1. Thin or Shallow Content
- This domain-level penalty targets sites with a predominant amount of so-so content and essentially treats it similar to overt spam techniques.
- Today it’s no longer a question of whether the content is simply relevant but whether it is valuable to the user.
2. Cloaking
- Rigging your site so that search engines show a completely different version of what humans see.
- One of the worst things you can do.
- It is considered a bait and switch and seen as a deliberate attempt to manipulate the search results.
3. Keyword Stuffing
- Have to go to extremes for this penalty to work.
- Happens when you overutilize keywords or phrases.
4. Hidden Text
- Search engines don’t like anything that is hidden. They want to see everything a user sees.
- Don't hide text, whether it be using styles, fonts, display, none, or any other means that means a typical user can’t see it.
5. Ads/top-heavy layout
- Page layout algorithm was made to address this.
- This penalty is reserved for sites that frustrate the user experience by placing an overabundance of ads before content.
- Don't make users search for content*
6. Paid Links
- One of Google's major rules is you can’t buy or sell links in a way that passes on search engine ranking credit.
5. Link Spam
- Given a lot of weight to negatively affect your SEO