used to be.

That you would even mention "copyscape" indicates that you're not very close to doing either very well at the moment.

Maybe consider creating a new website, one that's in a niche where you have true expertise, and something unique to offer?

[Shai]

@rish3: Exactly. Copyscape is a decent enough tool to find out if content has been copied but its in no way a tool which tells you if the content is of quality. Sometimes, people's comments seem to suggest that they believe that Google somehow uses Copyscape to determine if it should rank the page or not. Its easy enough to change content to a degree that Copyscape no longer picks it up as copied content. That does not mean that Google will consider that content as unique or high quality.

[goodroi]

Being unique is not the same as having value.
Being unique isn't the same as having value.
Being unique is not the same for having value.
Being unique isn't the same for having value.

I just wrote 4 lines that are each technically unique sentences but did they really add value? Focus on connecting with your users and providing solutions that can't be found on 100 other websites. Don't worry about reaching the minimum criteria but think about how can you make yourself a solution that is sought out by online users.

[bhanuseo]

Thats great answer! @Goodroi

@Suhan, if you are running coupons or deals website, dont remove them because they are valuable for your site users. you are serving discounts to visitors.

All you need is make them nofollow links.

You content should explain how these coupons help and save for them!

Having unique content is not required but you need meaningful and helpful content that serves your site users

[chrisv1963]

Having unique content is not required but you need meaningful and helpful content that serves your site users

UNIQUE meaningful and helpful content ... :-)

[Kratos]

If you got a manual penalty then that means someone at Google went through your site and flagged it. So put your spam fighter cap on and think as such, and not as a webmaster.

Dos your site truly provide real value to the visitors? Is your site intended to make money at the extent of sacrificing user value?

Bear in mind that manual penalties are exceptionally rare. If you got one then there is something seriously wrong with your sit that should not be too hard to spot.

[suhan]

Thanks a lot everyone for participating, But i am still looking for some good answers.

[n00b1]

You've already had some good answers. They just might not have been what you were hoping to read.

[Elsa]

read your articles and see if they are value to you. stand in user's shoes. And game Google is not so easy by writing some articles.

[not2easy]

Maybe there are no good answers good enough? It looks like what you really are looking for is someone to confirm that spinning stuff is good enough if you have the right number of words in your article, or the correct keywords or some other seo "formula". People don't like the harsh truth, but unless there is a reason your content should rank above all other content it won't.

[tangor]

A manual penalty is pretty severe. You might want to get a different hobby (ie, a different business plan). The goog does not forget, and rarely forgives.

Some sites have recovered from manual penalties, but not many... and those which have used some or all of the advice suggested above.

[supercyberbob]

It's funny cause it's true.

[fathom]

Thanks a lot everyone for participating, But i am still looking for some good answers.

These issues are easily fixed by focusing on your passions. If you have no passion there isn't any reason for your copy to be found in Google.

If you love ant farming there is enormous value to retain your information simply because your labor is a labor of love.

[heisje]

MANUAL penalty (ban) for a 15 page site offering deals and coupons! - what a meaningless and mean approach to the web. Not even the taliban fanatics would go that far with lunacy. Heavens!

.

[Kratos]

Dude, you've already gotten the answers you need. <snip>

The fact that someone at Google looked at your site when these guys are the kings of automating webspam fighting should tell you something very obvious about your site.

[edited by: goodroi at 12:40 pm (utc) on Apr 9, 2015]
[edit reason] Let's keep the discussion on a professional level :) [/edit]

[toidi]

Interesting. Whenever i have used copyscape it was to catch people stealing my content, i never dreamed about using it to verify that my articles were unique, because i created them from nothing.

do you see the difference here? If you have to use copyscape to verify your own articles are unique it shows us you are just rewriting other peoples articles.

[goodroi]

Mods Note: Remember to keep your remarks professional and respectful of other members :)

[toidi]

Sorry