Link spam (also known as spammy backlinks) are unnatural, low-quality backlinks built to manipulate a website’s ranking in the organic search results.
These links are usually created in bulk and placed on pages regardless of quality or context. That means the link spam is simply there for SEO purposes and provides no benefit to the website user.
Link spam directly violates Google’s search engine guidelines.
Any attempt to manipulate Google’s algorithm with spammy backlinks can result in a manual action penalty.
This is directly outlined in Google’s link spam policy.
Link spam has become much less effective since the introduction of Google Penguin and a number of link spam updates over the years.
What Will I Learn?
These are the main types of link spam:
Buying backlinks purely for SEO purposes is against Google’s guidelines.
But it crosses into link spam when you buy low-quality backlinks to spam the algorithm. The truth is that Google can detect paid links if they look unnatural and out of place.
While not all paid links are bad, low-quality paid links are against Google’s guidelines, and buying links should be done with caution.
It’s also worth mentioning that Google regards buying links as exchanging anything (money, goods, services, information) for the backlink.
Link farms are networks of websites set up just to link to each other.
Their main goal is to increase the number of backlinks to a site and boost each website’s domain authority.
Link farms don’t offer any real value to users, usually lack quality content and have unnatural link patterns.
Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to easily detect link farms.
Comment spam is simply irrelevant or generic comments on blogs and forums in bulk.
When you leave a comment, you can usually add a link to your website. These comments are often generated by bots and are solely meant for link building.
They add zero value to the conversation.
Blog commenting as an SEO link building strategy has become almost irrelevant. Most comments on blogs and forums are now automatically marked as UGC links, which don’t pass link equity.
Private blog networks (PBNs) are groups of websites controlled by the same owner and designed to generate backlinks to one primary site.
The owners of PBNs tend to go to extreme lengths to hide the fact that each site is a part of the network.
PBN owners then sell guest posts and link inserts on their primary website. Think of PBNs as a more sophisticated version of a link farm.
Backlinks from private blog networks are considered link spam and violate Google’s guidelines.
Automated link generation is when a website owner uses software to quickly generate thousands of backlinks.
This is usually done through:
And more! The truth is that these links are very spammy and extremely low-quality, making them easy targets for Google penalties.
Google identifies link spam through:
Here’s how it works:
Google’s algorithms constantly review sites for unnatural link patterns and linking behaviour. A high number of links from a low-quality site is likely to trigger the algorithm.
But that’s not all…
Google analyses the anchor text used in links to assess the quality of the link.
Building too many links to your website with the same or similar anchor text can trigger a link spam penalty.
What about human quality raters?
Users and website owners can report spammy links. Google’s team may then investigate the reports manually and take action based on them.
Google quality raters can also identify spammy links and sites whenever they review a website, even if they weren’t originally reported to them.
Here’s how to avoid link spam:
Regularly check your backlink profile to identify suspicious or low-quality links that may harm your site’s reputation.
Use tools like Google Search Console, Ahrefs and Semrush to track new backlinks and assess their quality.
You can protect your site from potential penalties by addressing harmful links as they arise. This includes protecting your site from negative SEO attacks.
Avoid engaging in link schemes such as:
These types of dodgy link building tactics will only attract spammy links, which will lead to harsh Google penalties.
Instead, use proven link building strategies that strengthen your backlink profile and boost keyword rankings.
Only build high-quality links from reputable and relevant websites.
Focus on high-authority sites in your niche that Google considers trusted sources. These will add real value to your site in terms of reputation and improve your rankings over time.
When it comes to link building, it’s about quality over quantity.
There are tons of ways to build natural links.
Let me explain:
Create great content that attracts links naturally because people want to link to you organically. This is the best and safest way to build links!
The best strategies include:
These strategies involve content that provides real value to users. This approach helps build your backlink profile, improve SEO, and create more trust with users.
Who doesn’t want that, right?
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