{"id":6745,"date":"2016-05-06T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T16:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sabaseo.com\/?p=2160"},"modified":"2016-05-06T09:00:23","modified_gmt":"2016-05-06T16:00:23","slug":"bad-seo-practices-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Illegal and Unethical SEO Practices to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Some SEO practices are outright illegal while others are, at the very least, considered unethical, which could also get you in trouble with search engines. By making a conscious effort to avoid such practices, you&#8217;ll increase the odds of getting your site where it can be seen and avoid costly penalties.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Trademarked Keywords<\/h2>\n<p>According to leading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sabaseo.com\/search-engine-optimization\/\">SEO companies in San Diego<\/a>, if a keyword in your domain name is a registered trademark, you could find yourself in legal hot water. Visit the U.S. Patent Office website and do a search on any keywords you think may be trademarked. The same applies to trademarked keywords in meta tags and trademarked PPC keywords.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Keyword Stuffing<\/h2>\n<p>Search engine bots can usually spot instances of keyword stuff, done on purpose to give your content a boost in the rankings. However, Google frowns upon this practice and once you start racking up Google violations for such offenses, it&#8217;s difficult to reverse the damage.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Copying Webpages<\/h2>\n<p>Referred to as &#8220;page-jacking,&#8221; this is the practice of copying a competitor\u2019s webpage and replacing the links and products with your own info. It won&#8217;t take long to get flagged for this, which could lead to being banned by search engines.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Doorway Pages<\/h2>\n<p>These poor quality pages are made for search engines rather than actual visitors for the purpose of emphasizing certain keywords. Such pages often copy content from other sites and have no navigation menu. Cloaking is a related practice involving the creation of one version of a page for visitors and another for search engines.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Link Farming<\/h2>\n<p>Placing a bunch of links that have nothing to do with the content of your site on a page is referred to as link farming. Done for the purpose of gaining link popularity, it&#8217;s a practice that can get you penalized.<\/p>\n<p>One way to ensure you\u2019re following SEO best practices is to work with a trusted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sabaseo.com\/\">digital marketing company in San Diego<\/a>. If you have questions or are wondering if working with an SEO agency is the right choice, reach out to Saba SEO today by calling (858) 277-1717. We offer free website audits and can help you reach your targeted audience, drive traffic, and boost sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some SEO practices are outright illegal while others are, at the very least, considered unethical, which could also get you in trouble with search engines. By making a conscious effort to avoid such practices, you&#8217;ll increase the odds of getting your site where it can be seen and avoid costly penalties. 1. Trademarked Keywords According [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-tips","category-search-engine-optimization"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Unethical and Illegal SEO: What You Need to Avoid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While black hat SEO practices may produce immediate results, it won&#039;t take long for Google to penalize your site and make it infinity harder to rank.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unethical and Illegal SEO: What You Need to Avoid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While black hat SEO practices may produce immediate results, it won&#039;t take long for Google to penalize your site and make it infinity harder to rank.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saba Digital Marketing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-06T16:00:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin@saba4321\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin@saba4321\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/\",\"name\":\"Unethical and Illegal SEO: What You Need to Avoid\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-05-06T16:00:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#\/schema\/person\/91f06a2cfe0edcd91a335944063231af\"},\"description\":\"While black hat SEO practices may produce immediate results, it won't take long for Google to penalize your site and make it infinity harder to rank.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Illegal and Unethical SEO Practices to Avoid\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/\",\"name\":\"Saba Digital Marketing\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#\/schema\/person\/91f06a2cfe0edcd91a335944063231af\",\"name\":\"admin@saba4321\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a3d645414967dc5d8b195a2786f8e7ae8df547fd6075e93c6d00ad978b0beff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a3d645414967dc5d8b195a2786f8e7ae8df547fd6075e93c6d00ad978b0beff?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin@saba4321\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/author\/adminsaba4321\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Unethical and Illegal SEO: What You Need to Avoid","description":"While black hat SEO practices may produce immediate results, it won't take long for Google to penalize your site and make it infinity harder to rank.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Unethical and Illegal SEO: What You Need to Avoid","og_description":"While black hat SEO practices may produce immediate results, it won't take long for Google to penalize your site and make it infinity harder to rank.","og_url":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/","og_site_name":"Saba Digital Marketing","article_published_time":"2016-05-06T16:00:23+00:00","author":"admin@saba4321","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin@saba4321","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/","url":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/","name":"Unethical and Illegal SEO: What You Need to Avoid","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2016-05-06T16:00:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#\/schema\/person\/91f06a2cfe0edcd91a335944063231af"},"description":"While black hat SEO practices may produce immediate results, it won't take long for Google to penalize your site and make it infinity harder to rank.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/bad-seo-practices-to-avoid\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Illegal and Unethical SEO Practices to Avoid"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/","name":"Saba Digital Marketing","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#\/schema\/person\/91f06a2cfe0edcd91a335944063231af","name":"admin@saba4321","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a3d645414967dc5d8b195a2786f8e7ae8df547fd6075e93c6d00ad978b0beff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4a3d645414967dc5d8b195a2786f8e7ae8df547fd6075e93c6d00ad978b0beff?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin@saba4321"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba"],"url":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/author\/adminsaba4321\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cloud.sabaseo.com\/~beta\/seosaba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}