Dunn is basically talking about the principle – “What hurts can make you stronger.” His point is that when you get a penalty in Google, it forces you to really pick apart your site and figure out what’s wrong. At that point, you can make it better (and perhaps better than ever).

Dunn talks about a specific example in which a client had an issue with a site. There was keyword stuffing going on, and it got penalized by Google. When they went back and cut back on the spam and cleaned it up, they got back in Google’s good graces. Dunn attributes this to the fact that the client had good content (better than competitors in fact), and Google likely recognized this fact when determining rankings after the keyword stuffing issue was addressed.

Dunn says being penalized by Google serves as a wake-up call to webmasters. He says you should get someone outside of the company to look at the site. You can consult with an SEO or a friend with some SEO experience, look for advice in forums, and/or get a site audit.

Dunn and Hedger go on to discuss how you know if your site has been penalized from Google or your rankings have simply dropped. They also discuss Google’s Caffeine update and what this could mean for SEOs. Watch the video to find out what they think about the matter.