Does Google take Action on Spammy Guest Blogging Activities?

By far, the most popular method of acquiring links among webmasters is guest blogging. People write for other websites in exchange for links to their own websites. This not only gives people a backlink, it also gives them a small increase in traffic, hence making it a favorite among bloggers. But sometimes, it seems a bit too easy, as anyone can pick up content from the internet and submit a guest post about it. And since the practice is widely used, a lot of spammy activity is bound to surface at one time or another. So what does Google do about it? Will it penalize websites for links acquired through guest blogging?

In a previous post, we talked about when Google is okay with guest blogging. If you are a good writer and blogger, and create quality content, then there should be no problem. You can post as many blog posts as you like to other blogs. Indeed, from Google's point of view, it's all about quality. So a good blogger should have nothing to worry about.

That is as far as it goes for quality content. On the flip side, Google does take strict action against spammy activities. A lot of people, in order to acquire a lot of backlinks, submit one guest post to multiple blogs. This post could either be copied exactly, or spun from another source. In any case, it counts as copied content, and Google does get an indication of low quality from such content.

People who are submitting guest posts should know better than to try this approach, because duplicate content will get them an instant penalty. And if there's a link to their website from a low quality, or spammy page that Google knows has suspicious content, then it will do more harm than good, and the website owner will ultimately have to disavow such links.

But what about webmasters who accept guest posts? If  you accept such blog posts on your website that are low quality, then you will be penalized all the same for duplicate / similar content as well as low quality content that user's aren't happy with. In addition, if those guest posts link to another website, then chances are, it's a low quality website. And Google definitely will penalize your site for linking to a low quality website.

So don't just take guest blogging for granted. Whether you are a website owner accepting guest posts, or a blogger willing to write on other websites for backlinks, always consider the quality of content you're dealing with, and also the quality of the links that will be acquired, because often times, you might end up doing more harm than good to your website. Hope I was clear. If you have any questions, shoot them our way. And for the net time, always check the quality of guest posts before accepting or submitting them. Good luck :)

Source : mybloggertricks[dot]com

If I quote another source, will I be penalized for duplicate content?

As you all know, Google is pretty hard-up about duplicate content, now more than ever, because an awful lot of blogs and websites have started making money by blatantly copying material from other sources. This not only is unfair to the original source, it also jeopardizes the integrity of search results returned by Google. Hence the stringent TOS (Terms of Service). But what about adding quotations, or sentences/paragraphs quoted from other websites? It does classify as content copied directly from another website. So how does Google treat such content  and is it safe to include it on your website? Well, Google just released a video explaining how Google treats such content.

The issue was addressed by a video from Matt Cutts, head of Google's webspam team. In that video, he talks about the different practices applied by bloggers and webmasters online, and which of them is good and which isn't. You can see the video embedded below.

The ideal case

In an ideal world, people would only copy quotations, or things said by others that they like. For example, quoting a sentence from an author or public figure, quoting someone from their live speech somewhere (chances are, that speech will be copied by someone else too), an announcement, quoting from another blogger whom you find insightful etc. That is how quotes are supposed to work.

If that's the case, and you want to add such content on your site, then you can do it without fear, so long as you link to the original source. Credit should be given where credit is due. Just make sure you put the quotation in a block-quote tag, and everything will be fine.

People often ask, How will Google know whether it's just a quotation, or copied content that could get them penalized? Well, Google has some smart algorithms that will detect whether it's a quote or copied content. Besides, Google might check out your site manually. So don't worry if you've kept your end of the deal, and added a link to the original source and put the content in a block-quote.

When things go bad

Like much else, people are bound to exploit loopholes. Which is why Google is working on leaving as few as possible. It allows you to quote another site. But if you think you're gonna get away with copying an entire article as a 'quote', and then adding a link to the source, then think again. This practice will get you penalized.

Some bloggers also tend to excessively quote in their articles, adding little of value of their own. This will also result in your fall from grace in Google's eyes. So it's best to avoid such practices, and start creating valuable content. As long as you provide useful insights of your own, and quote reasonably with link to the actual source, there's nothing to worry about. Goo luck :)

Source : mybloggertricks[dot]com

Should You Remove Backlinks to avoid Penguin Penalty?

Google Panda and Penguin have been some of the most infamous algorithmic updates Google has ever made. They have effected tonnes of websites and blogs, and are still working to devour any website with malpractice that comes their way. We have many times discussed about how to avoid penalty from such algorithm updates. And in them, we have talked a lot about Google's interest in you links, out bound and incoming both. It's common knowledge that Google is now concentrating a lot more on the quality of the links than on the quantity. So a common question easily arises: If you are hit by a penalty, does it help to remove your backlinks?

Penalty?

It's widely conceived that Google not only rates your incoming backlinks, but also your outgoing backlinks. If either of those are low quality, then Google delivers a penalty. Well, this is quite correct. Google is a lot touchy about quality these days. But will removing your backlinks life the penalty?

First thing's first, it's important to establish whether you've been penalized or not. Strictly speaking, Google Panda and Penguin are algorithm updates. This means that with them, Google changes the way it rates and ranks websites, and how it perceives links. While minor updates are of no concern to webmasters, it's the major overhauls that derail a traffic. But when this happens, it's actually not a penalty. A penalty is when Google takes some manual action against your site. These updates just make Google take a different route, and your  website might not be near that one. But that doesn't mean you've been penalized, you've just been side-stepped. 

To check whether you've been penalized, you should consult with SEO forums, such as SEOchat, to see if Google has rolled out any update. If that happens, you will have to adopt a different strategy from when you've been penalized.

Recommended for you: How To Recognize SEO Over Optimization Which Causes Penalty?

Is removing backlinks the way to go?

If you've been penalized, then you will find your Webmaster Tools filled with messages containing information regarding the violations on your site. Start with those first. If there is a message about linking out too much, then you should remove them at once, and file a reconsideration report.

A lot of the times, it's about the backlink ratio. Giving out too much backlinks while having a very few in returns is one way to catch Google's attention. If you've been hit by an update, but you have a reasonable backlink ratio, then you might look into other stuff. Otherwise, you can start removing those links now which you think are low quality.

However, it's worth noting that removing these links isn't very important. What's more important is that, you don't create them in the first place if you think they are against the best practices. An algorithmic update, after all is about long-term changes. And it is better to mold your website into it then to try to bend it. So stop wasting your time trying to find backlinks to remove, and just concentrate on what you'll have to do for now. All the best :)

Recommended:  How To Recover From Google Penguin Update Penalty?

Source : mybloggertricks[dot]com