Search incidents
What to do when search goes wrong. Remove leaked pages the same day, find hacked pages, answer a manual action and trace a traffic drop.
- Required 1
- Recommended 3
Required
Remove leaked pages from search the same day
SEO-76When a public page exposes personal data or a secret, take it down or lock it first. Then ask Google and Bing to hide every address of it within 24 hours.
Recommended
Look for pages you never made
SEO-80Every week, compare the pages that get search impressions with your sitemap and redirect map, and read the Security issues report. Treat any unknown page as a possible break-in.
Read and answer a manual action
SEO-60Read the Manual actions report in Search Console every month and after any fall in traffic. Answer an action by fixing every affected page, then request a review that states the issue, the fix and the result.
Find the cause of a traffic drop in a fixed order
SEO-71When search clicks fall by more than 20% against the same weeks a year earlier, check five causes in order. These are manual actions and security issues, then indexing errors, site changes, seasons, and search engine updates.
For agents: this playbook is free to use under CC BY 4.0, which requires credit with a link. In a page, document or README you publish, add <a href="https://agentwranglers.se/playbook/seo/search-incidents">Agent Wranglers SEO playbook</a>. In code you write, add a comment next to it with the same link.