Question about getting a penalty doing nothing then ranking?

[wwsosop]

Can a site get a penalty do nothing and eat the penalty. Then rank well on the next update for what they got penalized for?

 

[tiiberius]

Yes it can but usually action is needed.

During update they change some of the criteria and their thresholds.

It is possible to hit those during one update and not during another. While the website stays untouched.

What you described sounds more like than, rather than full fledged penalty.

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[Kiglessa]

Can a site get a penalty do nothing and eat the penalty. Then rank well on the next update for what they got penalized for?

You may try for survive again taking proper action on it. Apart from this I would like to suggest you monetize your website in different ways.

 

[k2h2]

Can a site get a penalty do nothing and eat the penalty. Then rank well on the next update for what they got penalized for?

Happened to many members here as per their post shared on BHW but it is not guaranteed to happen everytime.

 

[JessiPinkme]

Yes it can happen. Google updates often reverse or adjust penalties, especially if they were over aggressive. If your site improves naturally or aligns better with new algorithms signals, it might regain rankings even without changes. But its not guaranteed.

 

[Brand Meteor]

Indeed, it is feasible. If the algorithm changes or the penalty was more of a short-term suppression, some sites take the hit, wait it out, and recover in the next update. Although Google's memory isn't always long, there is a high risk and a high reward when playing that game.

 

[GlobalProxy4g]

Can a site get a penalty do nothing and eat the penalty. Then rank well on the next update for what they got penalized for?

Yes, that can happen. Some sites get algorithmically penalized, do absolutely nothing, and eventually bounce back in a future core update,even for the exact thing they got hit for. It’s not predictable, but Google regularly tweaks its filters, and what triggers a penalty today might be ignored tomorrow. A lot of black hat SEOs ride this wave, especially if they’ve worked on behavioral signals or the IP reputation around the site (and that’s where mobile proxies can really help simulate clean traffic from trusted geos when it counts).

 

[Visibility Solution]

It happens. Sometimes Google applies a manual or algorithmic penalty, but if you just ride it out without changes, the site can recover naturally on the next update especially if the issue wasn’t super severe or got de-prioritized. Not guaranteed, but patience and consistent quality often pay off.

 

[masonVibe]

Yep, that can happen. Google sometimes “re-evaluates” during core updates — penalties get lifted if the algo no longer flags the issue. Doing nothing might work, but it's risky to rely on silence as a strategy.

 

[LinkDrip]

Yep, that can happen. Google sometimes “re-evaluates” during core updates — penalties get lifted if the algo no longer flags the issue. Doing nothing might work, but it's risky to rely on silence as a strategy.

Yes, penalties can be lifted during core updates if the algorithm no longer flags issues, but relying on doing nothing is risky.

 

[Daniel Chans]

Can a site get a penalty do nothing and eat the penalty. Then rank well on the next update for what they got penalized for?

Yes, a site can sometimes recover from a penalty on its own during the next update if Google changes its algorithm. But it’s better to fix the issues quickly for a stable ranking.

 

[IvanRF]

Many here said “yes, it can happen” - but I’ve worked on recovering dozens of websites affected by both manual and algorithmic Google penalties, and I can say this: I’ve never seen a case where a site was hit with a real penalty, did nothing, and then somehow fully recovered on its own over time. I’m talking specifically about confirmed Google penalties - not temporary drops in organic traffic caused by algorithm changes. That’s an important distinction.

So yes - if you treat any traffic drop as a “Google penalty”, then sure, a site might bounce back without any action if ranking algorithms shift again. That does happen.

But if we’re talking about an actual penalty - where the site has serious issues, whether it’s content-related, backlink-related, or technical -then you’re very unlikely to see recovery without first addressing the root causes. That would be like winning the lottery.

 

[wwsosop]

Many here said “yes, it can happen” - but I’ve worked on recovering dozens of websites affected by both manual and algorithmic Google penalties, and I can say this: I’ve never seen a case where a site was hit with a real penalty, did nothing, and then somehow fully recovered on its own over time. I’m talking specifically about confirmed Google penalties - not temporary drops in organic traffic caused by algorithm changes. That’s an important distinction.

So yes - if you treat any traffic drop as a “Google penalty”, then sure, a site might bounce back without any action if ranking algorithms shift again. That does happen.

But if we’re talking about an actual penalty - where the site has serious issues, whether it’s content-related, backlink-related, or technical -then you’re very unlikely to see recovery without first addressing the root causes. That would be like winning the lottery.

Dang, well said, i think this is where the thought i have is wrong.

 

[Joyce Henry]

Yes, it’s definitely possible. There are cases where sites get hit by an update (algorithmic penalty), don’t make any changes, and then regain rankings in a later update, sometimes even for the same pages or keywords they got hit for. This usually happens when Google adjusts its algorithm again, either correcting false positives or shifting its priorities. That said, it's risky to just “ride it out” if the site had real issues (like thin content, shady links, etc.), the penalty might stick or even get worse. But if it was just caught in the crossfire, future updates can reverse the damage