With Google punishing the sites of several high-profile brands with penalties recently, we thought now would be a good time to clarify any grey areas when it comes to what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in Google’s eyes. Of course, many things that are total ‘do nots’ in the world of SEO now, started off a few years ago as easy ‘do’ tactics.

If you’re ever in doubt, it’s best to refer to the Google Webmaster guidelines. Here you’ll find a helpful list of rules from the powers that be, which should help you stay on the straight and narrow and avoid penalties.

To make things extra clear, we’ve outlined some of the old-school SEO techniques that are still catching some people out. And, we’ve even summarised why they are a no-go if you want to stay on the right side of Google and in a good position on the SERPs.

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