Manual action
A manual action is a penalty applied by a human Google reviewer after a confirmed rule violation: artificial links, spam content, or misleading structured data. It is notified directly within Search Console.
In practice
Unlike algorithmic filters, manual actions are visible: a dedicated section, a stated reason, and a defined scope. Recovery requires genuinely fixing the problem and then submitting a documented reconsideration request. Processing times run into weeks — prevention is always cheaper than the cure.