Responding to Google Manual Site Actions for Thin Content [LNIM097]

Just before Christmas 2015, Mark's Corn Sheller niche site was hit with a Google thin content penalty — the dreaded manual site action. The site dropped from page one to page six for its target keywords, wiping out the modest but consistent revenue it had been generating. In this episode, Mark explains what happened, what he plans to do about it, and shares his ambitious content plans for 2016.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• What a Google thin content manual site action looks like and how it affects your rankings
• Why Mark's Corn Sheller site was targeted and why Google's reasoning was fair
• Mark's plan to clean up the site and submit a reconsideration request
• The danger of building your business on a single traffic source
• Mark's 2016 content goals: 250 pieces including podcasts, posts, videos, and newsletters

Episode Summary

Mark opens with his 2016 goals coming out of Michael Hyatt's Best Year Ever course. He is targeting 250 pieces of content for the year: 50 LNIM episodes, 100 Internet Marketing Minute episodes, 50 written articles, and 50 videos. He also announces plans to overhaul his email autoresponder strategy and launch the Late Night Niche Site project.

The main topic is the Google manual site action on Cornsheller.net. The site had been a small money machine for nearly three years, generating $30-40 per month with occasional spikes over $100 — all with zero ongoing effort. But the content was thin: mostly repackaged eBay auction listings with only a handful of original pages about corn sheller history.

Google's assessment was straightforward: there was no reason to rank Mark's version of eBay's content. Mark agrees with the diagnosis. His plan is to do a full on-site SEO audit, add unique content, remove thin pages, suppress duplicate content from WordPress archives, and eventually submit a site reconsideration request.

The bigger lesson Mark emphasizes: if all your revenue comes from Google traffic, you need to diversify. Building your empire entirely on rented land is a business risk that can wipe out your income overnight.

What's Changed Since This Episode

Google's Helpful Content system now handles thin content algorithmically. In 2016, thin content penalties required manual review. Today, Google's algorithms automatically identify and suppress sites that exist primarily to repackage other sources' content without adding genuine value. The manual action Mark experienced has been largely replaced by algorithmic enforcement.

The Corn Sheller site is a perfect cautionary tale for modern affiliate marketers. Google's subsequent updates — Helpful Content (2022-2023), core updates targeting affiliate sites, and E-E-A-T requirements — all target exactly the kind of thin, value-light content that characterized the Corn Sheller approach. Building thin sites around long-tail keywords is no longer viable.

Email autoresponder market has evolved. Mark discusses choosing between AWeber and ConvertKit. Since then, ConvertKit (now Kit) grew to dominate the creator market. The email strategy Mark was developing — value-driven weekly emails and opt-in courses — became standard practice for online businesses.

Resources Mentioned

• AWeber — email autoresponder
• ConvertKit — email marketing platform
• LeadPages — landing page and lead capture software

Related Episodes

• LNIM099 Transcript — Detailed Corn Sheller Recovery Plan
• LNIM096 — Star Wars Marketing Lessons

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.