Why avoiding Google penalties is an important part of good online content.
Avoiding Google penalties when you create online content is something that everyone should be aware of. These rules don’t just apply to people building websitse. If you’re developing any kind of online content you should be aware of what you’re putting out there and how it affects your ranking on search engines. This summer the trueITpros team has been talking about some work done by Interactive Limited LLC on advanced blog training and, you guessed it, avoiding Google penalties. Here are a few of the highlights that were helpful.
Duplicate content is one thing that causes a lot of Google penalties. Not only does using someone’s content make you look bad to
readers but it can result in a DMCA takedown. This hurts your credibility with search engines and costs you traffic. Something important to remember is duplicate content isn’t always intentional. Blogging is a great example in this situation. If you’re writing a blog on a topic you’re unfamiliar with you’re going to do research. It is easy to put some very similar content into your post without even realizing it. If you find useful content and want to rework it and incorporate it into your post, here are some tips:
- Give proper attribution
- Use your own ideas and take on the content
- Don’t copy large blocks of text
- IF you copy text, ask for permission to publish it
Another penalty comes from the incorrect use of robots.txt files. These files tell the search engine how to interact with the page. If they are left on the server they can block parts of, or your entire site. This hurts your search engine ranking. And isn’t that the name of the game for online marketing? Google Webmaster Tools can help you determine any errors with robots.txt files.
Avoiding Google penalties also means you have to repair (and avoid!) broken links. There are three types broken links:
- Links within your website to your pages/external pages
- Links from other sites to your site
- Links that should go to your site but don’t
Broken links damage your reputation with search engines. From the user side of things, a site with broken links is frustrating. Current users will stop visiting your site if every time they click a link they get an error message. Because your reputation with search engines is low, you likely won’t get many new visitors, if any. Tools like brokenlinkcheck.com and Google Webmaster can help you run a check to see if your site has any broken links.
These are just a few ways you can improve your online presence and work towards avoiding Google penalties. The online world is fluid and constantly changing, so make sure you are up to date about rules and regulations. If maintaining a website that complies with search engine rules is something you could use help with, contact that professionals at trueITpros to learn how our inclusive services can improve your online presence.