For Google, the use of white hat SEO strategies is the proper way to rank at the top spot. This belief however has not been appreciated by many optimisers. In this connection, Google has solidified its commitment to chase Internet companies and professionals that deviate from the prescribed use of white hat approach. And it was not that long before the acclaimed search giant eventually came out with a list of offenders. In 2011, the violators were revealed. Interestingly, the rule breakers were popular corporate giants!
Google Reprimands JCPenny.com For Unlawful Link Scheme
The popular department store in the name of J.C. Penney was incorporated in the list. Truth it, Google slapped it with a 90 day penalty that barred it from further Web exposure. The reason for the penalty is that company website was found to violate Webmaster Guidelines when it used paid links to drive the advertising efforts for its corporate website.
Doug Pierce from Blue Fountain Media, among other experts, cited that the use of black hat SEO has been more damaging than helpful for the store’s business. Further interrogations from the press allowed J.C. Penney to give out clarifications regarding the incident. The company denied any engagement in the link scheme and pointed fingers at its suspicious SEO partner firm for doing the dirty deed.
Google Penalizes Forbes.com For Selling Links
The famous online magazine got a spanking from Google last year for its preference for the dark art of black hat SEO. According to reports, the magazine website, which became a violator of Google’s Guidelines for the second time in 2011, has been selling text links all over the Web. Google’s notice highlighted the fact that Forbes’ pages contained artificial links, which pointed out to other websites, for PageRank purposes.
The issue might be far off from the present day, but the importance of the story remains: white hat is the ultimate road to successful rankings. Ultimately, the underlying message of these penalisations is that there is no better way to rank high in Google than by using white hat SEO strategies.