Dodgy link profiles?!?!
-
Just started working on a new pharma based client in the UK. I have been carrying out some link profiling on page one results for several key terms and have discovered that almost all of the sites ranking in top positions appear to have all kinds of rubbish links (links in irrelevant content / articles, links in forum signatures, single page blogs and sites that appear to have little association with their products). These links seem to be about the only links some of them have yet they rank top!
It seems a very difficult prospect to build a decent white hat link profile if everyone else is STILL capitalizing on the sort of rubbish links that Google is supposed to be getting tough on. Are online pharmacies the world that Google forgot or is this a really common issue?
-
Thanks for the insight guys. I think I am resigned to the fact that doing this white hat is going to be a bit of a slow burner. It will be an interesting one to see grow though as the site is more or less a blank canvass in terms of link profile. Trying to figure out a good strategy to beat the spam sites (and occasional authentic site) will be a good challenge.
-
Ah, I would say the pharmacy industry is probably one of the most competitive verticals in SEO, specifically due to the blackhat tactics you mentioned. The short answer is that obviously these kinds of dodgy link schemes are still quite effective but you are right that Google is definitely getting tougher on these kinds of links. My bet is that the sites that are currently ranking in the top spots for your desired keywords will be slapped with penalties and removed eventually but that a new group of sites with spammy links will soon pop right back up in those spots.
That being said, I don't think it's a lost cause to get your client ranking well using legitimate white hat links, although it's likely to be more of a gradual long term process. I certainly know how frustrating it can be to have to battle against these shady sites since I have clients in similar situations (mortgages and insurance), but over time, we have made steady improvements in the rankings by creating good content as well as utilizing press releases and social media which in turn, results in high quality backlinks from authoritative sites. While it does take time, it's at least comforting to know that it is highly unlikely that your client's site will be slapped with penalties and should gradually rise to the top as Google continues to work on weeding out the spam sites.
Also, try to focus on long tail keywords that the spammers are not targeting and make it a goal to increase overall organic traffic rather than simply ranking #1 for something like "viagra."
-
You did say you were working on a "Pharma" site right? What other types of viagra sites exist besides spam sites?...
Kidding aside, sites may rank in spite of their poor link profiles. Links are not everything. They are a lot, but not everything. If the sites are old enough and perform well enough, their history may outweigh the updates. If you don't want to follow the crowd then better for you. Your very own diversified link portfolio is better than trying to match another site's. Go for links a spam site can't get. Get quality Edu links. Put out quality content. Go for long tail search and rankings. Watch your site slowly pick up speed. It's a slow road, but has sure footing.
Or follow the crowd and go for that automated link building. Just remember, if you want a quick road to the top then you can expect a rapid decent as well.
Disclaimer, either approach could fail, either could win. Know your risks.
-
IME crap links still rank if everyone else in that niche has a tone of bad links as well (remember google need relevant search results for its users), but chances are little or no value will be flowing from thiose links. This is just my opinion... I have no evidence to back it up. Build some good links and see what happens....
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Unsolved Are links from staff profile pages no longer good for SEO?
Hey there, We run a small site that lists lawyers and we have an opportunity to ask the lawyers to display a 'badge' on their own website's staff page, linked back to the page on our site that they are listed on. Initially I thought this would be good link building (i.e. the lawyer's own staff/profile pages on their website linking to our site where they are listed = a highly relevant link). I was less concerned about the authority of the law firm's sites, though these will range from sometimes low-ish to medium. I just assumed that Google would see the value in the lawyer wanting to link to our site where they are listed. However, our SEO has said that these days Google doesn't give much/any value to these types of links from individual staff pages. His advice was to try and get the badge added to one of their service pages (or their About page) which will be unlikely as the badge is person-specific. I thought I'd ask if this was everyone else's experience regarding Google not valuing links from individual staff pages? Thanks for you help 🙂
Link Building | | Andy-H0 -
Internal Link Building and Link Juice Quality
Hi There! I manage the website for a law office that covers many geographical locations. For very specific niche content, we would prefer to create one piece of content and link to the various geographic locations where we would handle that topic instead of posting multiple variations of the same content for each specific geographical area. If we put a button on these pages that has links to each location, will that have the same "link juice" effect to the pages we're linking that linking directly in the text would? (example: the Where can we help you? button on this page : http://www.zdfirm.com/volkswagen-recall/) Thank you!
Link Building | | ZDAdmin0 -
Thoughts on creating a resource/recommend links page in order to attain links?
Hey guys, Just wondering, how does Google view reciprocal link building nowadays? I've heard in the past that it's something that Google isn't particularly keen on. However, more recently, I've also read that - as long as the links are decent (and in moderation) - link exchanging is by no means a bad thing. The reason I ask is that I'm thinking of creating a "resource/recommended links page" for a client of mine. Because of their industry, it's really apparent that attaining links is often only possible if there is the opportunity of a reciprocal link in return. Therefore, I'd need to have a resource/recommend links page of my own. Is this something I should go ahead with to make it much easier to attain links? Or should I try to avoid reciprocal links and attempt to pinpoint one-way linking opportunities - even if they're thin on the ground? Any help much as appreciated as always. Cheers.
Link Building | | Webrevolve0 -
Links are Everything, right?
So I have removed all errors to the site, have the keywords where they go in the title, and yet I dropped a spot. For those experts out there, are linking domains just everything these days?
Link Building | | jonnyholt0 -
Blog traffic / link ratio? (Esimated of how much traffic will result in a link)
Hi, Was wondering if people could please tell me some estimates of how much traffic is likely to gain links to a blog post? For example 1,000 hits = 1 link, Hence 10,000 hits = 10 links to a blog post? I understand there is no magic ratio I just want to know what people have achieved. I’m after averages not just a one off really successful blog post too. Please specify the topic you achieve this in e.g. SEO, photography, business, heath... etc.
Link Building | | charles10 -
Great idea to get back links in short order; however the links would be unrelated. . Is it worth the effort . BTW, it's a white hat method. Should I proceed?
I have come up with a very creative way to get some great back links using white hat methods. The problem is that the back links to the site would be to an interior page or external promotional website which then have links back to the main website. What kind of value for the main domain would this potentially achieve. What are peopLes thoughts on this idea?
Link Building | | FidelityOne0 -
SEOs and web developers frequently leave links to their site in the footer of their clients' sites. Does this negatively impact the site with the links?
Does this provide any SEO value to the receiving site? Has anyone experienced problems doing this?
Link Building | | KatMouse2 -
New ways to get links (excluding on site link bait)?
Fellow SEOs, I’m looking for a new way to reach out to bloggers and site owners for links. There are quite a few link bait techniques to lure bloggers thanks to = amazing content, infographics,...but there are not so many articles on ways to contact bloggers/webmasters and ask for links... We all know that contacting site owners directly and politely asking then to place a link on their home page is as useful as a comb in Bruce willis’s hand. Link exchange is as dead as the Dodo and business partner links are usefull and easier to get but opportunities are often limited. I have been organizing contests for bloggers recently and it has been quite successful up to now, but I always like to have a spare trick up my sleeve. So if any of you have a decent method to reach out to bloggers/webmaster and get decent links please let me know, I will be forever thankful ; ) Cheers
Link Building | | ref.price0