Google practically has a monopoly when it comes to organic traffic, and most websites derive the majority of their traffic via organic search visitors who click their link on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
Depending solely on Google for the majority of your traffic is a risky strategy which can lead to devastating losses which is what happened recently with CCN who lost 90% of their traffic after Google’s Core June update rolled out a month ago.
A Google penalty can evaporate your website’s organic traffic, and may also lead to devastating losses in terms of sales and revenue for web-based businesses. In this article, we will discuss ways to avoid Google Penalties and explain how you can Google Penalty-Proof your SEO strategy.
Google Algorithm Updates
Google has launched several updates in the past, such as Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird to deal with SEO bad practices. Many websites lost their traffic as a result of significant Google Penalties after these updates.
Google periodically updates its search algorithms and rolls out several minor and significant algorithms updates every year.
While there is no sure way to predict how future algorithm updates will impact Google’s search results, you can certainly minimize the impact of upcoming algorithm updates by following a few SEO best practices.
These best practices and tips can help you avoid the horror of being sandboxed, and the unimaginable traffic you’ll lose once you’re hit with a Google penalty.
How to Avoid Google Penalties
Even if you are not totally reliant on Google traffic, these best practices can help you not only avoid a penalty but also attract high-quality traffic that in the long run can ultimately boost your conversions and sales.
Create Great Content
We may not be able to predict what type of algorithm update Google will roll out next, but we can be sure that great content which users find engaging will always be in demand.
In the past, Google has penalized websites with poor quality, and duplicate content is one of the most critical factors in your SERP rankings. So, ensure that you are creating great content with an eye on the long term.
High-quality content is actually the real KING. Don’t just create content. Create content that is in a different league than anyone else. Search engines, especially Google, value high-quality content and that would certainly help make your website Google penalty-proof.
Avoid Any Shady SEO Strategies
In the early days of SEO, you could easily rank any webpage or website using several black hat tricks. Google now uses very advanced algorithms which utilize the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to identify the use of shady SEO tactics.
It’s important to avoid any black hat tricks because it will significantly increase your chances of getting a penalty from Google. No matter how good you think you are in gaming the system, the time will definitely come that it will catch up with what you are doing. Regret always happens at the end.
Think Long Term
Any SEO strategy, which has been designed with the long-term horizon in mind, is going to outperform short term tricks which may be able to boost your SERPs rank for a few days but will ultimately end up penalizing your site.
Always follow SEO best practices, and adopt a long-term mindset when it comes to designing your SEO strategy. When it’s too good to be true, be vigilant and don’t take the bait. Immediate results usually have bad consequences even if they’re sometimes hidden at first.
Always remember, if you are aiming for long-lasting results, there’s no shortcut in SEO.
Build a Trusted Brand
Customers tend to trust familiar brands, and established brands tend to have a higher likelihood of returning websites visitors, which boosts SERPs rank in the long run.
Knowing this, invest your energy and resources in building a brand around your website because it can undoubtedly improve your SERPs ranking and help you establish credibility, authority, and trust online. Search engines like Google take these factors (specifically trust) into consideration when ranking web pages on the SERPs.
Conclusion
This is just a small list, but you can certainly increase your chances of avoiding a Google penalty by applying them into your overall SEO strategy. Following ethical SEO practices, and always keeping in mind Google’s webmaster guidelines are also basic guidelines that can help you Google penalty-proof your website.
Have you been penalized by Google before? How did you recover from it? If you are still struggling after being hit by an algorithm update, don’t hesitate to reach out to the team of SEO Experts at KISS PR. They’ve successfully helped many website owners recover after getting penalized by Google. Call them at 972-437-8942 or fill out this contact form to book for a FREE consultation.
