Read a post in SEOmoz that explained more about how Google penalizes sites when the run paid advertising links and how you really need to be careful. In Widgetbait Gone Wild you can see just how easy it is to fall into the penalty zone:
We started putting links to those sites instead of dating links in our quiz/widget HTML code. We soon ranked for competitive keywords such as "Cash Advance," "Payday Loans," and a few EDU lead generation terms. Our success led to Google receiving a number of spam complaints along with some unfavorable press in the Guardian that referred to me as genius/fiend. The consequence of all of this is that we were penalized by Google. We no longer ranked for "Free Online Dating" and other dating related keywords. In fact, we no longer even rank for very brand-specific keywords such as "JustSayHi". In short, we had been completely banned from search results.
As soon as we discovered that we had been penalized, we immediately filed a reconsideration request. Matt Cutts got involved in the case personally, but after a couple of emails, the penalty was not lifted. The basis for the penalty was:
- We cross-promoted other websites with our widget/quizzes on JustSayHi
- The other domains we promoted were in very spammy sectors and had duplicate content issues
- JustSayHi had some paid links/inclusions in our link profiles (these were prior to my arrival, but nonetheless are part of our history)
- Our reconsideration request was truthful but not as forthcoming as it might have been. We were asked to list all the spammy domains, and I only listed the two we had promoted with the quizzes, not the entire network which was owned by a separate company. In our defense, we knew very little about these domains (their history, how many there actually were, etc), but we should have done our homework.
And once falling into the "Zone" you can't get out easily, or at all.
I think it's great Matthew Inman wrote about the penalty and what caused it in the first place
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