Google Penalties Are Becoming Permanent (And That Changes Everything)

Jan 30, 2026

Sites are being rejected after fixes, suggesting penalties may now be judged on perceived trustworthiness rather than actions. Reports show mass deletions and disavows still failing, with similar patterns in other search and ad platforms. The conversation highlights risks of aggressive or gray-area SEO tactics and why consistent white hat strategies and long-term marketing win out.

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INSIGHT

Manual Penalties Are Becoming Permanent

Google manual penalties increasingly feel permanent rather than temporary reversals.
Reconsideration requests are being rejected more often even after extensive fixes, suggesting a trust-based judgement.

ANECDOTE

Charles Floate’s Reconsideration Rejections

Charles Floate's team observed many full cleanups still get denied by Google.
He suggests Google may now ask "should we ever trust you again?" rather than "did you fix it?".

INSIGHT

Perception, Not Just Evidence, Drives Enforcement

Perception of spam may drive enforcement more than specific technical violations.
Google can reject requests based on perceived engagement in spammy techniques rather than fixed site issues.

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E940: Google penalties are no longer feeling like temporary setbacks. More and more site owners are fixing everything they're told to fix, submitting reconsideration requests, and still getting rejected.

In this episode, I break down why Google manual actions appear to be becoming semi-permanent, what multiple SEO practitioners are seeing in real data, and why Google may no longer be asking "did you fix it?" - but instead "should we ever trust you again?"

We cover what's changing, what's being reported by people deep in the weeds, and what this means if you're using aggressive SEO tactics, gray-area strategies, or anything that relies on shortcuts.

Topics covered: - Why reconsideration requests are being rejected more often - How Google appears to be shifting from behavior-based penalties to perception-based penalties - What "perceived spam" means and why fixing the site may no longer be enough - Why manual actions are starting to look permanent instead of temporary - Similar rejection patterns now showing up in Bing - The risk of tying multiple domains to the same Search Console - Why black hat shortcuts often take longer than doing things correctly - What actually works long term in SEO and marketing - Where press releases, listicles, and self-promotion fall on the rules spectrum - How white hat SEO compounds over time when done consistently

This episode is not about fear-mongering. It's about understanding the current landscape so you can make informed decisions about risk, durability, and long-term growth.

If you've ever considered pushing the limits, this is worth paying attention to.

⭐️ Charles Floate's post w/ comments - https://x.com/Charles_SEO/status/2016582913043882107

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 Introduction to Google's Permanent Penalties 00:17 Charles Floate's Insights on Reconsideration Requests 02:44 Gagan Ghotra's Perspective and Bing's Similar Issues 04:54 White Hat SEO vs. Black Hat SEO 10:27 The Importance of Long-Term SEO Strategies 12:07 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes

The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#googlepenality #googlemanualaction #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing