Google’s suggestion that off-topic content might be targeted by the algorithm made a lot of people nervous, and for good reason — “off-topic” is hopelessly (deliberately?) vague. Many sites legitimately cover a wide range of topics, while other sites hyper-target topics now in a way that’s clearly designed to maximize SEO benefits.
The danger here is when Site Reputation Abuse starts to get codified into the algorithm. I think we have to be honest about our intent. If you’re writing original, useful content on your well-known local sports news site about the best cash-back credit cards, and you have an affiliate relationship with those providers, then you’re probably breaking the spirit of the rules, regardless of who’s creating that content.
What if your video gaming review site published original content about the best gift cards for gaming platforms, but that content was sponsored? Google’s current guidelines seem to suggest that’s low-risk. They specifically state that third-party ad blocks and properly labelled affiliate links within original content are not inherently abusive. What we’re talking about here is not individual affiliate links, but aggressive affiliate models that lead to gaming content purely for SEO.