Why is this site not being punished!?
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I guess this is the usual reaction to a seeing a domain rank above your own website is "They must be cheating"!
However... in this case I feel more than justified. The website is aircon247.com they rank top 3 in the UK for "air conditioning" and other quite generic terms in the industry. I'm interested to know your thoughts and what (if any) action should be taken. Here are many of the links that I think contravene the Google Guidelines :
Spammy Article Submissions with Inorganic Anchor Text:
http://www.furniturearcade.com/decorative-furniture/decorative-accessories-lamps/
http://www.sys-con.com/node/2308271
http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/imagine-a-world-without-air-conditioning-units-7-112555
http://www.retail-digital.com/press_releases/appliances/diy-air-conditioning-installation-options
http://www.livingwithwhite.com/three-fun-uses-for-antique-grates-and-floor-registers/
http://www.mcrjk2008.com/2009/04/best-air-conditioning-ever.html
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/comfort-your-business-needs-1682737.htm
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/diy-air-conditioning-installation-options-1677015.htm
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/topical-advice/531054/regulating-your-home-environment
http://homeklondike.com/2011/01/10/country-style-bedroom-design-ideas/
http://www.greenscenedebate.com/2009/04/take-good-luck-at-air-conditioning.html#.URzEmh17L5w
http://www.harlynn.com/2009/04/wanna-chill-out.html
http://www.loveshaven.com/2009/04/we-are-all-so-excited-for-my-sisters.html
http://asiwaspassing.com/2009/05/
Spammy Links in External Website Footers / Side Bars with Inorganic Anchor Text:
http://www.g-dir.com/home/gardening/
http://www.sefdir.org/popular-listings.html
http://rapidcoolsite.com/Home.html
http://www.singaporerealestate.info/blog/?s=%27the+solitaire+call%27
http://www.onlinepureherbs.com/acidity.htm
http://erostours.com/cheap-flights-Chicago.html
http://koolergazi.persianblog.ir/
Blog Spam Inorganic Anchor Text:
http://www.bluehatseo.com/quick-answers-1-link-building/
Spammy (Link exchange etc.) Directories:
http://ireland.accommodationforstudents.com/info/reciprocal_links_ad.asp
http://baliscript.net/barter-links.php
http://www.abacushosting.ca/linx.php
http://www.whelphelper.com/links.php
http://www.spectramedi.com/links_shopping.htm
https://www.midwayautosupply.com/linkexchange.aspx?
http://artsellart.com/links.html
http://www.linkalizer.com/directory/39-1/
http://dogdir.com/region/NA.php
http://www.easyezinearticles.com/ezineresources/Outsourcing.htm
http://www.patchhomeinspections.com/Links.html
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We have someone with a shady link profile ranking above us too. Don't worry; as was already said, it's only a matter of time before they're gone. Just keep working on your long-term #RCS strategies, and they will pay off in the long run--probably sooner rather than later.
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crappy links indeed, however the reason is probably because they are greatly varying the anchor texts.
for example: buy air conditioning units from Aircon247
if they were using "air conditioning units" over and over again they would get penalized for that but they are smart enough to know to create long tail variations that still contain the exact match "air conditioning units"
that being said, they still may get dinged. Google.co.uk competition is less than google.com competition too so it's much easier to rank in the UK. Hope this info helps.
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Hey
Sometimes certain sites do manage to 'get away with it' for a bit longer but really, from a very quick look at their link profile, it looks super dodgy so I can't see them getting a free ride for much longer.
Really, I would forget about these guys, be happy that their is no longevity to their approach and that their days are numbered and focus on making the site you are working on as good as it can be in the meanwhile.
I know that is not an answer as such, but I doubt anyone outside of Google could give you a better one. You could get an fairly comprehensive seo audit done on their site and links etc but what would it achieve? You can't play the numbers game against this kind of profile so I would not even bother.
As it goes, it can be surprising how few real links you need to compete with this kind of profile and it may be that the competition in this sector are all just running the same weak strategies.
Hope that helps!
Marcus
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