Is Google shadow-banning and penalizing "non-PC" topics?

[lux7]

Hi all,

I write about "difficult topics" such as:

- <snip>

The goal is to empower people, but these are still topics that some people consider "dark".

And in the last years albeit I 10x content and 10x quality, organic traffic is off a cliff.

1/3 of what it used to be when my website was more associated with book summaries and reviews.

Questions:

- Are you aware of any shadow banning / "silent penalties"?

- Any tips for dealing with it?

[edited by: goodroi at 3:59 pm (utc) on Jun 1, 2023]
[edit reason] Please no specific keywords [/edit]

[goodroi]

Google doesn't really treat politically correct topics differently than other topics. Certain topics do have more strigent spam filters (search YMYL for more info). The real problem when you publish non-politically correct content is that it is less likely to appeal to others & won't generate the ranking signals you need for Google.

For example people are less likely to link to fringe or offensive content. If you don't have backlinks, you are going to have a really hard time getting Google rankings.

As for publishing 10x more content, Google tends to care more about quality than quantity. Work on your SEO skills before doing publishing more content. Fine tune your keyword research, engage the audience, dial in your technical SEO, & build up backlinks.

[lux7]

Thank you for your inputs!

To add more details:

When I say "10x the quality", it also includes better content and writing - both in terms of SEO, and appealing to humans-.

That's reflected in the data, too.

People spend more time on the website now than before and view more pages.

Shadow banning seems to be real on YB, and I've noticed that my channel went down over time (albeit there I can't say that I improved the quality).

About links, not sure.
So you might be onto something when it comes to links.
People may be less willing to link to it indeed.

Thank you for the input again, and if anyone has anything to add, happy to read.

[tangor]

The answer is "probably, but not obviously". Now that AI (which has a proven bias) is involved in search that might also determine any exposure you might get. Is there anything you can do to change that?

Not known at this time, but everyone is looking!

[lux7]

Thank you tangor!

Yeah, good to see I'm not the only one who's a bit more suspicious and skeptical around the algorithm (doesn't mean I'm sure it penalizes some topics/websites, but it's certainly possible).

I'm looking for some SEO audits right now and will update the thread if I find something (or if I find more info about possible penalizations around certain topics).

[superclown2]

I have pages that just included a few lines about non-pc topics, approached in a completely unbiased, scientific way. Try as I might I could never get Google to list those pages.

After I took out those mentions the pages appeared in the SERPs soon afterwards. So yes I believe that certain words or subjects are taboo, unless of course your site is 'authoritative'. I suppose you can't blame them really.

[lux7]

I have pages that just included a few lines about non-pc topics, approached in a completely unbiased, scientific way. Try as I might I could never get Google to list those pages.

After I took out those mentions the pages appeared in the SERPs soon afterwards. So yes I believe that certain words or subjects are taboo, unless of course your site is 'authoritative'. I suppose you can't blame them really.

Wow, that is incredible and sounds like strong evidence about bias/(soft) banning.

Can you share what were the hot words, or at least what was the topic, superclown?

[tangor]

Keywords are not usually discussed here.

That said, most of us already know the verbotten keywords.

Choice to use 'em or not is up to each webmaster.

Also known as "compliance by omission".

[lux7]

OK, can he share the topics then?

Or something to help me (and other readers) understand what to be careful with?

Because I don't know what are those verbotten stuff that we must be careful of.

OFF-TOPIC

I still can't believe we're at this stage in 2023.

It feels dystopian.
My work teaches good people how not to fall for the ass*hole of this world and do well in life while adding value to the world, and I need to be "careful" what words I use :S

OFF-TOPIC

[tangor]

The subject line of this post already reveals most. :)

The "PC" part is based on which side of the "PC" spectrum one might be on.

[christianz]

There is no symmetry between both sides of the PC debate. There are censors and non censors. Google is on the censor side. I would never even bother creating "sensitive" content if it was funded by traffic from Google. It would only work in short term before the site is "tagged" as problematic and permanently down-throttled.

[lux7]

There is no symmetry between both sides of the PC debate. There are censors and non censors. Google is on the censor side. I would never even bother creating "sensitive" content if it was funded by traffic from Google. It would only work in short term before the site is "tagged" as problematic and permanently down-throttled.

That's what I was afraid to read, and maybe the reality that I was afraid to confront.

It lasted a relatively long time for me. Maybe because I was also sharing lots of courses / book summaries and reviews and my website was well-known for that, including "summaries" being a top searched keyword together with the website.

That may have provided the "cover" for some time.

[explorador]

Is Google shadow-banning and penalizing "non-PC" topics?

With search engines like Google, there are topics that fit the "gray area", because we might see evidence of something taking place, but it's not exactly easy to prove it. <-- that's the algorithm changing, or treating the same thing differently on diff parts of the world.

Nno PC topics are one side of the coin, just like 100% PC topics. Consider what happened with COVID: lots of people tried to poorly cover the topic (and it's controversy) to generate and use traffic, resulting in Google punishing them on Youtube, people couldn't even mention the word COVID because they said it had a negative impact on their revenue, I could say the same thing happened on average web content (non video). You have to keep in mind how controversial topics also become the target of jokes, or the terms spread around like jokes, or terms used for something else (same thing happened with covid).

[CommandDork]

I suspect, like with what was revealed after the Musk Twitter buy, that Google does restrict / penalize non-PC content if you're not towing the party line. I have a pair of projects that have been waiting for the love for several years now and very little activity has happened on them. Of course there might be other issues at play but, after what was revealed about Twitter, I'm leaning on the side that the Google Kids are having their way with the results as they see fit, boosting pro-PC stuff and downing non-PC stuff as they see fit.

[lux7]

Consider what happened with COVID: lots of people tried to poorly cover the topic (and it's controversy) to generate and use traffic, resulting in Google punishing them on Youtube, people couldn't even mention the word COVID because they said it had a negative impact on their revenue, I could say the same thing happened on average web content (non video). You have to keep in mind how controversial topics also become the target of jokes, or the terms spread around like jokes, or terms used for something else (same thing happened with covid).

Fair enough, there can be cases where demoting certain content can be "fair", so to speak.

It seems like unluckily I can't share much more of what I do (my initial message was amended), but it's not a case of trying to game the system for views, jump on some hype train, or to create "shock content" for the sake of it.

Sipmly a case of self-development material that includes the "dark side of human nature", so to speak, but ultimately to use that information for self-defense, not being a sucker, and doing good.

[lux7]

I suspect, like with what was revealed after the Musk Twitter buy, that Google does restrict / penalize non-PC content if you're not towing the party line. I have a pair of projects that have been waiting for the love for several years now and very little activity has happened on them. Of course there might be other issues at play but, after what was revealed about Twitter, I'm leaning on the side that the Google Kids are having their way with the results as they see fit, boosting pro-PC stuff and downing non-PC stuff as they see fit.

Thank you for sharing man.
I may have missed this, what was revealed after Musk bought Twitter?

As for the tide changing, I'm pretty sure it will... Eventually.
Not necessarily because Google has a change of heart, but because nobody remains that dominant for ever and new players may simply take a different approach.

The problem is... When.
Because if it's too far away, well... In the long run, we're all dead :)

[tangor]

what was revealed after Musk bought Twitter?

The Twitter Files. Look it up, not suitable for discussion here (politics!)

[lux7]

The Twitter Files. Look it up, not suitable for discussion here (politics!)

Alright, thank you! Will do.

[not2easy]

You may find a number of discussions here: [webmasterworld.com...] that can help in understanding changes after Musk bought Twitter.

[cymbalwhirlpool]

I'm sorry to hear about the decrease in organic traffic, that totally sucks. Have you checked to see if any changes you made to the website could have caused it? Or are you worried there could be some kind of shadow banning/penalty in play? If that's the case, any help and advice to get back on track would be greatly appreciated!

[cymbalwhirlpool]

Hey, that's really wild, yeah I've seen something similar going on with other niches and it's disheartening to see. It doesn't seem fair when some sites with low quality content suddenly skyrocket for a few months, and then crash off. It does seem like something must have shifted around January of this year that's had such a big impact, sounds like you and your competitors have noticed that. Have you been able to unearth any clues from the ones that still have some traffic? That site you linked sure is getting a lot!

[lux7]

Hey there,

Still couldn't find the culprit, but I just hired a SEO agency kicking off the project soon.

So I'll update here.

[cymbalwhirlpool]

Shadow banning or "silent penalties" are topics that have been discussed, referring to restrictions on content reach without clear notification.
To address the situation and regain traffic, review your content, optimize your SEO, diversify promotion, engage with your audience, and consider seeking expert advice. Stay persistent and keep spreading your positive impact!