How to confirm if my website has been penalized by Google?

There are a few ways you can check if a website has been penalized by Google:

1. Check Google Search Console: If a website has been penalized by Google, it will often receive a manual action notice in Google Search Console. Go to the “Security & Manual Actions” section in Google Search Console to check for manual actions.
2. A significant drop in search rankings: If a website has been penalized, it may see a significant drop in its search rankings for specific keywords. You can use Ahrefs or SEMrush to check the website’s search rankings.
3. Drop in Search impressions inside Search Console: If there is a massive drop in impressions inside the Google Search Console, you are most likely to be impacted by Google Algorithmic Penalty.
4. Check the website’s traffic: If a website has been penalized, it may see a significant drop in traffic from Google. You can use a tool like Google Analytics to check the website’s traffic.
5. Check for any visible penalties: Some penalties, such as the “This site may be hacked” warning, are visible when you visit the website. The website may have been penalized if you see any warning messages or other visible indicators of a penalty.
6. An increase in crawl errors: If a website receives too many crawl errors in Google Search Console, it could be a sign that it has been penalized.
7. A decrease in the website’s Domain Authority: If the website’s Domain Authority (a metric used to measure the overall strength of a website) drops significantly, it could be a sign that the website has been penalized.

It’s important to note that Google does not publicly disclose information about specific websites that have been penalized. If you suspect your website has been penalized, it’s best to check the above methods and diagnose the problem. If you cannot determine the cause of the penalty, consider contacting Google’s support team for more information.