In this case, we’re focusing on how to get out of a Google penalty. To do this, we’ve achieved something that’s not easy: a brand dares to say that things were going badly for them and thus learn how to detect the problem and, above all, how to solve it. We’ll have with us Amelia Tovar, Digital Marketing Director of BigBuy, Alex Karnatowski, CEO and founder of the performance marketing agency Convertix; and David Ruíz, its Head of SEO.

Let’s talk about our beloved Google core update and how to get out of a negative SEO dynamic. To give you an idea, BigBuy had lost half of its organic traffic, which is a lot to say. And in a few months they came out with more traffic than before and, more importantly, an increase in the volume of quality leads compared to the previous situation.

Overcoming Google penalties: The case of BigBuy

E-commerce faces constant challenges with Google algorithm updates, which can significantly impact visibility and web traffic. This was the case of BigBuy, a leading technological platform for dropshipping and e-commerce solutions, which experienced a significant drop following a Google Core Update . To deal with it, they turned to Convertix, an agency specializing in SEO and digital conversion.

Context and initial diagnosis

BigBuy detected a decrease in organic visibility, traffic and an increase in the cost per customer acquisition. According to Amelia Tovar, this set off alarm bells, as it directly affected acquisition and revenue. Convertix began with an exhaustive audit, identifying key issues such as outdated content, internal duplications, discrepancies between desktop and mobile versions, and patterns of sensitivity to Core Updates since 2019.

The impact of the March Core Update

In the midst of implementing the improvements suggested by Convertix, a new Core Update in March 2024 further affected the site’s global visibility, which fell by 50% in five months. This situation put BigBuy’s trust and patience to the test. David Ruiz underlines the importance of prioritising and coordinating actions between the technical and marketing teams to deal with this type of penalty.

Strategies to get out of Algo Filters

Convertix’s approach focused on two key areas:

1. Content and relevance: Restructuring and updating strategic pages, creating content aligned with user intent, and improving poor translations.
2. Technical quality: Indexing optimisation, elimination of duplicate content due to technical set-up and solving content discrepancies between desktop and mobile versions.

Amelia stressed that success was based on prioritising these actions as a business matter, achieving collaboration across all departments.

Thanks to these actions, BigBuy not only recovered its lost visibility, but surpassed it. According to David, organic visibility increased by 109%, while organic traffic grew by 20% in clicks and 40% in impressions in the last three months. In addition, the volume of qualified leads increased by 30% and the cost per acquisition decreased by 12%.

Amelia believes the key learning is to treat SEO as an integral and ongoing part of the business, not as a reactive measure to problems.

Final thoughts

The BigBuy case highlights the need for a solid SEO strategy, patience and the ability to react to fluctuations in Google’s algorithms. As Alex Karnatowski points out, Core Updates do not punish new actions, but rather adjust what Google already considered inadequate but had not detected. In addition, SEO must combine the basics with emerging trends to remain competitive in an increasingly demanding digital environment.