If you have hired an SEO provider for your website, then it’s not a much problem. But if you know about basic SEO and trying to do it yourself for your websites, you must obviously know the applications of SEO techniques and should also have knowledge about the tactics you shouldn’t use for your goodwill. I am listing some of the practices that you shouldn’t try as this can harm your website’s repo on Google. And if your SEO provider is still using old methods that are ineffective, well, then, it’s time to hire another SEO provider.

You are saved, till you have never been penalized by the Google. But, there can be a time, when this can happen, and believe me, your eyes will get hurt from staring at your computer screen and wondering what had happened. No one wants to experience this, and I know its not a good feeling though. Your reputation is at stake, when your potential client’s came to know that you have been panelized.

As you plan your SEO strategy for the year, here are four things to watch out for. If any of these are happening, there is a good chance you are on your way to a Google penalty.

Here are some methods that you shouldn’t apply ever, or stop immediately, if you are practicing those.

1. Linking to your homepage

First, this is not wrong to include homepage links into your backlink strategy. However, it must be done through right way.

Some people are still using 2005 techniques and believe that procuring more links to the homepage of your website will help your website rank higher. Please note one thing that Google doesn’t rank whole websites. It ranks pages. That is why, you need to link to quality content pages within your website and not only the homepage.

Exact Match Anchor Text + Homepage Link = Road Leading to Google Penalty.

On your website If you only have a homepage and product landing pages, it is time to start reevaluating your marketing plan. Go, Start a blog and post quality contents that readers want to read. This is the only way to ensure quality links to your website.

2. Link farms and wheels

A link farm is a series of websites for the purpose of creating backlinks to specific sites generally set up by an SEO provider and are created using free platforms such as Blogger or WordPress and seriously have no work other than trying to manipulate search results.

A link wheel is a marketer link to your website from another website. The articles linking to your site are then further linked from other articles which also link to your website.

Do not try to dishonor link wheels right off the bat. Some SEO specialists are able to use link wheels without incorporating link farms. This can still be a fruitful method of back linking and also a natural way to get high quality content.

Ask you SEO about link wheel and Link farming techniques.

3. Linking from penalized websites

There is no profit to get linked from a website that is already sandboxed by Google. These sites are sandboxed for a reason and having links from them will not do you any good with Google. You have to get links from sites that are trusted by Google, not penalized by them.  

Ask your SEO provider, about how it identifies which sites to establish links from. Then ask how it examined that website. If the company uses sites such as Pixelgroove or Moz, you are likely to be in good hands.

4. Buying links

 This is a violation of Google policies that one purchases links and is one of the primary reasons, a websites can get sandboxed. Links should come naturally and can be accomplished through valid link procurement methods.

So what is a valid link procurement methods? There are many eBooks and tutorials out there with white-hat link building methods, but basically it involves outreach. You must try to find link sources and then reach out to those properties and suggest your link.

 Buying links means you are entering the area of black-hat marketers. You will likely to end up with links that violate all the issues highlighted herein. You will have some that use exact match anchor text to homepages, some that use link farms, and others that will link from websites that are already penalized by Google. All of which are things you want to avoid in the first place.

 Check with your provider and make sure they are acquiring links for you using white-hat methods, including incorporating link diversity techniques. Any method that uses link buying should be discontinued immediately.

Anything else?

I think these are the most important four of the methods. Many SEO providers still use these methods. Why spend your money on a so called “expert” when in the end they will get you penalized, in search rankings instead of ranking you higher?

The SEO is continuously changing, making it increasingly difficult to know what not to do. There can be many methods that I couldn’t reach.

Please Do Comment, if you were ever penalized by Google. Let other’s Be Benefit from this Post by sharing this post on your Facebook Page.