Google Site Reputation Abuse: FAQ Addresses Concerns via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google has released FAQ guidance connected its tract estimation maltreatment policy.

The update covers important points astir managing third-party contented and betterment processes.

Breaking Down Third-Party Content Rules

Google wants to clarify what counts arsenic a violation. Using third-party contented is not a occupation successful itself.

A usurpation happens erstwhile that contented is utilized to instrumentality vantage of a site’s existing rankings.

Google explains:

“Having third-party contented unsocial is not a usurpation of the tract estimation maltreatment policy. It’s lone a usurpation if the contented is being published successful an effort to maltreatment hunt rankings by taking vantage of the big site’s ranking signals.”

This is particularly important for publishers using:

• Freelance writers
• White-label services
• External contented creators
• User-generated content

Google defines third-party contented as:

“Content created by a abstracted entity than the big site,” including “users of that site, freelancers, white-label services, contented created by radical not employed straight by the big site.”

Recovery Options: What Works & What Doesn’t

Publishers who privation to hole manual actions present person wide instructions connected what to bash with their content:

What Not to Do:

• Don’t determination contented to subdirectories oregon subdomains.
• Don’t redirect URLs that person received penalties.
• Don’t conscionable determination contented without due documentation.

As stated successful the FAQ:

“Moving contented to a subdirectory oregon subdomain wrong the aforesaid site’s domain name: This doesn’t resoluteness the underlying contented and whitethorn beryllium viewed arsenic an effort to circumvent our spam policy, which whitethorn pb to broader actions against a tract successful Google Search.”

However, Google notes that:

“Moving contented to a caller domain: This is acold little apt to beryllium an contented if the caller domain has nary established estimation and you travel our spam policies.”

What to Do:

• Move contented to caller domains that bash not person a bully reputation.
• Use “noindex” tags and marque due reconsideration requests.
• Apply “nofollow” attributes for immoderate indispensable cross-linking.

Affiliate Content Gets Green Light

Good quality for publishers: Google confirmed that affiliate contented is not affected by this policy.

The documentation clarifies:

“The argumentation is not astir targeting affiliate content… Affiliate links marked appropriately aren’t considered tract estimation abuse.”

To comply, publishers indispensable decently people their affiliate links. This means you tin proceed to gain wealth done morganatic strategies portion pursuing the caller rules.

Technical Implementation Guidelines

For websites nether manual action, Google has outlined important method requirements:

1. Using a noindex tag unsocial volition not region the punishment automatically.
2. You indispensable taxable reconsideration requests done Search Console.
3. You request to papers each steps taken to hole the issues.

The documentation reads:

“You inactive request to reply to the manual enactment successful Search Console and explicate that the contented has been noindexed. We urge doing this alternatively than letting the manual enactment stay against your site.”

The guidance besides addresses linking practices:

“If you nexus from the aged tract to the caller site, marque usage of the nofollow property for those links connected the aged site.”

Forward-Looking Implications

This FAQ merchandise shows that Google is improving however it communicates argumentation changes.

The clarifications get astatine a important clip arsenic publishers enactment to align their strategies with Google’s evolving standards portion maintaining sustainable businesses.

Featured Image: Mameraman/Shutterstock

SEJ STAFF Matt G. Southern Senior News Writer astatine Search Engine Journal

Matt G. Southern, Senior News Writer, has been with Search Engine Journal since 2013. With a bachelor’s grade successful communications, ...