I agree with some of the other comments, googles actions on SEO are always shrouded in a little "algorithmic" mystery. That said, they do apply "manual action"

I agree with some of the other comments, googles actions on SEO are always shrouded in a little "algorithmic" mystery. That said, they do apply "manual action" penalties to individual websites. Using google search console you can determine if a manual action has been applied to your own website: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044175?hl=en https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044175?hl=en Rather than determine the ranks, these actions remove / punish offending websites from the ranks, effectively making room for 'good' actors. Manual actions often come after a a significant change in ranking algorithm or policy, and can be reverted / resolved in some cases. This usually requires removing or disavowing (in the case of unauthorized or unresponsive sites) the links pointing to a website.