10 Things That Will Get Your Site Banned From Search Results by Google

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So you have been working away on your beloved site for a long time and you still can’t see it in any Google search results. Perturbed? Well of course you are, but did you know there are number of things which you could have done to get your site eliminated from the Google search results?

Any SEO expert worth their salt will know these points, but for those who are not too well versed in the ways of Google then I would recommend reading through the tips below. There’s no point wasting blood, sweat and tears working on a website that no one is ever going to see! I am listing just ten of the main points here, but the bottom line is, if you adhere to good practices then there shouldn’t be any problem.

Duplicate content:

Okay, so you have been building your own site, and don’t fancy your skills much as a copywriter. What have you done? Gone and copied the text from another site? BIG no no, Google sees your site as fraudulent and is punishing you in the most effective way possible. NEVER use duplicate content in a site, you stand a good chance of getting your site banned and possibly getting the poor unsuspecting original authors site banned too.

Keyword cramming:

Someone once told you that keyword recognition was a huge part of SEO, and let me tell you they were right. However if you have done nothing but cram keywords into the text on your site, then you might aswell just shut it down. The recommended keyword density is between 1.5% and 2.5%, anything significantly above this will trigger alarm bells at Google and they will be quick to let you know. Plus, think of your readers, they want to read something that is legible, interesting and informative otherwise they won’t return.

Dirty links:

Dirty links are links to or from your site that are associated with gambling, pornagraphy, hate and racism etc. Whilst Google has always rewarded sites for the number of backlinks it has, it will do the opposite for links than are ill reputed or promote illegal or untasteful behaviour. Keep your links clean and reputable at all times.

Link farming:

I’m sure you have heard of the term link farming, this was seen a number of years ago as one of the best ways to build huge link numbers to your site. No more. Keep away from those who offer you thousands of links for your site, essentially all they do is spam and Google hates a spammer. Stay away from paid links of any kind.

Hidden links:

While not overly common anymore, there are still quite a few people who practice this. Hidden links are basically links on your site which are not visible to the reader but are searchable by engines like Google. There are many ways to do these hidden or cloaked links, the most common using white text on a white background. You may think that because they are hidden they will do your site more good than harm, but rest assured Google has it tracked.

The above 5 would be the main areas to avoid like the plaque, however I would also recommend staying away from:

  • Meta tag stuffing.
  • Alt image spamming.
  • Avoid sneaky redirects.
  • Title tag stuffing.
  • Don’t get bots or programs to spin your content…. Originality is the key to success.

All in all, best practices are the order of the day here. If you have found yourself banned by Google there may be a way back, but you will have to prove that none of the banning points were intentional or done by you. My advice would be to count your losses and start again. Though this time do it by the book.

About the Author

Izaak is a London SEO Consultant .  Amongst other, his clients include airport lounges at Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted.

We are influencers and brand affiliates.  This post contains affiliate links, most which go to Amazon and are Geo-Affiliate links to nearest Amazon store.