Mozilla Penalised by Google for Over User Generated Content

In summary, Google told Mozilla that it has some type of spam issue that was so bad as to generate a penalty. But, Google didn’t explain what exactly this spam was, so that it could be easily removed. Worse, Google may have already removed some of the spam from its own listings, so that a publisher like Mozilla can’t even locate it using Google search.

Not only does this sound crazy, but it also sounds familiar. Last month, the BBC received a similar warning, one about having unnatural links. A puzzled BBC rep took to the forums to ask for help, since the message didn’t explain more in detail and the site has so much content. Eventually, Mueller answered that the warning came from having one single page that was deemed having unnatural links pointing at it and that “granular” action was taken.

Mozilla hasn’t been penalized — only specific parts. It could be a single page. It could be a range of pages. While that sounds reassuring, that the entire site wasn’t hit, the uncertainty over just how much or little was “granularly” effected adds a whole new worry.