I love it when I come across SEO guidance straight from Google — no speculation, no interpretation, just the source itself telling you what it rewards and what it penalises. Here are my key takeaways from Google’s official spam-fighting guidelines, and why they matter for your website.
”Unnatural Links From a Site”
Years ago, nearly every website had a “Useful Links” page — a collection of links to other websites in your industry. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Google now considers these pages a red flag, potentially signalling participation in link exchange schemes. Even if you genuinely curated those links with good intentions, the page works against you. My advice: delete your “Useful Links” page. At best, it’s a dated concept that wastes a page. At worst, it’s actively undermining your Google ranking.
User-Generated Spam
If your website has a blog with public comments enabled, you need to actively moderate every single comment before approving it.
The vast majority of comments on smaller blogs these days are spam from link builders — you can spot them by their poor grammar and generic praise (“Great article! Very informative!”). Publishing these not only adds zero value for your readers, it can attract a Google penalty. Review and approve every comment manually.
”Thin Content With Little or No Added Value”
Google defines thin content as pages that don’t genuinely help users: thin affiliate pages, doorway pages, cookie-cutter sites, automatically generated content, or copied content.
That last point deserves its own paragraph. Copied content — whether it’s lifted from a competitor’s website, a supplier’s product description, or anywhere else — is:
- Not ethical. The person who wrote it spent time and money creating it. Stealing it isn’t just lazy, it’s disrespectful.
- A missed opportunity. Your clients deserve your expert opinion, not someone else’s. Your unique knowledge and voice are your competitive advantage.
- Potentially illegal. Copyright applies to written content just as it does to images and music. What someone creates belongs to them.
- A Google penalty waiting to happen. Google specifically identifies copied content as a violation, and acts accordingly.
Write your own content. If you can’t write it yourself, hire a copywriter. It’s worth every cent.
”Spammy Free Hosts and Dynamic DNS Providers”
Google explicitly calls out websites hosted on low-quality free hosting services. The message is clear: even if you’re working with a limited budget, invest in legitimate hosting. WordPress on a reputable Australian hosting provider costs less than most people think, and it gives you a platform that Google takes seriously.
The full list of Google’s spam-fighting guidelines is worth reading in full — it covers several more issues including hacked sites, hidden text, and keyword stuffing. When it comes to SEO, there’s no more authoritative source than Google itself.
Not sure whether your current SEO practices are working for you or against you? Get in touch with Blue Platypus for a free SEO audit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers a Google penalty?
The common causes are unnatural links, thin or duplicated content, keyword stuffing, hidden text and user-generated spam left unmoderated. Nearly all of them come from trying to shortcut ranking rather than earn it.
How do I know if my site has been penalised?
Check Google Search Console for a manual action notice. If there is none and traffic has dropped, you are more likely seeing an algorithm update than a penalty — different problem, different fix.
How do I recover from a penalty?
Fix the underlying cause, then request reconsideration through Search Console for a manual action. Recovery takes weeks to months, which is why the shortcut is rarely worth it.
Are old SEO tactics still risky?
Some are actively harmful, some are simply useless. Buying links and hiding text still cause damage. Meta keywords and article spinning just waste time — Google stopped rewarding them long ago.
