Considering the Panda algorithm updates, would you recommend reducing high amounts of inbound links from a single website?
-
My website has a significant number of inbound links (1,000+) from a single website, due to a sponsorship level contribution.
Both my website and the other are authorities in the industry and in search results (PR of 5). Since even ethical websites can suffer a penalty from each iteration of Panda, I'm considering significantly removing the number of links from this website.
Do you think that measurable change would be seen favorably by Google or would the drop in links be detrimental?
-
I would say it's all about motive. We've become link-phobic now.
As others have mentioned, it's Penguin that is concerned with inbound links and not Panda. With that being said, however, Penguin is meant to penalize websites that have grossly abused anchor text. So, if you got a pile of inbound links from a bunch of different websites all containing your money keyword as anchor text then this can set off the Penguin filter.
But, one sitebound link (even if it results in thousands of links from that site) is not likely to do that. If this were the case I could easily take down my competitor by pointing a single sitebound link at their site! (Agh...don't start negative SEO debating now though.)
-
From Google's view, I would ask 2 questions:
-
How much credit points you would give to this website?
-
Are those links look natural in Google's view or not?
I saw one website ranks #2 on the first page and 50% inbound links from one single domain.
However, the single domain is owned by Google.
This may give your some tips about the "single domain".
-
-
I think the update you're concerned about it Penguin, not Panda. Panda dealt with onsite and content issues. Penguin dealt with links.
But, if you have legitimate links of this kind, listen to Dana. You're fine.
-
I agree with Dana - the only thing you would need to worry about is if the link was a direct text link using a keyword anchor that is used abundantly throughout your link profile. Even then, if its an authority site that is relevant this is not something to worry about at all. In fact its probably a great link (regardless of the sitewide instances).
-
I always like to begin my responses to questions pertaining to prediciting what Google might do with the caveat that I can't predict anything Google might do.
That being said, I think you are fine and don't need to do anything. Industry relationships like this are normal, common, widespread and accepted. For example, there was a trade publication that picked up info on hundreds of our products earlier this year and put links to them all over the place. It was an official industry magazine. It was a great thing, and we didn't even have to pay for it. Eventually, they moved on and picked up someone else, so the links gradually dropped off.
The same kind of thing can happen, say, for example, if some news about your business makes the front page of Huffington Post. Suddenly, you are going to get thousands of links because there might be a headline link to your website from every page of the Huffington Post. Then, gradually they will drop off.
Don't worry about this scenario. That's my advice. These are the kinds of relationships you want. Going around cleaning up like this is not really going to effect Google at all and it's going to cost you a lot of time you could spend building new links.
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
-
Relevant Link, but Low DA...good idea?
If a website has a low DA (not because of spam. Just because it's new or because there isn't a ton of content) but it is industry specific/relevant, then is that worth pursuing? I have read how relevancy is supposed to be a major portion determining a link's benefit, but I"m leery about about something with a low DA - like under 15 low. Thanks, Ruben
Algorithm Updates | | KempRugeLawGroup0 -
Early Feb Update?
After the Google "Mystery Update" in early Feb (Algoroo marks the flux as Feb 5th) one of my B2C e-commerce sites has gotten absolutely hammered. We had some trouble last May but cleaned a whole host of on-site/site quality issues over the summer and as of early Sept we began to regain rankings/traffic quite nicely...until Feb when we've almost given it all back. I was doing a little hunting around on SearchMetrics.com and saw lots of big ecommerce sites took a hit as well (eBay, Kohls, Target, etc…). I had read someplace (I think it was the SearchMetrics blog) that the Feb 5<sup>th</sup> update had to do with sites ranking due to misspellings. We do have several domains variations of company name redirecting to our site, I was wondering if that could have hurt. I dropped the redirects as a test since they do not drive traffic. I was wondering if anyone else has seen similar issues and/or could shed some light on the situation. It is very disheartening to see all that hard work simply "go away" so quickly.
Algorithm Updates | | costume0 -
Do you think this page has been algorithmically penalised or is it just old?
Here is the page: http://www.designquotes.com.au/business-blog/top-10-australian-business-directories-in-2012/ It's fairly old, but when it was first written it hit #1 for "business directories". After a while it dropped but was receieving lots of traffic for long tail variations of "business directories Australia" As of the 4th of October (Penguin 2.1) it lost traffic and rankings entirely. I checked it's link profile and there isn't anything fishy: From Google Webmaster https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtwbT3wshHRsdEc1OWl4SFN0SDdiTkwzSmdGTFpZOFE&usp=sharing In fact, two links are entirely natural http://blog.businesszoom.com.au/2013/09/use-customer-reviews-to-improve-your-website-ranking/ http://dianajones.com.au/google-plus-local-equals-more-business-blog/ Yet when I search for a close match in title in Google AU, the article doesn't appear within even the first 4 pages. https://www.google.com.au/#q=top+10+Australian+Business+Directories&start=10 Is this simple because it's an old article? Should I re-write it, update the analysis and use a rel=canonical on the old article to the new?
Algorithm Updates | | designquotes0 -
Are links from directories still good practice?
Ok, so I am new at "link building"....which of course I have read furiously on how that philosophy is changed, it's a goal, not so much a process. I am focusing on great content, social sharing, etc. BUT, I see competitors still getting links from some of the directories that I have found listed on Moz as being "good" directories to list in. For example, yelllow pages, manta, ibegin, hot frog, etc. Do I have the terminology totally twisted here? Is it still good practice to get a couple links from these directories. Or is this practice completely the wrong thing to do post Panda & Penquin. Thanks guys!
Algorithm Updates | | cschwartzel0 -
How effective are nofollow links today (2013) ?
Hi, We had a question about the effectiveness of nofollow today. Nofollowing some links on pages was to make sure pagerank flows to content which is most relevant and useful to visitors on the site. Looking at the 2009 article, http://www.seomoz.org/blog/google-says-yes-you-can-still-sculpt-pagerank-no-you-cant-do-it-with-nofollow, it seems that adding the meta tag nofollow would no longer help us in ensuring this goal. We had a couple of questions: 1. Do you think Google today only passes pagerank to dofollow links
Algorithm Updates | | SEMEnthusiast
2. Are sites today using iframes/javascript to make sure googlebot passes pagerank to only relevant pages
3. Any other best practice you would suggest Thanks0 -
SEPRs drop from 2nd to 4th after Panda, What steps should i take?
Hi, My blog was on the 2nd or 3rd position on Google Search for my 2 word keyword for many countries. But after Panda Update, First i noticed 500-700 visitor drop on my site daily. Then i saw my blog is now on the 4th or on the 5th even 7th position of Google Search. So what step should i take now, i ran the on-page optimization and i have 5 easy fix, i can fix 2-3 out of them, One of them suggesting this: Keyword should be in front of the title, like: Keyword: Elephant Life Blog URL: www.cuteelephantslife.com My blog title is "Cute Elephants Life | Sweet stories of elephants and more" And It should be changed into "Elephants Life | Cute Stories of elephants life and more." So, As i am already on 1st page on Google for the keyword "Elephant Life", If i change the title from "Cute Elephants Life | Sweet stories of elephants and more" to "Elephants Life | Cute Stories of elephants life and more.", Will it help my ranking or it will harmmy position on SERP ? Please, suggest me what should i do to improve my blog and get better rank.
Algorithm Updates | | rimon56930 -
Why does Google Alerts call my website a blog?
Our company started a WordPress blog about 14 years ago. It has since added a third-party forum, a user-submitted photo gallery, and a huge database of searchable products. We also have almost 4000 posts. With all that said, Google Alerts often lists our content under blogs rather than websites. Sometimes it shows up in both? Does anyone know what criteria Google uses for determining the type of content, and how we can signal to them that we are a website?
Algorithm Updates | | TMI.com0 -
Panda Update 2.5
All right mozers... What do you think? Apparently Google has just realized the next wave of "Panda" .... I'd love to hear your experiences with the new Panda Update. Have you experienced any decline in organic traffic?
Algorithm Updates | | NerdsOnCall0