Google Updates & Details Webmaster Guidelines

Google has just updated their Google Webmaster guidelines page with clearer and more detailed guidelines.

If you scroll down to the quality guidelines portion and the “Quality guidelines – specific guidelines” section, you will notice that those specifics are now hyperlinked to more details.

• Avoid hidden text or hidden links.
• Don’t use cloaking or sneaky redirects.
• Don’t send automated queries to Google.
• Don’t load pages with irrelevant keywords.
• Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.
• Don’t create pages that install viruses, trojans, or other badware.
• Avoid “doorway” pages created just for search engines, or other “cookie cutter” approaches such as affiliate programs with little or no original content.
• If your site participates in an affiliate program, make sure that your site adds value. Provide unique and relevant content that gives users a reason to visit your site first.

I may update this post with more information, after I dig deeper into the pages and listen to Matt Cutts at Google talk about it on the Penalty Box Summit session at SMX.