The Stupid Way Rap Genius Got Burned by GoogleTraffic to the lyrics site is down enormously after Google banned it for trying to game the search system.
ByJason Fell•
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you try to gameGoogle, you're bound to get burned. Such is the case with Rap Genius, a site that hosts and explains lyrics to songs and copy from other texts.
In an attempt to rank higher in Google search, the site solicited bloggers to link to Rap Genius pages in exchange for exposure via Rap Genius' social media channels. While Google generally viewsbacklinksfrom reputable sites as a positive ranking factor, paying for backlinks is commonly considered an unacceptableSEOstrategy.
Rap ineptitude, one might say.
Even thoughthe site has issued an apology, Google's actions were swift: it removed the Rap Genius website from all Google searches. Traffic to the Rap Genius site hasplummeted from about 700,000 uniques a day to less than 200,000显示,to Quantcast.
While getting notified by Google that your website is in violation of its quality guidelines can be a frightening thing for many business owners, you canrepair damage any damage that has been done.
Related:How to Fix Your Website If You Violate Google's Quality Guidelines
