Recently Google released a new algorithm intended to make mobile-friendly websites for users on the go. Along with the new system, comes a new set of disadvantages for your website if ever you fail to optimize for mobile browsing. In this article, we will be discussing briefly the different warning signs of a penalized website and what should one avoid doing so that their website won’t be penalized.
How will you know that your website was penalized by Google? Here are a few signs that may indicate so.
For minor signs of demotion, it would often come with a demoted Pagerank from PR3 to PR2, loss of entire page rank, or a slight drop in page ranks due to important targeted keywords.
For moderate or medium signs, it often appears when Google grays out the website’s PageRank or it comes with a large drop in SERP rankings due to the targeted keywords.
Finally, the major telltale sign that your website is fully penalized by Google comes in the form of de-indexing of your website from its search engine.
Well, all know that you don’t want any of the above to happen. So here is a comprehensive list that webmasters and online marketers should avoid so that their websites won’t be penalized by Google’s new algorithm:
Link Farming. This method is often used by some to help boost their page ranking by exchanging links with each other. What's more, is that the link exchange is being done with other websites that barely have any relation to each other at all.
Hidden Texts. Keywords are often the ones under this category wherein they are often not easy to spot because they are very small and tend to be of the same color as the website. It is because visitors can’t see it, however, Google can index it. It is also called cloaking and sneaky redirects.
Usage of unauthorized computerized and automated programs for page ranking. This is often employed to ensure one’s website’s rankings are secured in the top spot. However, there is a drawback to this. This method slows down Google and as a result, produces a slow UX.
Heavy use of unrelated keywords. This is often seen as ranking manipulation because of the vomit of keywords that are both related and unrelated to the website and it is highly discouraged by Google.
l Usage of duplicate content. Google’s latest algorithm is now avoiding the indexing of duplicate pages. So if your website has similar content within itself or with another, Google will only index one.
Guest posting. Though guest posting is not entirely bad, it can also pose a threat to your website. Most importantly, if your website’s link profile is unbalanced when in fact guest post linkages should only compromise about 20% or less of your link profile and your website contains too many links which all point back to one source. There is also a risk that Google will ultimately penalize websites with guest post content by devaluing their link because there are too many websites doing it. However, if you have to have guest post links opt for having contextual links because it has more ranking power than the former.
