Google: sponsored content is okay as long as you use nofollow links
It’s okay to have sponsored content on your website as long as you use nofollow links in the sponsored content. Google will see the content as a part of your website then. That’s what Google’s webmaster team said on Twitter.
Hi again, Dan! That's correct. If you don't mind that this content is seen as a part of your website, then just using rel=nofollow would be suitable. If you don't want it seen as a part of your site in search, using noindex would be better than robots.txt.
— Google Webmasters (@googlewmc)
Paid links should always contain the nofollow attribute
This statement is not new. Google’s Quality Guidelines say that paid links (for example links in sponsored content) should use the nofollow attribute:
“Additionally, creating links that weren’t editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s owner on a page, otherwise known as unnatural links, can be considered a violation of our guidelines. Here are a few common examples of unnatural links that may violate our guidelines: […] Advertorials or native advertising where payment is received for articles that include links that pass PageRank.”
If there is any kind of compensation for a link, it is better to use the rel=nofollow attribute in the link to avoid Google penalties.
Sponsored content should not exceed your own content.
According to Google’s content policies, sponsored content should not exceed your own content:
“Advertising and other paid promotional material on your pages should not exceed your content. We do not allow content that conceals or misrepresents sponsored content as independent, editorial content.
“Sponsorship, including, but not limited to, ownership or affiliate interest, payment, or material support, should be clearly disclosed to readers. The subject of sponsored content should not focus on the sponsor without clear disclosure.”
If you want to avoid that Google sees the sponsored content as a part of your website, use the robots noindex tag on the page with the sponsored content.
Google: structured data is not a ranking factor and errors in structured data do not lead to penalties
Google’s John Mueller said on Reddit that structured data is not a ranking factor. He also said on Twitter that errors in structured data code do not lead to penalties.
Structured data is not a ranking factor
“Just to set expectations, structured data generally wouldn’t be seen as a ranking factor — it’s just the search result that might be shown differently. Sometimes that difference is enough to make it worthwhile though :). Also, think about what it is that you want to achieve with it, don’t just do it because it’s possible.”
Structured data can have a positive impact on the click-throughs that your search listings get. Unfortunately, there can also lead to fewer website visitors.
2. Errors in structured data code do not lead to penalties
On Twitter, Google’s John Mueller said that errors in structured data code do not lead to penalties as long as your structured data code is compliant with Google’s guidelines:
Tobias Glawe @t_glawe
@JohnMu Is there a possiblity to get a penality by an error in structured data on a page (double entries, outdated data)?
If the error in structured data results in the structured data not being compliant with our guidelines, then that's possible. Just having invalid markup wouldn't be a cause for a manual action there.
Google starts to penalize domain leasing
Google has started to penalize leased sections on third party websites:
Glenn Gabe @glenngabe
OK, quick update. EU *and* US sites are being impacted. Just noticed the coupons section of a weather site saw a big drop. Google is def. backing up their stance on domain leasing.
Glenn Gabe @glenngabe:
Wow, so looks like Google backed up its warning about domain leasing. Several sites started dropping (for the sections being leased). Not sure this has come to the US yet. These drops are mostly outside the US.
Google says sponsored content is okay as long as you use nofollow links
It’s okay to have sponsored content on your website as long as you use nofollow links in the sponsored content. Google will see the content as a part of your website then. That’s what Google’s webmaster team said on Twitter.
Hi again, Dan! That's correct. If you don't mind that this content is seen as a part of your website, then just using rel=nofollow would be suitable. If you don't want it seen as a part of your site in search, using noindex would be better than robots.txt.
— Google Webmasters (@googlewmc)
Paid links should always contain the nofollow attribute
This statement is not new. Google’s Quality Guidelines say that paid links (for example links in sponsored content) should use the nofollow attribute:
“Additionally, creating links that weren’t editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s owner on a page, otherwise known as unnatural links, can be considered a violation of our guidelines. Here are a few common examples of unnatural links that may violate our guidelines: […] Advertorials or native advertising where payment is received for articles that include links that pass PageRank.”
If there is any kind of compensation for a link, it is better to use the rel=nofollow attribute in the link to avoid Google penalties.
Sponsored content should not exceed your own content
According to Google’s content policies, sponsored content should not exceed your own content:
“Advertising and other paid promotional material on your pages should not exceed your content. We do not allow content that conceals or misrepresents sponsored content as independent, editorial content.
“Sponsorship, including, but not limited to, ownership or affiliate interest, payment, or material support, should be clearly disclosed to readers. The subject of sponsored content should not focus on the sponsor without clear disclosure.”
If you want to avoid that Google sees the sponsored content as a part of your website, use the robots noindex tag on the page with the sponsored content.
it’s okay to use multiple structured data types on the same page
The Google webmaster team said on Twitter that you can use multiple structured data types on the same page:
Hi Ps Nihal! Using multiple types of structured data on a page is fine. However, keep in mind that Google may not be able to display all types together, so if you have a preference regarding a specific rich result type, try to focus on that type. https://t.co/dOhA2eFLGz has more.
— Google Webmasters (@googlewmc)
As long as you follow Google’s schema guidelines, you can add multiple structured data types to a page as long as they match the content of the page. For example, the same page could contain product markup code and reviews markup code. It’s still up to Google whether they will show rich results or not for the page.
Google now showing competitor ads on local business profiles
Google has been slowly ramping local search monetization over time. It introduced local search ads in early 2017, which put ads in local packs, and began putting ads in local Knowledge Panels roughy two years ago. Now, the company is starting to show competitor ads in local business profiles.
A ‘Local Campaign’ placement. Part of Local Campaigns, the ads are designed to drive visits to local businesses and retail locations. These fully automated units run across Google properties, including search, Maps, GDN and YouTube.
Ben Fisher first noticed this development last week. :
Can’t pay to remove the ad. Discussion about the ad unit on Twitter refers to this as the local Knowledge Panel but it is technically the local business profile. There’s also speculation that Google is gearing up to charge business owners to remove the ad. However ts was confirmed with Google that businesses will not be asked to nor can they pay to have the ad removed.
In April, Google fielded a survey to business owners, which some agencies also received, asking about potential future features and capabilities for GMB. This was a test and most of these things probably won’t materialize. However, one of the proposed items was “get leads from competitor profiles.”
The ad unit above is not that proposed feature but is consistent with its spirit. Much of local SEO reaction and conversation that follows Fisher’s original Tweet is critical of the move.
People spoken to about this in the local SEO community feel generally that Google shouldn’t be putting ads for direct competitors on business profiles. Further, some argue it may also be confusing to consumers looking for specific businesses.
Why we should care. There’s a sense that the GMB profile is “owned” by the business. However that’s not correct; it’s Google’s property, just as Facebook owns and controls local Facebook Pages. This is something that businesses should be sober about. However, Google must also be mindful of too-aggressive monetization of local. Some SEOs are saying this is such an example.
It’s probably better that businesses can’t pay to remove these ads because that would be perceived as a form of “extortion,” something Yelp has been accused of — it’s advertisers don’t have competitor ads on their profiles.
Previous News
Google Quality Update Targets E-A-T, Page Quality and Interstitials
Yoast SEO Plugin for WordPress Now Offer Defragmented Schema Markup
New Google Algorithm May Update Page Ranking
Google+ is Shuting Down in April 2019
Preparing for Joomla 4.0
WordPress 5.0 Comes with Gutenberg Update
Enable Your Free SSL to Avoid Being Hurt by the Google Chrome Update
Search Perform Better Than social for referral traffic in 2017
Google going to mark all HTTP sites as “not secure”
Sunday, September 8, 2019
