Sep 8, 2019 : Todhost September 2019 News Update

📅 September 8, 2019 - 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.