This article is an archival repost of a blog I published with SEMrush back in 2018. The content on their site has since been reworked and published at https://www.semrush.com/blog/google-penalties-expert-tips/. I’m reposting this strictly for archival purposes for myself. 2023 me would have approach this article in a completely different way, especially with some of the outdated information it contains.