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SEO is one of the most effective ways of getting the traffic you want onto your site. However, as search engines are getting smarter, they are starting to crack down on websites making wrongful use of SEO. Although penalties are sure to keep abusers at bay, it is still a relatively new system and may accidentally take down your website even if you are using keywords the right way. And since recovering from a penalty can be an absolute nightmare, here are a few ways that you can avoid getting SEO penalties on your website.

How to Avoid an SEO Penalty

 

1. Don’t Overuse Or Spam Keywords

Spamming keywords into your content is known as article stuffing. It is one of the worst things that you can do to rank your website high in the search results. Stuffing your material full of keywords, even if it makes sense in the context, is not the best way to get to the top of the rankings. Other than making for inferior content, this is a prime example of obsolete SEO practices. Spamming keywords in your websites or webpages will result in SEO penalties.

2. Avoid Buying Links

There is an abundance of different sites willing to sell you links from a website or private blog network. While some of these blogs and content may provide useful information, they would not be selling backlinks if they understood SEO well. This is something that most search engines stand against, especially Google. Content that primarily exists to simply give backlinks or offer keywords to make it to the top can be flagged. Now, it is actually much harder to find these blogs than it is to find other spam content, but Google is coming up with ways to find them.

3. Avoid Duplicate Content

 

Avoid Duplicate ContentNo matter what happens, you should stay clear of copying content from any other website. This can lead to its own fair share of problems with copyright infringement. But, this duplication of content can also lead to search engines penalizing your webpages. Google is especially tight when it comes to cracking down on websites that have duplicate content. If you want to know how to avoid SEO penalties, the first advice for you will be to get rid of the duplicate content on your website.

 

4. Don’t Have Backlinks In Widgets

Many developers have come through with widgets that others can use for their website. These widgets are fine on their own as long as they don’t have backlinks in them redirecting users to your site. While this may not have been a problem at first, Google has now started picking up on these widgets striking them down wherever it can.

5. Ensure That Your Site Is Responsive

 

mobile friendlyThis should come as no surprise for people that have been using Google or Yahoo for a while now. However, other than just being responsive, Google also wants your website to be mobile-friendly. Otherwise, you may be put much lower in the list.

 

Conclusion

SEO penalties can be a very serious threat to your website, as recovering from them is an incredibly difficult task. So, instead of wondering how you can recover your website in the event that it is flagged, you should try your best to follow these tips to avoid SEO penalties in general.

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