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Yes…..Google has the power to ‘penalise’ your website so beware!

What does ‘penalised’ mean?

‘Penalised’ means that the site exists in Google but ranks considerably lower than it has done. A ‘ban’ refers to a situation where the site gets removed from Google and doesn’t appear in search pages anymore.

A penalty causes a severe drop in ranking results – so of course, a penalty is something to worry about – a drastic dip in traffic can severely hurt your bottom line. To rectify this you can file a reconsideration request (pledging innocence) using Google Webmaster Tools.

So what can trigger a Google penalty?

• Link Buying/Selling links/Dodgey link exchanges – buying & selling links just for the sake of increasing PageRank is not appreciated by Google. Google can also penalise websites for exchanging shady/bad links (e.g from porn & gambling sites can cost you!), selling text ads, and writing sponsored posts (without no follow).

• Black hat SEO tricks – avoid hidden text or hidden links.

• G Bot cloaking- don’t employ cloaking or sneaky redirects.

• Being hacked of course can create some nasty problems!

• “Cookie Cutter” approaches – avoid “doorway” pages created just for search engines, or sites involving affiliate programs with little or no original content.

• Mass duplicate content or filters on them – you may not have intentionally created them but it’s worth checking whether similar content is posted in other categories and archives. Multiple pages, sub-domains, or domains with substantially duplicate content should be avoided.

• Automated queries to Google should be avoided!

• Excessive use of keywords – Google only likes keywords that are at most relevant to your article/content. Using irrelevant or unnatural keywords can give you a penalty, as can repeating a long list of the same ones.

Avoid Hidden Text or Hidden Links - Black Hat SEO Techniques

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