SEO (or Search Engine Optimization, for those who still don’t know what it means by now) is pretty general in the way it works; however, it can get more and more detailed when you enter a search engine’s point of view. Although all major search engines pretty much work the same, some may or may not have specific guidelines, tricks, or tips. Because Google is the most popular search engine out there, most people concentrate on them the most. Although good SEO is good for any search engine, there are some things Google (or the Googlebot) doesn’t like in particular. Let’s see what Google doesn’t like when looking at websites.
The Googlebot (mentioned at the beginning) is the name the people at Google put to their search engine crawler or robot, hence the name Googlebot. The Googlebot is the one who searches, crawls, and indexes your website, so it is Google’s most important asset. The Googlebot searches for many things when crawling websites: both good things (like design, content, back links, etc. that will help you rank higher in the search results) and the bad things, which is what we’re going to talk about. The first thing the Googlebot doesn’t like about websites is…
1. Hidden texts and links
Hidden texts and links are common black hat SEO method used by beginners. Many people hide text so that it isn’t visually seen, but then they would think the search engine crawlers would look at those keywords, and that it would help them rank higher. Wrong. It used to work ten years ago, but search engine crawlers, specially the Googlebot don’t like that. Forms of hidden text include, but are not limited to:
Using white text on a white background
Including text behind an image
Using CSS to hide text
Setting the font size to 0
Using this method may result in being removed from Google’s index, so don’t even try it.
2. Cloaking and doorways
If there is something the Googlebot doesn’t like is this. Cloaking refers to showing search engines something and showing users something other than that. An example of this is showing an HTML website to search engines, while visitors see a flash website. Doorways are, pages that contain many links, sometimes hundreds of them, that are of little to no use to the visitor, and do not contain valuable content. The Googlebot identifies these pages as “link farms”, which will prevent you from being listed at Google.
3. Automated queries
Although they are not a bad thing per se, the Googlebot doesn’t like them, and if the Googlebot doesn’t like something, then you should stay away from it. Automatic queries are made to determine how a website ranks in Google search results for various queries. Usually, automated queries are generated by a piece of software. You can get in contact with Google if you feel you need a special permission, though.
4. Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is basically filling up a website with keywords expecting that it will help a website rank higher in the search results. It is considered manipulation of search results by the Googlebot, so try to stay away from it. It’s OK if those keywords are properly placed within the content of a website, but it’s not OK to, like, create a whole hidden page full of keywords. Keyword stuffing should go right along with hidden text and links, as these hidden elements usually include a massive amount of keywords if used. Always remember the Googlebot looks out for this.
5. Duplicate content
The last major thing we’ll be discussing in this article about the Googlebot’s dislikes is duplicate content. The fact of inserting duplicate content in multiple domains, sub domains, or anything similar is considered as duplicate content by the Googlebot. However, it’s OK if you have:
Discussion forums
Store items shown or linked via multiple different URLs
Printable versions of websites.
However, if you duplicate content across various domains in order to manipulate search engine results, know that you are being watched by the Googlebot.
Those are the five major things the Googlebot doesn’t like. Stay away from them and everything should go smoothly.
The Googlebot (mentioned at the beginning) is the name the people at Google put to their search engine crawler or robot, hence the name Googlebot. The Googlebot is the one who searches, crawls, and indexes your website, so it is Google’s most important asset. The Googlebot searches for many things when crawling websites: both good things (like design, content, back links, etc. that will help you rank higher in the search results) and the bad things, which is what we’re going to talk about. The first thing the Googlebot doesn’t like about websites is…
1. Hidden texts and links
Hidden texts and links are common black hat SEO method used by beginners. Many people hide text so that it isn’t visually seen, but then they would think the search engine crawlers would look at those keywords, and that it would help them rank higher. Wrong. It used to work ten years ago, but search engine crawlers, specially the Googlebot don’t like that. Forms of hidden text include, but are not limited to:
Using white text on a white background
Including text behind an image
Using CSS to hide text
Setting the font size to 0
Using this method may result in being removed from Google’s index, so don’t even try it.
2. Cloaking and doorways
If there is something the Googlebot doesn’t like is this. Cloaking refers to showing search engines something and showing users something other than that. An example of this is showing an HTML website to search engines, while visitors see a flash website. Doorways are, pages that contain many links, sometimes hundreds of them, that are of little to no use to the visitor, and do not contain valuable content. The Googlebot identifies these pages as “link farms”, which will prevent you from being listed at Google.
3. Automated queries
Although they are not a bad thing per se, the Googlebot doesn’t like them, and if the Googlebot doesn’t like something, then you should stay away from it. Automatic queries are made to determine how a website ranks in Google search results for various queries. Usually, automated queries are generated by a piece of software. You can get in contact with Google if you feel you need a special permission, though.
4. Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is basically filling up a website with keywords expecting that it will help a website rank higher in the search results. It is considered manipulation of search results by the Googlebot, so try to stay away from it. It’s OK if those keywords are properly placed within the content of a website, but it’s not OK to, like, create a whole hidden page full of keywords. Keyword stuffing should go right along with hidden text and links, as these hidden elements usually include a massive amount of keywords if used. Always remember the Googlebot looks out for this.
5. Duplicate content
The last major thing we’ll be discussing in this article about the Googlebot’s dislikes is duplicate content. The fact of inserting duplicate content in multiple domains, sub domains, or anything similar is considered as duplicate content by the Googlebot. However, it’s OK if you have:
Discussion forums
Store items shown or linked via multiple different URLs
Printable versions of websites.
However, if you duplicate content across various domains in order to manipulate search engine results, know that you are being watched by the Googlebot.
Those are the five major things the Googlebot doesn’t like. Stay away from them and everything should go smoothly.
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