It’s taken the search giant some time to get around to it, but recent weeks have seen Google really stiffen up its stance against misleading content.
Publishers included in Google News and Google Discover have long had to conform to Google’s policies. There are 10 in total and most sound like common sense, addressing matters like dangerous, hateful and offensive content.
It’s surprisingly easy, however, to breach them and get hit by a “manual action”, which is when a Google employee decides your content is in violation of one or more of these policies and needs to be changed. Adding to the inconvenience of this is that Google isn’t specific about what in particular you need to alter.
Writers and publishers notified of a manual action through their Google Search Console should never ignore it. Amend the content straightaway and request for Google to review it. Of course, it’s best to try and avoid a manual action in the first place, so be sure to write the accurate, high-quality writing you’re capable of.
That’s what we strive for here at Words of Worth. If you think you can help us in our quest, why not apply to be a writer?