In the digital world, we may say “Content is King”, but search engines can overthrow a websites monarchy and “ban” websites. What does it mean to your business to have your email or site Google banned? Basically, search engines govern the digital domain with an iron fist based on a group of changing rules. If your website does something that is on the no-no list, a search engine can remove your website off of their index. The result impacts your website SEO. A common sign of such a problem is if the site has a large drop in visitors.
Getting a site off of the banned list from Google is a long and drawn out process, so we’ve curated a list of the most important things to avoid to help you prevent your site from being Google banned or on any other search engine for that matter. You can start by checking online for websites designed to validate the status of your site or contact your web host.
If you’re unsure of all googles policies and guidelines, we suggest you take a look at their Privacy & Terms in full as we haven’t listed all of their rules.

Copying Content

Don’t do it. It’s never okay to take the work or idea of someone else and pass it off as your own. Copying someone else’s content is a sure fire way to be kicked off of Google. It takes a lot of time and creativity to produce content. Make your own fresh, new, and interesting content instead of copying and pasting others’. Fresh content will also raise your ranking. Google looks for original content whether copy or photo. Don’t be a copycat.

SEO Services

SEO companies usually “guarantee” high ranking for your site in Google’s search results, but watch out for companies that try to fool search engines. If your domain is associated with one of the SEO services trying to cheat their way to the top, it could be banned from Google’s search results. There isn’t always a magical cure to drive a site to the top. If there is no mention of your content, keywords or navigation you may want to question a services methodology.

Images

Google doesn’t recognize text in graphics, so avoid using images to display your content. You can use ALT attributes if the main content and keywords on your page can’t be formatted in regular HTML. Additionally, original photography versus all stock photos is always a great idea whenever possible. Always consider maintaining proper licensing for any stock photos.

Accessibility

Keep your site organized. The more corporate-looking, the better. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy design, but it should still be pleasing to the eye and navigation should be easy to figure out. Most advertisers don’t use navigation because it distracts from the main goal, but Google requires it. Proper main navigation should always help Google locate key date such as Contact, Services, About Us, Blog. Your navigation should help a search engine….well….search.

Keywords

Repeating keywords too often is a good way to call your site to Google’s attention. You’re also stepping into trouble if they‘re irrelevant and not researched correctly. Using trademarked products and service names as keywords can even lead to you being sued for copyright issues. When you choose your keywords, make sure they’re relevant to the page and not being used incorrectly. Additionally, your keywords should relate to your business, your brand, and the content within your site.

System patches and updates

If you don’t maintain your website with current versions of your plug-ins for example, your site may become obsolete to search engines to view. Thus, your site becomes downgraded. A great example is the use of Adobe Flash Player. Every once in a while, we see a site still trying to display content in Flash. Google will skip it altogether. More importantly, if you aren’t maintaining current versions and any patches necessary for site security, this is an invitation for a hacker. This is, by all means, a controllable situation – but if you are hacked – you can bet you are blocked as well.