Last week, we reported that Google were updating Webmaster Tools in order to introduce a new feature called the Manual Spam Actions Viewer, which would allow site owners to check their current status in real time and see if they had been the subject of any manual actions to combat spam. It would also show them precisely why they had been penalised.

But the launch of the Manual Spam Actions viewer has been delayed after Google reported a ‘snag’ via an update to their official launch announcement.

Late last week many webmasters were complaining via Facebook and Twitter that they did not have access to the latest features from Google’s Webmaster Tools. It was ultimately revealed that a problem with the launch had meant that it would be delayed by a few days, but it was not revealed what that snag was.

First reported on the online marketing news service Search Engine Land, the original Google launch announcement was updated to read: “Unfortunately we’ve hit a snag during our feature deployment, so it will be another couple days before the feature is available to everyone. We will post another update once the feature is fully rolled out.”

Once live webmasters can use the Manual Actions Viewer to check their site in real time, and find out if they have been subject to a spam penalty. It is ideal for helping site owners to gain real insight into the ways they are affected by spam and help them to play by the rules and keep their healthy search ranking.