The periodic table of SEO success factors part 15‌ violations and penalties

In the previous article, I wrote about the violations and penalties in the periodic table of SEO success factors. In this article, I will continue explaining what not to do in your SEO projects.

Vd: Piracy / DMCA Takedowns

The “Pirate” update targeted sites infringing on copyright law. Under pressure from some organization and governments, Google began to penalize sites who breached some rules and regulations.

It’s unlikely that most sites will have to deal with these issues, but you should handle any notifications that show up in your Google Search Console account.

Va: Ads

Have you ever seen a site that was full of ads and you could not find the main content?

That’s what the another algorithm was meant to address. Often referred to as Top Heavy, this penalty is reserved for sites that frustrate the user experience by placing lots and lots of ads before content. So don’t make your users search for the content.

Vp: Paid Links

Google even bans itself, banning the Japan division when that division was found to be buying links.

The debate over whether Google should act so aggressively against those who buy and sell links has gone on for years. The bottom line is to rank on Google, you have to follow Google’s rules — and the rules say no buying or selling links in a way that passes on search engine ranking credit.

As for Bing, officially, it doesn’t penalize for paid links, but it frowns on the practice.

Vl: Link Spam

If you create links with automatic programs you’re not doing SEO, though sadly, all the people who hate the spam you leave behind get the impression that’s what SEO is about. So SEOs hate you too – with a passion.

If you do go ahead with it, most of the links won’t give you the credit you were thinking they would. On top of that, you can find yourself on the sharp end of a penalty.

This penalty has been given more weight in this version of the table based on the efforts Google has made in neutralizing and penalizing link spam and, in particular, the launch of the “Penguin” update.