Many wrong practices are considered SEO Spam by Google and can lead to punishments for the site. Find out what is identified as spam and what the penalties are!
As the largest and most used search engine, Google is always concerned about stopping SEO Spam. In fact, this intolerance is justified because its success is tied to the user experience – the quality of the answers presented.
Those who search on this search engine want to solve a question or need it quickly and effectively.
Therefore, updates to Google’s algorithms bring new ways to check pages against their guidelines.
SEO Spam uses deceptive techniques to improve a website’s ranking on Google.
Understand what SEO spam is, what the bad practices are, and what the consequences of its use are.
What is SEO Spam?
SEO Spam is all useless or non-beneficial content, but it still ranks well on Google.
Although the website or content in question uses SEO techniques, they are misused. After all, negative SEO exploits all the vulnerabilities that exist in Google.
One of the main issues is that those who create spam just want to rank well. Unlike other pages, which seek growth and organic hits with good content and correct use of SEO.
Some typical examples of SEO Spam are sensationalist headlines and famous clickbaits. In this practice, the user clicks in search of information and finds content totally different from the content searched for.
Another practice of negative SEO occurs when a page takes advantage of its visibility and includes subjects disconnected from its content.
In this sense, the content of these pages has a good size and volume of words. However, the material is of no quality, making it difficult to find the desired answers.
Google has an automated ranking system to present useful and reliable information and not just to rank higher in searches.
As search engine analytics improve, know what not to do and avoid penalties.
Penalizable Actions
Google’s penalization is a way for the platform to punish an error, failure, erroneous practices, illegal practices or practices that violate its regulations and guidelines.
Simply put, in the eyes of the user, a website is trustworthy when it is well-ranked. The question is when you use suitable resources to achieve a good ranking.
In short, all practices that are considered black hat, that is, that violate Google’s guidelines, are considered SEO Spam.
That is, any content that:
- Don’t be original: Besides being illegal, content that is copied in its entirety is considered Spam by Google. Since 2012, Google has targeted sites that infringe copyright, punishing these publications;
- Keyword stuffing: A practice often used for ranking is using keywords. However, too much use is considered SEO Spam by Google. So, choose the keywords, but naturally use them, focusing on the quality of the content;
- Use of content cloaking: When you show content that is different from what appears in Google’s crawlers. This practice of spamming is quite frowned upon because it is not something that is done unintentionally;
- Paid backlinks: Including links in content is essential for good SEO. However, purchasing or exchanging links may result in penalties;
- Hidden keywords: seeking good rankings, other SEO Spam occurs when the site hides the keywords or links. Thus, it matches the color of the font with that of the background of the site, decreases the font, or any other way that hides the use. However, any type of concealment may be penalized.
Other issues that are identified as SEO Spam are malicious behaviors on infected websites, too many ads, or intrusive elements.
What Can Penalties Entail?
Google has no punishment rule; the platform only points out that practices outside the guidelines will be penalized.
Although it is a kind of “punishment”, the penalty is intended to remove poor-quality content. In addition, it is a way to benefit from quality content that correctly uses SEO techniques.
Although Google spells out the practices that can be punished, there is no cause-and-effect manual.
However, depending on the severity, PageRank is reduced, and positions, page indexes, and search engine domains are lost. In addition, there is difficulty in indexing new pages on the site and positioning new content well in the SERPs.
Generally speaking, the best advice to get rid of punishments and not fall victim to SEO Spam is to prepare quality content using strategies wisely and in moderation.
How We Craft Quality Seo Content Strategies
Our team comprises SEO analysts, copywriters, content reviewers, and other professionals. Thus, according to each client’s niche at our agency, we can develop the best SEO content strategies.
Among the actions, we unite SEO and Content Marketing strategies:
We Produce Content for The Persona
To attract the attention of the target audience, it is essential to build content focused on meeting the pains of your persona. When well written, that is, that answers the questions of the user of your page, the tendency is for the persona to explore other content on your site.
Therefore, the more they consume your content, the more your brand will become a reference on the subject. Thus, by maintaining a good content strategy, you will realize that you don’t need to run the risk of being punished by Google by practicing SEO Spam. After all, it will attract the target audience naturally.
We Conduct Relevant Primary and Secondary Keyword Research
Keywords are an essential part of SEO techniques, and they help determine the format of content that will be developed. Therefore, several surveys were conducted to understand how people search for the terms.
Ideally, you should have a list of the main and secondary ones according to the niche of your portal. Thus, they always vary in their use, distributing them throughout the content.
For the blog, for example, you should insert the primary keyword in the title, some subheadings, and the body of the text. But, do it naturally, without forcing the use of these words.
Also, use the most acceptable amount, depending on the size of your text. For example, content with 500 to 700 words can contain the primary keyword about 3x in the body text.
We Have the Best SEO Tools
There are many SEO tools that you can use to build relevant content without having to take risks with the practice of SEO Spam. Some are great for coming up with keyword and content ideas.
Among the main SEO tools we use are Ahrefs, Google Analytics, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, MOZ and Google Search Console. Take advantage of them to devise new SEO content strategies.
We Create Custom H1 Titles and SEO Titles
Both are essential to attract organic traffic to your page without investing in SEO Spam. Custom headings, H1, are visible to readers only when they land on your page. At the same time, the SEO title is shown in search results for search engines.
In addition, both must be well constructed, with the title being SEO with the main keyword and within the 60-character limit. The H1 title, however, should be attractive, exclusive and concise, along with the main keyword.
Try to use phrases with hints, lists, or questions in both situations, as they tend to attract readers more.
We Build Eye-Catching Meta Descriptions
When well-developed, it works as an excellent CTA call to action. We always focus on building an eye-catching meta description with the main keyword.
In addition, we try to insert keyword variations according to the type of content created in a natural way. Always end your sentence with a CTA to attract the attention of your target audience, convincing them to click through to read your content.
We Develop Great Link Building Partnerships
To cater to each of our clients, we partner with major portals for our link-building strategies. Thus, we get guest post partnerships on sites that serve the clients’ niches without forcing content publication.
To avoid punishment from Google, we have an excellent team that includes everything from prospecting to copywriting. After all, it is not enough to have an excellent network of links; it is necessary to ensure that the content relates to the theme of the page.
Through these partnerships, our clients can reinforce the authority of their pages, making search engines understand how relevant the content is. Thus, our portals can position themselves well in search engines.
These are just a few SEO content strategies that we have developed and managed to rank our clients’ pages, without practicing Spam SEO.
So, if you want your page to also be among the top positions on Google without running the risk of being punished, count on our marketing agency! Get in touch and learn more!
