If you Want to Destroy your Google Rankings? Do these…

After Google rolled out the Panda update, the world of search engine optimization has really been turned upside down. There are lots of Black Hat SEO specialist that say “well, whatever Google does, they will always manage to beat Google”. Well, this is just bravado. This is just empty talk. The reality is, deep down the most seasoned Black Hat SEO specialist is shaking in his or her boots. The game has changed after 2011. You would be a fool to think otherwise. Unfortunately, many people still conduct SEO like it was 2008 or 2004.

If you commit any of the mistakes listed below, chances are Google will find out what you’re doing and penalize you accordingly. The window of opportunity for detection has become smaller and smaller. As much as people would like to believe that Google is really a deaf and dumb, they are just really fooling themselves. Google’s algorithm and base software has evolved by light years in a very short period of time. If you want to stay one step ahead of the Google wrecking ball, keep the following in mind. Don’t practice the following. We offer this because sometimes people don’t pay attention to what they should do. Sometimes it’s easier for people to understand what they should not do instead of what they should do. Maybe it’s less ambiguous this way. Maybe it’s clearer. Regardless of the reason, sometimes people pay more attention when they are told of things that they should not do.

Quickly Build Lots of Links Within a Short Period of Time

Google is very big about “natural” link building. You have to remember, Google lives in a fantasy world where online publishers produce high quality content that somehow, someway get noticed by the right people and get blogged about. These blog posts then provide “natural” backlinks that Google will then interpret as indicators that the quality content created is actually trustworthy. We can debate about whether this is realistic or not until the cows come home. But the reality is that unless you have billions of dollars, you’re looking to waste.

This is not going to happen. Still, Google’s whole link detection and link appraisal philosophy centers on this pipe dream. One key principle that comes out of this “natural” link philosophy is that real or natural links don’t pop up in massive volumes in shorts periods of time. So, if your link building initiatives involve short bursts where you produce links in volumes that are several times your natural link earning rate, brace yourself for a Google penalty.

Use Text Ads Instead of Content

One of the most old school ways to build backlinks is to actually buy ads that look like graphics. When you inspect these ads, they are actually HTML text ads. What makes them especially repugnant or offensive in Google’s eyes is that the links that they contain are very-very suspicious. First and foremost, the links are do-follow. They don’t have the no-follow tag. This means that when Google does follow these links, it actually counts the link juice from the referring site to the credit of the site being targeted.

Another reason why these HTML ads are so offensive to Google’s eyes is the fact that they use anchor text that are keyword targets. Google has repeatedly stated that over optimizing or heavily targeting the same keyword target through anchor text is a form of spamming. If you use text ads with these qualities, you are basically asking for trouble.

Buy Links

Make no mistake about it, it’s always a bad idea to buy links. However, the reality is that people do buy them. I would be lying to myself and I will definitely be lying to you if I told you that people don’t buy and sell links. The reality is that link sales generates millions of dollars every single year. That’s not going to go away. So my advice is, if you are going to buy links (and I hope you don’t), don’t buy from a network that is been outed already. Google is on the war path against companies that buy and sell links. Google has done several crack downs and has penalized many websites in the past. It will continue to do so. Buying links completely short circuits Google. It is the fastest and most effective way to rank.

Google knows this, Black Hat SEO knows this and people who look into making money online know this. This is why Google has been quite proactive regarding paid links. Unfortunately, it ends up that Google chases its tail. It’s a never ending process and it really is an arm’s race. With that said, if you are going to buy links, don’t be so obvious about it. At the very least, research the seller to make sure that they don’t have any pubic footprints. If you buy from a seller that’s been out already, not only might you get penalized, but you’re not going to get your money back.

Use a Paid Network for Guest Posts

There’s still many mechanisms available online where people looking for guest posts meet up with people looking to provide original content for backlinks. The whole point of guest posting for SEO is that you provide original guest post only for publication at one site in exchange for the right to put a backlink or two on that guest post. Google is on the record against these practices.

But one thing that I have noticed and I have written about earlier was that Google is cracking down primarily on guest post exchange networks that ask for money. Whether they do this through a premium membership or they do this with a flat fee, it doesn’t matter. Apparently, Google looks at these guest post exchanges as paid link schemes. If you are going to do guest posting, it’s a good idea to do a guest post with a website that has no public footprint. The worst you can do is to use a network that accept payment for brokering guest posts.

Target your “Money Anchors” More than Twenty Percent

Google Penguin knocked out a lot of websites because they were using backlinks that had high anchor densities. In other words, these websites were predominantly linked to using their main keywords. For example: If you website’s main keyword is Samsung Galaxy Note “for sale” and you build one hundred links and more than half of those links use the keyword anchor that is the same as your target keyword, you’re going to get penalized by Google Penguin. Make sure that your target money anchors are looked natural. At the very least, they should not be more than twenty percent.

Keep your Brand Anchors Less than Twenty Percent

This really is a converse consequence of the earlier point regarding “money anchors”. Google thinks that a “natural” backlink footprint should include brand anchors. These are links that use your brand name. For example: If your blog is named Michael’s Blog, but your actual keyword title is Debt Consolidation, your brand anchor would be Michael’s Blog, not Debt Consolidation. Get it? Make sure your brand anchors is more than twenty percent. If not, Google will think your backlinks are unnatural and penalize you.

Use Link Sources with Editorial Control

If you truly want to screw up your Google ranking, what you should do is create links using websites that will automatically give your backlink. In other words, you fill out an online form, put in your target URL and your target keywords. Almost automatically, the website will then produce a link for you. Believe it or not, there’s still many of these websites around. I am of course talking about web 2.0, website’s forum profiles, free blog sites and any other type of online publishing platform that produces instant links. Google has either completely depreciated the value of these links or might be targeting them for penalization in future updates. You’re really rolling the dice if you are building the bulk of your links using these sources.

Create a Tiered Link Network with Spun Content

One of the most tried and proven ways to rank on Google is to build links using your own network. Basically, you would create many web 2.0 accounts and many free blog accounts. You would then take one article and then use a software to create synonyms or spins of that content. You then use a software to publish your content across your wide network of your web 2.0 or free blog sites. Of course, these sites all link in a certain way so as to pass link juice or authority to your target website. Google has become better at detecting spun content. It really is a matter of time until Google completely discounts links generated this way. Also, more ominously, it might be a matter of time until Google starts actively penalizing websites that use this technique.

Google has evolved so quickly over the recent years that it is no longer worth your time and money to try to stay one step ahead of Google. If you do any of the practices listed above, you are basically just asking for Google to destroy your rankings. The better approach would be to spend all that time, effort and motivation in building content and fostering an online community that can withstand the test of time.