524 links from a site unknown to me - contact then disavow?

[simmo235]

Hi there,

Google Webmaster Tools 'Who links the most' informs me there are 534 links from a site called econintersect.com linking to my site and 102 links from similar pages.com.

I have never requested these links and am keen to know if they are harming my site due to poor link quality?

Simon

[simmo235]

Really really helpful thanks

[simmo235]

That's really really helpful thanks.

[Travis_Bailey]

I'm not going to lie, the /jobs/surrey/dorking page made me giggle.

You know, it might not be the links you gained, but the links you lost. Somewhere between February and July, it appears the site lost an RSS feed link from The Guardian. Which would probably account for the /blog problem. There was also a pretty good .edu link that disappeared.

With a smaller portfolio of links, if you lose a couple of good links - you'll feel it. It also looks like there may have been a little 'guest blogging' going on. It's not uncommon for the host blog to take the content and pull the link when you're not looking. Who knows, maybe they did the site a favor?

I've been reasonably assured that the UK and US versions are comparable, and Panda updated a couple of times in May. So, the more likely culprit may be the user profiles on the site. It might be a good idea to cull anything that hasn't been used in a while.

I could see where the site might look thin in places. Perhaps you could partner with some kind of video transcription service? That seems like a logical step.

[HashtagHustler]

I figured I would add a general link suggestion before I respond.

1. Before you do anything, measure twice cut once.
2. Plug your domain into the Open Site Explorer and see if you can find the same links that GWMT is showing.
3. Head over to Majestic and verify ownership of your website and make sure you can find these links.

After those are done, if the links are indeed there, start asking yourself these questions:

• Does the potential referral benefit your website at all?
• Is the content pertinent to your website?
• Does the website make YOU uncomfortable? (My personal theory is that if it makes you uncomfortable it's going to make Google uncomfortable. That doesn't include ethics/morals etc, I am strictly referring to the website itself.)
• Check the link itself and find which page on the other website its coming from. Are the links in various comments, pictures, some block text? How are the links themselves being displayed?

At the end of the day, it's going to be your decision of how to proceed with this. After looking a bit more thoroughly and after my 2nd cup of coffee I agree with Travis wholeheartedly. With the general trend of Panda, I personally assume it's just a matter of time before those links are worthless if they aren't already. Who knows what these guys are up to, it looks to me like a project that started well and was sorta taken over by the sea of the internet!

Hope this helps!

[simmo235]

Thanks, checked GWMT and all links are linking to my home page.

[simmo235]

Sure thanks for looking into: www.videorecruit.com

The site was performing well organically but nose dived on May 20th and I'm struggling to get it back up.

It's the blog that was hit hardest: www.videorecruit.com/blog

[Travis_Bailey]

I looked at the site. It appears to be primarily 'curated content' with citations. But this be physics. You can't hit the wall without the wall hitting back.

There are quite a few ads as well. cough scraper cough

Though I agree he should definitely wait a moment before disavowing. It's just that the site does appear to be pretty low quality. It does seem like Panda bait. But apparently content gets curated/scraped all the time.

So it really depends upon the target site.

[HashtagHustler]

Simon,

I just wanted to jump in really quick and add my 2 cents. First off, being that this is the internet a lot of times you are going to get links from sources that you don't know, or didn't ask for. In fact, it actually violates Googles TOS to write content and send it to someone for the sole purpose of getting links. In a perfect world Google world, you would be writing content/making a website for yourself/Business, and yourself/business only. You would become an expert in your field that would attract customers, referrals, etc on its on and your website would grow from there. You would gain all of these links organically. Of course that doesn't always happen, and that's why we advertise etc.

As to your original question; are these links "hurting you". This is much more in depth question that will be hard to evaluate on a forum. I say that simply because I have run into a similar problem asking questions like this on forums. Of course everybody want's to help, and motives are good, but when you start talking about removing "500+" links from a website, the potential impact is rather large, the impact could be quite small as well.

In GWMT you can see which pages are being linked by the various websites. Go to the websites and try and find how your website is actually being linked Is it in the comments? Is it in articles? Does it look like spam? Do some research on the website in question, see if it has good stats.

The backlink profile doesn't look terrible, at first glance. There appear to be some solid websites linking to it. I would have to see how that specific website links to your website.

All I'm saying, before you take any direct advice from any of us on a forum, make sure you feel confident in what it is that you are going to do. It never hurts to get a second opinion and consult with someone else who can look deeply into your backlink profile!

Hope that helps a little.

[Travis_Bailey]

I would be happy to lend an opinion. Would you supply the name of the domain(s) you own?