Earlier this month, Google contacted a number of webmasters via the Google Search Console reporting that they had “detected a pattern of unnatural artificial, deceptive, or manipulative outbound links”.
While many people may think that SEO is all about inbound links, you may be surprised to know that authority can be built through effective outbound linking. However, as individuals try to exploit this factor, Google have begun cracking down on spammy outbound link practices.
If you have violated Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, you’ll have a message in your Google Search Console and a manual spam actions. These actions can take the form of site-wide matches or partial matches.
If you have been hit by this penalty, instructions are available here on how to fix it.