No content marketing primarily to gain
Web marketers in general, are determined to go the extra mile to ensure that their websites rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs). They clean up the site’s SEO, publish good quality content and create a lot of links, both internal and otherwise.
However, there are certain practices often indulged in to make the website more popular that are not exactly legal or ethical, and tech giant Google periodically cracks down on these practices.
Earlier this week, the company sent out a warning to all those who publish and distribute content through large-scale methods such as syndication. The search giant’s advice is to keep an eye on their links, as they might be running afoul of the Google regulations against link schemes.
What is Google Targeting?
It must be noted that Google is not against linking of all types, in
As long as an article brings awareness, disseminates information or provides facts, it certainly will be in the clear. However, the publisher can be in trouble, the moment it’s apparent that the content has been uploaded with the main intent of gaining more links connecting back to the publisher’s site.
Why is this Happening?
If you publish content written specifically to garner more links, it actually is bad for the web as a whole. If content writers give a higher priority to link building, the quality of writing can plummet, resulting in a bad learning experience for those searching for accurate information.
Duplicating content, using content writers who aren’t proficient in the subject, having the same content published on multiple sites and stuffing articles with links that are rich in keywords are all signs that can trigger a penalty from Google.
How Do We Stay Safe?
Staying out of trouble is easy in this case. Use "no follow” on certain links or the canonical tag on the page. While the former averts ranking credit being passed on by individual links, the latter communicates to Google to prevent credit from being passed on by any of the links present
It is imperative that you work with your publishers and rigidly ensure that articles are not put up with the sole purpose of gaining more links. If this isn’t feasible for you, such links should be disavowed. So long as the content you feature on your website is unique and read-worthy without coming across as endorsements or advertisements, you’re very much in the safe zone.
For more information and to dispel any doubts, Click This Link.