I’m sure you recognize how important backlinks are for SEO.
And I know you’ve already heard how not all kinds of backlinks are made equal. actually having some sorts of backlinks could hurt your site’s rankings, and even end in a Google penalty.
The trouble is, how are you able to tell which of them are which?
Well, that’s what I’m getting to assist you with today.
In this post, I’ll show you 7 backlink types you ought to avoid in the least cost if you would like your site to rank in Google.
Intrigued? Let’s roll in the hay then.
Table of Contents
WHY SOME BACKLINKS ARE BAD FOR SEO?
The answer is simple:
Because Google considers them how to control website rankings.
In their guidelines for all website owners, Google states very clearly that anyone trying to control its rankings could have their website or at the very least the page in question penalized by removal from its index.
Because Google places tons of emphasis on backlink profiles when ranking sites, and since links are hard to urge, people search for shortcuts to urge more links.
For example, they buy links and participate in link exchange schemes.
Unfortunately, Google clearly states that these methods, and lots of others, violate its guidelines.
This is why we urge you to remain within the parameters began by Google and avoid doing anything that would cause a penalty.
What’s more, only recently, it decided to form the Penguin update a neighborhood of its ranking algorithm, meaning that it can now monitor and penalize an internet site for having spam links in real-time.
So, what are the backlink types you ought to avoid if you would like your site to rank?
#1. PURCHASED LINKS
Let’s not beat around the bush here:
Google find and brings down anyone buying links and penalizes sites found to be doing so.
And that even includes well-known brands.
The problem? It’s easy to fall prey to link sellers.
Companies selling links might dress it up as “buying advertising space” or “buying advertising,” which you would possibly see as a legitimate marketing technique.
However, within the eyes of Google, that “advertising space” is really a link you’ve bought to control Google and improve your website’s rankings.
Here is a screenshot from Google’s official guidelines on Link Schemes that explains all this.
#2. PRIVATE BLOG NETWORKS (PBNS)
A private blog network may be a group of blogs or websites typically owned by one person and found out for the only purpose of selling links. The websites within the network usually have only a couple of pages of content and infrequently get updated.
The average person stumbling across one among these websites wouldn’t know they were a part of a network. quite likely, they’d think the location was abandoned.
However, these sites often sell link space.
The owner of a blog network allows you to place a link back to your website in one among two ways:
-By publishing a fresh article that contains your link.
-By putting your website link into an already published article.
Of course, the owner of the network doesn’t provide this service freed from charge. which suggests anyone placing links on a personal blog network buys links to control Google’s algorithm to spice up their rankings.
Since the year 2012, Google has been finding and shutting down blog networks that are private.
And when the program finds a blog network, it de-indexes all the sites within it. As a result, website owners lose their links and potentially expose their sites to a penalty for purchasing links.
#3. SPAMMY BLOG COMMENTS
Let’s face it:
Adding a generic discussion in a blog stands little chance of helping your IT website improve its rankings.
For one, Google discounts these sorts of links because they’re not a part of the most editorial content or placed there by the site’s owner.
Also, if your site gets hit by a penalty further down the road, and you’ve used spammy blog comments as a linking tactic, removing them is especially difficult and dear.
Here’s an example of a few spammy comments on a live blog.
#4. SPONSORED POSTS WITHOUT FULL AND PROPER DISCLOSURE
A sponsored post is a piece of writing written by you or on your behalf for publishing on an internet site you don’t own. These articles are almost like guest posts but differ slightly because a) you always buy a sponsored post and b) they’re more self-promotional than your average guest post.
One of the biggest issues with using a post that is been sponsored as a link building strategy is disclosure.
The Federal Trade Commission frowns upon sponsored posts without disclosure because they might be seen as false advertising.
Google doesn’t like them because, essentially, you’re paying for a link designed to spice up your rankings and there’s little or no editorial control.
Should this put you off using sponsored posts as a way of marketing your website? No. It’s legitimate. As long because the site publishing your post discloses your account on an equivalent page because of the article.
After all, even large companies like Microsoft roll in the hay.
However, confirm that the location you’re placing a sponsored post on displays a full disclosure.
#5. SITEWIDE FOOTER OR SIDEBAR LINKS
Many of these bloggers and webmasters cram a mess of links into their website’s sidebar, and also footer areas.
The average reader doesn’t take much notice of what’s in these two areas of an internet site, so it’s easy for the owner to sneak in links designed to control Google’s algorithm.
If you encounter a site displaying many links with keyword-rich anchor text – ie. the precise words the typical person types into Google when they’re checking out goods or services – you’ll be almost certain some, if not all, of these links, are purchased and violate Google’s webmaster guidelines.
#6. NON-RELEVANT RECIPROCAL LINK EXCHANGES
Exchanging links looks like a simple thanks to getting more links, right?
All you would like to try to do is a link to someone, and they’ll link to you back.
But tempting as this strategy could seem, avoid it.
Before going further, let me say it’s okay for you to link to websites you are doing business with if the link has relevance. If you would like to recommend a consultant or another IT firm, that’s fine. If they need to link to you, that’s fine too.
These sorts of links won’t hurt your rankings.
Link exchanges become a drag once you swap tens or many links with businesses outside your industry.
The links could be within articles instead of the sidebar or footer, as mentioned earlier, but they don’t look right to Google’s search bot.
#7. PROFILES ON LOW-QUALITY DIRECTORIES WITH NO EDITORIAL CONTROL
Let’s make something clear:
On the entire, creating profiles on business directories isn’t bad.
In fact, it’s a surefire thanks to boosting your local SEO rankings.
It’s using low-quality directories which will hurt your rankings.
You see:
Not all web directories are created equal.
Some offer editorial control. this suggests that they’ll manually review your website and listing before approving it.
Others, however, publish links from anybody. And these are those you ought to avoid.
How are you able to tell the difference?
-Look for a ‘recent rejections’ page. If a directory has one – great. It means real people take care of the location and reject spam.
-Look at the listings in competitive niches like credit cards, mortgages, travel, etc. If you see tons of keywords within the links instead of company names, it’s an honest sign the directory provides little editorial control.
-Adult content. Check to ascertain if the directory links to adult content. If it does, it’s another one to avoid.
-Age. search for aged directories. Ones like the better of the online are years old and trusted by Google. Of course, you can’t believe age whenever.
-Gut feeling. you’ll tell tons from how the location causes you to feel. If you’ve got a nasty first impression about the location, proceed with caution.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Fact:
You need backlinks if you would like your site to rank.
The trouble, however, is that some backlink types could hurt your SEO, and even end in a Google penalty.
Luckily, now you recognize which backlink types to avoid.
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