Remove Old Poor Quality Links Proactively?
-
I'm working with an ecommerce site where various predecessors have created 5 Wordpress.com blogs containing 5 links on each back to the site. Should I disavow those links and take down those sites if I can get access?
Should I close a second YouTube channel and Google Plus account under another name set up to create links back to the site?
No penalties yet.
Advice much appreciated.
-
Great advice. Thank you very much for helping me think this through.
-
Oh that does make a significant difference - yes, in that case I think it might be best to take them down, especially if they 404. I was operating on the assumption there was originality in the blogs.
With copied content there is no penalty but you are not gaining the benefits that original content would provide you. This may change in the future as algorithms are altered but for now there is no penalization for copy/pasting content like that. I have an ecommerce client that previously used this strategy and it didn't "hurt" them, per-say. However, when we adjusted with updated, original content, their rankings jumped considerably.
If you have control of/access to these blogs, it still might be more useful to your cause to update with new content and build up the links' authority. However, if you do not want to put the time and effort into creating a legitimate fix on the issue, then disavowing is probably a better option - just as long as you are aware that you are likely to suffer some short-term ranking drops.
In order of preference, I would say:
- Build up blogs to create relevance
- Disavow links
- Ignore problem
You might also take a middle route and disavow broken/404 links and continue with others - in the grand scheme of things if your link profile is generally strong, this shouldn't hurt you too much either way.
-
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. Let me clarify. Each piece of "content" is single product photo and copied product descriptios. Products may even be out of stock so links may 404. Could links like this hurt, as they are so blatantly linking strategies? Is there any reason to keep these sites? Just ignore ? Or disavow?
-
Hello Peg,
For best results, here is what I would do:
- Retain Wordpress.com blogs and build them up with new content to generate further links and traffic - closing them will only hurt you unless the links or content are poor quality and likely to be penalized in the near future. If you are on a large budget, try boosting them simultaneously. If not, try working on one at a time per month until they are each built up. This will help you more than disavowing them, which will land you back at square one.
If they are producing traffic and are quality content/link producers, keep them.
- Close one of the YouTube accounts unless both are generating fair amounts of traffic. Consider the value of a YouTube channel and if only one (or neither) are generating any value, then you only need one active. The same goes for the Google+ Accounts - if both are successful in generating leads/clients, then keep them (there is no penalty associated as long as they are under separate names). If only one is successful, remove the other. If neither is successful, then remove either one.
This isn't too big of a deal - there won't be huge penalties either way. However, you do stand to gain if you build on the previous work, assuming it was well-conceived and structured.
Hope this helps!
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
-
Disavowing Links
I need some advice... I've noticed our link profile has increased with many comments links --- something I certainly have not pursued manually. I'm new to disavowing links. However, before I go ahead and disavow them, I'd like to ask how harmful these links are and would you recommend this is something I can do myself (relatively novice SEO) or if you'd recommend someone who could do this for a reasonable cost. In one instance, the link from this comment thread is with the anchor text, "porn"... Certainly not something we want to rank for, haha! I look forward to your advice
Link Building | | LukeBTDT0 -
Link over-building?
Hello all. One of the first things we do for our clients is to claim their local listings, include them on a set of selected directories (8-10), and blog directories (5), if applicable. Since they will all be linked to the client site, could doing all of this at once run us into problems with unnatural link growth? Thanks! Frank
Link Building | | FrankSweeney0 -
Which Links to Disavow!
We just took over SEO for a new client who is being penalized for a bad link profile. They've asked Google to reconsider multiple times, and Google still claims that the links are bad. Because of this, and because I don't have direct access (logins, etc.) to what the former SEO did, I am considering using the disavow links tool. The most obvious links to disavow are a group of almost 1000 links that come from the same forum. However, when viewing the links on this forum they actually seem natural. People are reviewing the product (ipod cases), both negatively and positively. While this could have been an SEO tactic for link building, I don't want to disavow these links if they're not the problem, even though this domain is the source of almost all the low-quality links. Another site that has more than 200 links is Askives. Do any of you have experience with links from Askives, or removing these links? Thanks again!
Link Building | | newwhy0 -
Links I am not Building?
Hi All, I check webmaster multiple times on a daily basis, and I noticed some links that I have not worked on and look a bit spammy, is it possible for people to purposely pont bad links in my direction? If that is the case is there a way for me to remove them myself? Also the number of total backlinks are very different in Webmaster and my Open Site Explorer, is this normal? Thanks again !
Link Building | | TP_Marketing0 -
Which link should I use for link building?
I have an article which have high rank on Google. But recent, I use mod rewrite url so this article have new url. old: mywebsite.com/c1/p-1 new: mywebsite.com/c-e/p-1 Now, google is indexing old url. I want to ask when I build linking to my site, which link should I use for link building? I should build linking for new url or old url. Thanks
Link Building | | sonzin13040 -
Do image links with no alt tags pass link value?
"... an image link with no alt tag is useless to search engines..." according to a Nov 2007 seomoz blog post. Is this still the case in 2011? I ask because I'm about to obtain a banner link on a high-traffic site (chiefly for the clickthrough value) but I notice the site uses neither "title" nor "alt" tags.
Link Building | | Jeepster0 -
The Value Of A Link
Hi There, Let's say I am able to get a link from a very well trust worthy blog that writes abot things related to my business. Now my question is how much value does another link with the same anchor text, from the same blog has compared to the first link, or compared to a new link from a slightly less powerfull blog? Or in another words, if I got 1 link from this great website should I invest my time to find another website where I can get a link from or should I invest it in getting another link from the website I already got a link from ( which might be easier)?
Link Building | | liors0