Around 10% of our backlink profile is made up of branded links from one Japanese site, do we disavow?
-
We have recently changed domain names and all the links are going to the old domain. We are wondering whether we should disavow them all as they are the majority of our backlink profile at the moment.
-
Ok thanks I think we will just left it. Thank you for your help!
-
Just to clarify Laurence - you've moved to a new domain and on this new domain are the Japanese links?
I'm of the school of thought that you should only use the disavow tool when asked to. By this, I mean that you shouldn't be proactive in disavowing suspicious links, unless you have been explicitly asked by Google to do so as part of an unnatural links warning penalty. Google is pretty explicit in saying that you should only use the disavow tool as a last resort if you cannot get the links removed by contacting the webmaster.
I also think that Google is moving towards the direction of devaluing low-quality links on the fly, as per this article. I can't imagine that these links would be anything other than that and so, for that combination of reasons, I'd leave the links be.
By all means, keep a note of the URLs if anything should happen in the future, but I think you'd be much better off by building your own links and brand persona with an inbound marketing strategy, rather than potentially wasting time removing links that may have already (or soon to be) devalued.
-
Well, unless there is a reason to believe the site to be spammy or have caused you problems, I wouldn't worry about it. You might be disavowing a site with no real cause to.
-
We haven't had a warning from Google. The site is completely in Japanese and Google Translate doesn't work on the site so can't find a place to contact the owner to ask them to change the links.
-
The general rule of thumb is only disavow if you have had a warning from Google or if you know the links to be dodgy. In this case, would you not be able to get in touch with the site in question and ask them to change the links?
Andy
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
-
What do you think of these profile links for SEO?
In my Google Search Console today, I saw a link from Creative Market. In Moz last week I saw a link from Instructables. In Moz, they have high numbers. DO you think these type of profiles have a big impact? https://artists.spotify.com/c/artist/3N1BM4dOORzK8BF6DrkEDU/profile#about (Moz-50, ahrefs-14) https://creativemarket.com/julie.gallaher (Moz-36, Ahrefs-12) https://www.instructables.com/member/jazzmansac (Moz-42, Ahrefs-13) https://moz.com/community/users/907261 (Moz-50, Ahrefs-25) https://www.are.na/julie-gallaher (Moz-25, Ahrefs-11) They all look to be do follow links
Link Building | | julie-getonthemap0 -
How do i create a natural link profile in a niche thats competetive?
how do i create a natural link profile without buying backlinks or spamming the search engines with useless links in a niche that is similar to payday loans? I cant get guest posts i cant create private blog networks i cant trade links i cant spam with useless links and web 2.0 dont work. so how do i get traffic without buying adwords.
Link Building | | swekredit0 -
Google Link Disavow and sites with extremely heavy but poor link metrics
Need help/opinions from the SEO's out there. I am working with a site that in the past hired an SEO company out of India. Over the course of their time together, this company submitted the clients url to tens of thousands of link exchanges and directories. Around the time of Penguin, the owners told me their inquiries dried up. Literally that same week they had a new website launched (designed by a local competitor) that really butchered the site. They were convinced the reduction in traffic/inquiries was due to the new site but I am convinced otherwise (suspect Penguin). Not only does the site need to be re-structured but their link portfolio needs to be diversified. Now on the plus side, the company caters and sponsors a number of events that earns them organic, relevant links. These are overshadowed by the tons of poor, irrelevant ones though. I read a few posts recently on the Google Link Disavow tool and to proceed slowly due to the unknown nature surrounding it. I have a good idea of what links are problematic and which ones are well served. However, the number of problematic links in my estimation is quite high (thousands). I am very hesitant to dive into Google Disavow and submit such a large number of requests. What are your thoughts? How would you proceed?
Link Building | | mattylac1 -
Top 20 sites for backlinking
My security jobs website was doing very well in Search engines until the penguin got hold of me. I don't profess to be at pro at SEO however seem to have a knack of getting sites to rank well. I think I made some basic mistakes with the original security jobs website, to many links to soon, so I have started again and will build up slowly the backlinks quality rather than quantity this time. My questions is what are the top 20 or so sites that are good to backlink from?
Link Building | | SecJobs0 -
Link building tools/sites
I am looking for a way to share my content in multiple locations to build back links without having to upload one at a time per location. For example- if i write an article and i upload it to ezine articles and then post it over on my blog- it will then post over on my twitter and facebook and linked in. However- how i can also get this article with back links into shared sites, bookmark sites, and other locations online to help build my inbound marketing for back links. I'm trying to find a way to save time while building out the links.
Link Building | | LauraThomas0 -
What is best way to evaluate external links to my site?
What is the best way to evaluate external links coming in to my site? I have been working on trying to build links by commenting on blogs/forums and adding to directories, etc. I've run link reports through Open Site Explorer and Yahoo and they never seem to show the same links coming in. For example, i run link eport on Open Site Explorer and it will show links coming into my site that Yahoo doesn't show, and vice versa. I guess I'm trying to figure best way to monitor each week new links coming into my site to determine if my efforts are fruitful. Also, is there a certain period of time that should pass from time I put my link on another site (ie, a blog) until it will show up in OPen Site Explorer? Thanks! Oh, and I use the NoDoFollow Add-on for Firefox to only comment on those sites that do follow. Not sure if that's really effective or not.
Link Building | | leonenobleseate0