I was reading a good thread on the October update (October 2007 Google SERP Changes) and noticed that there were some references to avoiding the word "sponsored" or maybe the phrase "sponsored links." This brings up a good question. Are there words or phrases that should be generally avoided at all costs? I went through one of my sites that has a very comprehensive niche directory and noticed I have phrases like "sponsored links," "link sponsors," "return link will give you sponsor status," etc. etc.
Are words like this hurting my site? If so, maybe there should be a compiled list of words or phrases to avoid. Just a thought. It would be easy for G to implement something like this in their algo and with all the directories constantly popping up, and the fact that Google is trying hard to filter them, demoting sites with these phrases would be easy.
Any thoughts?
