After removing spammy links, do you see slow improvement in your keywords on the SERPs?

Edwi Jonk: In short, Google crawls the web based on PageRank. This means if you remove links from pages with a low PageRank it might take many months for Googlebot to notice the removal. Furthermore, an algorithm that "penalize" spammy backlinks is Penguin. If you are in, or affected by, that algorithm you need to clean up the links. So report that one should focus or prioritize on exact anchor text. For example if you have build links to rank for red shirts, prioritize on links that have "red shirts" as an anchor text. This algorithm only runs when there is an update. If you are not able to clean up your backlink profile, Google advises you to use the Disavow tool (see link in the sidebar). The last update was in October 2013 and the update before that was April 2013. Therefore, assuming that you where affected by Penguin, it is not a question of weeks, rather it is a question of months. For example a webmaster reported that a recovery from Penguin can take as long as 18 months (see link in the sidebar).

George Dover: We are currently in the process of removing some spammy links. ;For others out there who have removed spammy links, do you see slow improvement in your keywords on the SERPs? or do you notice large improvements every few weeks? ; Also how many weeks before you see any improvements?

George Dover: no comments? does this mean no one got hit by hummingbird?

Jim Munro: We'll be sure to discuss this during Thursday nights SEO Questions Hangout on Air, George. I don't want you to think you are being ignored. :)

George Dover: Cool, thx +Jim Munro ;Is there a method how you decide which questions will be discussed on the HO? or do you choose your favorites and focus on those? ;PS-This is a great community!

Jim Munro: We try to answer every question every week, George. A couple of times we have not been able to finish but the missing questions were added to the following week's runlist. If any have been completely missed it can only be attributed to cognac dyslexia. :)