Concerned about quality of backlinks - should I take action?
-
I regularly work on websites to which previous SEOs have built questionable backlinks.
This morning I've just been analysing some backlinks - found 40 odd were coming from 20 odd websites which all had the same gentleman as personal registrant, who happens to be the boss of an SEO company.
The SEO company name is mentioned in registrant details too, and often on the websites in question (including weblinks from some of these 20 odd websites to the SEO company). I did note the IP addresses / hosting for these websites did vary though, as did the postal address of the individual in question, perhaps throwing Google off the scent a bit.
I should add that these websites are virtually all tourism related/themed, with up to a few dozen backlinks per page - usually articles. It's very clear they are backlinking to keyphrases.
Now, this kinda thing<a></a> sets the alarm bells ringing. Firstly, this looks like an infringement of Google Webmaster Guidelines. Secondly, it doesn't sound like a White Hat technique for building links! Am I correct?
I guess it might be denied they are partner pages due to the quality of content, perhaps, which isn't as spammy as it might've been. However, I suggest these are at least paid links because there is no other clear way of getting content on these pages, as far as I can see.<a></a><a></a>
Should I demand these backlinks are taken down? What level of risk is posed do you think? I don't want this website to suffer a Google penalty at some point, particularly not after I've started work on it.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.
-
Thanks for reply John - appreciated. Pretty infuriating isn't it, huh. To be honest, I think the SEO industry needs a minimum standard, a code of conduct that's policed in some way. There really is so much awful stuff being carried out in the name of SEO. From what I've seen, the SEO agencies I've come across do it (1) Because it's easy (2) Because they can show their clients quick results.
-
Thanks Robert - moving on with a positive focus is good advice. That said, I really have little idea how dangerous the kind of linkbuilding I've described really is. What level of risk my client has been exposed to. Hope Google doesn't hit them on those backlinks, that's for sure.
-
I have the same situation going on with one of my clients. Except their competition is doing the same exact thing to a larger extent and is ranking well for all the keywords which they have tried for. I just moved on and started to build high quantity back links. I don't understand why these SEO companies feel the need to do this kind of spammy link building. I have had the fear that there will be an Google update targeted towards spammy linking.... Meanwhile all we can do is do what Robert said and ask them to remove the links.
-
Luke,
You could send out demands for removal, etc. but I doubt they would get too far. I think the easier thing to do would be to move forward from where you are. First, most are not going to remove them and second, there are likely better places to spend your time (more SEO valuable). If you want to cover your client's butt in the event of a Google interdiction, send out some emails requesting the links be taken down, keep copies, and start building new links. At least you will have something to show them if there is a problem.
I have often run into this with clients and at first panicked. Today, I just move forward. Focus on the bigger issues:
Does the site have good content or is it spammy?
Is the SEO on page/site, etc. solid?
Are they targeting the right keywords?
Did I mention Content?
Are there ads everywhere?
Do you need a freshen up campaign? etc. etc. etc.
I think if you focus on those things and, if still nervous, send out the emails, you will likely be fine. If all else is solid and the site is quality, go get them some good links as I don't think Google is going to kill you over the links alone.
Best of luck.
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
-
Paid link with high quality content
I know paid links is against google's policy. But what if I have a very quality content including my paid link on blogger's site referencing to my site.
Link Building | | zeitnot
Is it counted as an ad or spammy content which leads to penalization by search engines ?0 -
Backlinking and Redirect links
Can anyone properly explain that whats the basic differnce between redirects? and backlinks? my site lottery sambad is getting some 301 redirects, is that good or bad??
Link Building | | Mubashir_Baloch0 -
Best free or inexpensive backlink audit tools
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for free or inexpensive backlink audit tools? Of course I have access to Search Console and to the OSE but it seems they don't offer a complete picture of our backlink profiles. I have previous experience using Link Research Tools for this but this is too expensive for the amount of use we would get out of it so I am looking for (much) cheaper alternatives. I look after 8 websites, however very little active link building was done for these in the past so we are not experiencing any issues due to bad links, but I would still like to get a better picture of our complete backlink profile. I've considered just using a trial of Majestic or Ahrefs for this, but this would only be a one off solution. I would welcome any suggestions. Thanks!
Link Building | | ViviCa10 -
Domain and page backlinks
Hello Everyone, I am new at SEO, and I am a bit confused with the following situation: I have domain, wordpress site on it, and I am building backlinks to it (testing). I do not have "home" page among pages in wordpress, if it means anything. When I build links, i use different anchor texts, but they all point to http://somethingsomething.net -Ahrefs shows that I have 830 backlinks from 45 domains, to my URL, which is http://somethingsomething.net (it is also my site's home page address) -MOZ;s Open site explorer, on the other hand, shows the following: 8 internal links and 0 external links for page specific metrics, and 878 total links 0 external for root domain metrics. -Google Webmaster tools shows 10 external links pointing to my site Please can someone explain to me what is happening here? Thanks a lot
Link Building | | ShivFriv770 -
Should we BackLink to Guest Post ?
Hi, I have been actively doing guest blogging for last few weeks . But the page authority , moz Rank and moz Trust of my guest posts appear 0 as those posts have their own pages on blogs with snippets of posts on home page. I wanted to ask if i should backlink to my guest posts to increase the authority, mR and mT of pages. Those posts are already appearing as backlinks in webmaster tools but if i backlink to my posts to increase mR and mT, then will it also increase the juice passed by backlinks in those posts to landing pages on my site ? Thanks,
Link Building | | shaz_lhr0 -
Backlinking
I WANT TO START BACKLINKING MY WEBSITE, WWW.CHARLIEFLETCHER.CO.UK . ive signed up for a 30day trail, what is the best way to get started. Charlie
Link Building | | charliefletcher0 -
Quotations about importance of social media and backlinks
Hi all, I'm looking to put together a presentation on SEO and I'm wondering if anyone knows any good quotes that relate to the importance of having content on your site that people want to use and share. I'm looking for something like this: “Today’s marketing success comes from self-publishing Web content that people want to share. It’s not about gimmicks. It’s not about paying an agency to interrupt others.” David Meerman Scott “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” but ideally something that illustrates in terms of numbers how much more traffic and seo benefits a site can expect from having good guides, pdfs and news stories that people want to share. Thanks so much for any helo you can offer. thanks, David
Link Building | | AnthOrange0 -
Finding Directories – HIGH Quality – Directory Critic REALLY???
I am trying to concentrate on high quality directory link building as part of my search for quality one way followed links. My usual criteria is: Domain rank of at 70+ Page ranks of 20-30+ on the actual link pages. Human edited I have been finding them using loads of different resources and have occasionally used Directory Critic. (Obviously I have used the SeoMoz directory list but as we are all aware this is past it’s prime..) Any resources or techniques other people use?
Link Building | | JohnW-UK0