From Penalty to Profit: A 600% Sales Increase Through SEO Recovery
How a meticulous SEO overhaul rescued a client in the "Tiles & Decoration" industry from a devastating Google penalty, transforming a high-risk profile into a high-growth sales engine.
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
When a client in the tiles and decoration sector was hit by a Google penalty, their sales plummeted by 70% and their site's spam score soared to a toxic 54%. We executed a comprehensive penalty recovery and growth strategy, focusing on technical SEO, toxic backlink removal, and quality content creation. The campaign successfully **reduced the spam score from 54% to just 3%**, recovered the site's rankings, and culminated in a remarkable **600% increase in sales**.
Project Overview
Client
Tiles & Decoration Co.
Industry
Home Improvement
Services
SEO Penalty Recovery
1. The Challenge: A Digital Crisis
The client approached us in a state of crisis. Their digital presence was collapsing under the weight of several critical issues:
- Google Penalty: The site had been penalized by a Google algorithm update, causing an immediate and catastrophic 70% drop in sales.
- Toxic Backlink Profile: Years of misguided link-building efforts resulted in a massive volume of spammy backlinks, leading to a Moz Spam Score of 54%.
- Technical Debt: The website suffered from poor loading speeds, crawling issues, and an unresponsive layout, further damaging user experience and SEO performance.
2. The Solution: A Methodical Recovery & Rebuilding Plan
Our strategy was not just about fixing the penalty; it was about rebuilding the site's foundation on white-hat principles to ensure long-term, sustainable growth.
Phase 1: Triage & Disavow (Jan - Apr 2020)
The immediate priority was to stop the bleeding. We conducted an exhaustive backlink audit, manually identifying thousands of toxic links. We then compiled and submitted a comprehensive disavow file to Google, signaling our intent to clean up the site's profile.
Phase 2: Technical & On-Page SEO Overhaul (May - Aug 2020)
With the disavow process underway, we turned our attention to the website itself. We fixed all crawling errors, repaired broken pages, and conducted extensive keyword research to align content with user intent. Every product page was re-optimized for both users and search engines.
Phase 3: Authority Building & Growth (Sep 2020 - May 2021)
This phase focused on proactively building a healthy authority profile. We initiated a high-quality backlinking campaign through guest posts on relevant industry sites and PR releases. This was supported by the creation of over 40,000 words of conversion-friendly marketing content to attract and engage the right audience.
3. The Results: A Complete Turnaround
The meticulous, phased approach not only recovered the site from the penalty but also propelled it to new heights of performance and profitability.
The recovery is evident as clicks and impressions begin a steady upward trend from late 2020.
Key Performance Metrics:
Spam Score Reduction
54% → 3%
Sales Growth
+600%
Total Clicks
72.1K
Domain Authority
28