Don’t Try To Trick Google

Avoid tricks intended to improve search engine rankings.

Spend time improving your webpages, not on SEO tricks or shortcuts. If you use tricks or shortcuts, you will be ranked lower than your competitors.

What are tricks?

• Tricks are attempts to manipulate search engine results.
• The more time you spend attempting to manipulate search engine results, the less time you have spent on creating quality content that helps your users.
• Google has identified that, as a trend, websites that exhibit indications of search engine manipulation attempts are in general less relevant than websites that spend time on their users.
• To determine if something you are doing is a trick, ask yourself “would I do this if search engines did not exist?”

Why tricks stop working
Every technique that has ever been used to manipulate Google search engine results has gone through the following process…

1. Someone discovers an action that increases their rankings in the Google index
2. Other people notice and start using that action on their websites
3. Google notices and devalues that action rendering it useless
4. Google applies filters and penalties to websites using that action – THOSE WEBSITES ARE NOW IDENTIFIED AS USERS OF TRICKS
5. Someone discovers another action….

This circle of events will occur every time a manipulative technique is introduced to the web (some work longer than others but they all get identified eventually).

Make your site more useful for users
The main way to ensure you are doing everything you can is to follow the Google webmaster guidelines.

Another useful test is to ask, “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?.

The main way to rank better in Google is make your site better for users.