Terms of Service Resulting in Spam is Quick Way to Get Your Site in Trouble

Yes, we know they are long. Yes, it can be as exciting to read as reading the dictionary.

Yes, most of the time they are pretty standard. But what about when they aren’t?

We’re talking about Terms and Conditions or Terms of Service. You know, those things you have to click “I agree” to before proceeding–on just about everything on the internet these days.

It is easy to get lazy. Especially when you have read a bunch of them and they all seem to be the same. Pretty much verbatim the same, in fact.

But there are people who, whether intentionally or not, will provide you with a ‘service’ that can actually harm your website. Sometimes you won’t even know it. But Google and other search engine bots might. They might actually interpret it as spam or something else that is against their policies–and that is a big problem.

And that’s where the problem begins.

Case in point is the 404 to 301 Plugin, but it isn’t the only one. And to their credit, the authors of this plugin have theoretically already fixed the issue that was causing the main problem with Google.

So, read the terms of service or terms & conditions. If you don’t understand what it means or the implications, then wait before you install. Talk to someone you trust who can advise you.

Mistakes can happen, even when you are careful. So monitor your website’s health. Keep backups in case you need to “roll back” your site to an earlier date. Consider a security software.

This isn’t meant to scare you, just alert and educate. You can’t be expected to know everything about your business and the internet, too. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a website. It just means sometimes we have to get help from someone else.

After all, just because I can watch a YouTube video on how to fix my car, paint my house, or trim the trees in my backyard, it doesn’t mean that it is necessarily a good idea. I might save myself some money–or I might make more money by focusing on my business and paying someone else to take care of these things.

Neither way is inherently right or wrong. Just be smart about it. Do you enjoy learning new things–go for it. But if you are frustrated or overwhelmed, or not having the success in your business that you want, and deserve, then focus on that.

Read the blog post by WordFence security for more info.