Opinion regarding SEO Sabotage
-
Hello Mozcommunity,
I would like opinions regarding potential spammy inbound links from others .
In theory you would want excellent useful content on your site that other web properties would link to in a natural way..link bait.
But what if links were pointing to your site with malicious intent. For example a competitor bombs yours site with spammy/black hat links.
This is clearly a dilemma for search engines since anyone can link to your site...even though you can block incoming with .access I don't believe many smaller in-house seo teams (or do it yourself small business owners) use Google analytics to routinely monitor referring sources.
-
Hey Will,
Very cool to see you dropping by on the Q&A
Sha
-
Will thanks I was trying to give you the "good answer" tag but I guess i can only use three.
Can you name examples of "sadly, often it was the company itself"...just kidding.
-
Sha, great article thanks for posting...
-
There's been a lot of controversy back and forth on this. I have definitely seen sites get hurt by link profiles that competitors could have built (sadly, often it was the company itself). However - I have only seen this for pretty weak sites (as others have said). I have not yet seen a case where a strong site with a natural link profile got hurt by competitors. I wouldn't spend an awful lot of time worrying about it.
-
The less quality natural links you have the easier it is for a competitor to sabotage you. Brand new sites can definitely be sabotaged, but well established sites are almost impossible to take down because it's a good to bad incoming link ratio. Good SEO's always keep an eye on who is linking to them for this reason and vet their incoming links on a monthly or so basis.
-
Hi John,
I would suggest reading this recent post from Justin Briggs to understand how Search engines identify spammy links and why they will not hurt you if your site has a strong natural link profile. Better Understanding Link-Based Spam Analysis Techniques.
Sha
-
In this case you may want to shoot Google a note with some examples and see what they say. At the very least you'll have some documentation that it was something you were worried about.
-
It can't be that easy, otherwise everyone (well maybe not everyone) would be doing it. Google's official line on this has always been that inbound links from bad sites can't hurt you. I'd like to believe that, we all would. But this is still a grey area and there's enough contradictory evidence out there. Take this for example :
http://searchengineland.com/google-webmaster-notifications-for-bad-links-pointing-at-your-site-84265
Near the end of the Google notification it says "If you find unnatural links to your site that you are unable to control or remove, please provide the details in your reconsideration request".
How does Google know which of your inbound links you were "unable to control" ?
-
I wondered about this too, we have noticed tragic coming from some very spammy websites, and have no idea why they linked to us.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
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
-
How does indexing backlinks affect SEO and search engine rankings?
Indexing backlinks plays a crucial role in the overall SEO strategy and search engine rankings. When search engines like Google crawl and index a website, they also consider the quality and relevance of the backlinks pointing to that site. Here's why indexing backlinks is important: Visibility in Search Results: Indexing ensures that search engines recognize and attribute value to the backlinks you have acquired. When indexed, these backlinks contribute to the overall link profile of your website and can positively impact your visibility in search results. Faster Indexation: By submitting your backlinks for indexing, you can speed up the process of search engines discovering and recognizing those links. This helps search engines recognize the relevance and authority of your website sooner. Enhanced Crawling and Ranking: Indexing allows search engines to crawl and evaluate the backlinks pointing to your site. These backlinks are considered as signals of trust and authority, which can influence your search engine rankings. Improved Domain Authority: When high-quality backlinks pointing to your site are indexed, they contribute to your website's Domain Authority (DA). A higher DA indicates a more authoritative and reputable website, which can positively impact your rankings and organic search visibility. Competitive Advantage: Indexing your backlinks gives you a competitive edge by ensuring that the value and authority of those links are properly recognized and taken into account by search engines. This can help you outrank competitors who may have unindexed or low-quality backlinks. It's important to note that not all backlinks may require manual indexing, as search engines can discover and index them naturally. However, for specific or newly acquired backlinks that may not be indexed quickly, manual submission or using indexing services can help ensure they are recognized by search engines and contribute to your overall SEO efforts.
Link Building | | Morries88880 -
Do links from International SEO counterpart site carry weight?
Hi everyone! One of our clients has a competitor who has an international reach with their website. Their hreflang goes from Brazil, German, US, China, etc. We found that the Chinese site (.cn) sends over 900,000+ backlinks to the main US site (.com). The hreflang for the site has the .com US version of the site as the canonical. So my question is - does our competitor get any link equity from the 900,000 links they are getting from their Chinese (.cn) version of the site? My initial thought is that because they are marked up with hreflang and canonical tags, those 900,000+ links wouldn't' have any equity? Would love some thoughts/guidance on what others think.
Link Building | | JKhoo0 -
A lot of blogs use wordpress or blogspot, are these blogs still useful for SEO in terms of linkbuilding, or should they be avoided?
I am very new to linkbuilding and SEO as a whole, so please forgive my ignorance. Reaching out to bloggers is a common tactic, but I've found a lot of people tend to blog with the assistance of wordpress or blogspot. I was wondering whether these blogs are still useful for SEO or if it is best to avoid them? Thanks in advance, Lewis
Link Building | | Samstore0 -
Advices On Yoast SEO!
Hello Guys, I have a short issue, that i still can't figure it out from my previous Q&A. Why is google doing this ( ranking for a tag and not for title tag ) - do I have some misplaced setting in yoast seo? Please find the attachment. Also there is any way that someone could help me edit something in yoast? Thanks. KDu0Z1Y
Link Building | | DexSmart0 -
How to safeguard against negative SEO for new sites?
Hi Mozers!! I have a question. The ugly tools for blog commenting etc are still out there, my question is what if your competitor notices you that you are new to the business and they start building 20,000+ backlinks to your new site, and they too with one exact match anchor text that you are targeting. I know we can disavow tool, but I guess that would be too late? What are your thoughts? What will be the solution the above case scenario?
Link Building | | TheSEOGuy10 -
SEO Link building from zero in a practical world
Hi, I'm a web developer with good knowledge of SEO friendly web development etc. When it comes to link building Im not quite sure where to start. I have read heaps of articles about building links, but can you guys please tell me how to start building links from 'zero' in a practice world? Im not even sure whether I have anyone who can link to my website or my client's website either 🙂 Thanks heaps.
Link Building | | Uds0 -
Best SEO when you have a lot of clients
So I'm in a bit of an interesting situation. I want to do great SEO for all my clients, but I currently manage 18, each demanding 10 - 20 hours per month. Is anyone out there able to manage a ton of clients and keep them all happy? What are the most effective strategies you use? I'm currently focusing almost exclusively on copywriting for all of them, simply because I don't feel like I have time to effectively test different strategies. Anyone have any advice?
Link Building | | nxmassa0 -
Is M2 Newsire a good PR distribution site for SEO?
Hi I am considering using M2 Newswire, a press release distribution services. I am just wondering if anyone knows if M2 Newsire is a good PR distribution site for SEO? I.e. will i get many backinks from using the service? Cheers Mik
Link Building | | increation0