Is product reviews safe as a link building tactic? Not if the links are followed. If you offer influencers products for review in exchange for links, the links must be nofollow. Additionally, the influencer has to disclose the paid relationship as well (an FTC requirement as well). According to Google, “Links that pass PageRank in […]

Depending on how they are implemented, interstitials for app installs can lead to a search penalty. This particular targeting is part of the mobile-friendly algorithm used by Google: “Starting today [Nov 2, 2015], pages with an app install interstitial that hide a significant amount of content on the transition from the search result page won’t […]

Yes, intrusive interstitials for mobile searches can have a negative impact on your search engine rankings. On January 10, 2017, Google announced that is taking action against websites that displayed intrusive interstitials: “Starting today, pages where content is not easily accessible to a user on the transition from the mobile search results may not rank […]

Yes, if you force followed links in third-party agreements and Google finds out, you will end up with a penalty. According to Google: The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results: […] Requiring a link as part of a Terms of Service, contract, or similar arrangement […]

Are widgets links a ranking factor? Yes, just like any other backlinks, widget links can influence your site rankings. If you’re syndicating widgets that link back to your website using keyword-rich anchors, you’re at risk of getting a manual penalty. According to Google: “some widgets add links to a site that a webmaster did not […]

Yes, spammy links in blog comments and forums posts, may suggest a low site quality indicator (no moderation). Such links interfere with Google’s link graph, and having too many spam outbound links can negatively affect your rankings. Here is what Google says about user generated spam (which most of the times includes links) “Comments and […]

Yes, backlinks are measured not only by quantity but quality as well (which seems to be a more and more important factor). Launched in 2012, the Penguin is a specific ranking signal that analyzes the quality of the links pointing to your site. In September 2016, Penguin became a part of the core algorithm update. […]

Google defines social engineering as “- deceptive tactics that try to trick you into doing something dangerous, like installing unwanted software or revealing your personal information (for example, passwords, phone numbers, or credit cards).” On Feb 3, 2006 Google announced this: “Will my site be affected? If visitors to your web site consistently see social […]

Can Google demoted rankings if the content on your AMP pages is not the same with the non-AMP pages? Yes, according to their official documentation: “these pages will not be considered for Search features that require AMP, such as the Top Stories carousel with AMP. Additionally, we will notify the webmaster via Search console as […]

If you spam the Event markup, you’re at risk of getting a penalty from Google. Trying to trick Google into showing rich results for non-events like coupons, may trigger a manual action: “we’ve been receiving feedback from users seeing non-events like coupons or vouchers showing up in search results where “events” snippets appear. This is […]