NoFollow & Directory Scraper Backlinks
-
I was wondering how important it was to remove/disavow:
- NoFollow backlinks - many ("buy viagra" etc).
- Directory backlinks - many questionable/generic directories.
Obviously the focus is the equity passing links but both of the above constitute a significant proportion of backlinks to the site - I've seen that "scrapers" are seen as natural and obviously NoFollow do not pass link juice - but does the sheer number have a bearing and therefore make them equally important to address?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
Regards
-
If you've got viagra spam pointing at your site you likely won't be able to remove them. So should you disavow? Disavowing a nofollowed link won't accomplish anything as disavowing is simply asking Google not to count the link and a nofollow link is already not being counted. However, when you have loads of nofollowed links from spam attacks this is one situation where I often do go ahead and disavow these. The reason for this is that one tactic that spammers can use is to point a bunch of nofollowed links at a site and then one day turn them all to followed. If you've got them disavowed then you've got that covered.
Also, if you have viagra links pointing to your site, make sure you don't have a hack within your site. Try doing a google search for site:yourdomain.com viagra and see what comes up.
For directories, I don't worry about things like dmoz scrapers and 100searchengines and stuff like that, unless somehow you managed to sneak a keyword anchored link into dmoz. I wrote a thorough article on my thought process for auditing directory links here:
http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/how-to/2360254/is-that-directory-link-unnatural
-
Regardless of the nofollow attribute, having spammy links in your link portfolio can hurt your SEO and cause a penalty. If you've identified links that are clearly on spammy site, proactively dissavow those links. Don't think that just because they have a nofollow attribute that your site is safe from penalty, because they are not.
Edited for directories - it all goes back to the quality of the link and website linking. If the directory is legitimate and useful to users, then consider it a good link. If the directory is a hodgepodge of links that was only generated to be a link farm, then get rid of it before it does you harm, because it isn't doing you any good.
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
-
Backlink Transparency with SEO Agency
Hello everyone. I recently started working with an SEO agency and today they gave me an updated keyword report which showed some increase in rankings. I was not aware that any backlinks had been created yet so I asked for a report of the links. Their response is below and I am just wondering if this is normal practice being I have not worked with any type of SEO agency yet. "
Link Building | | wonderd24
Hey Daniel, We release a small report on them which the guest blog team will do soon. We don't reveal all backlink sources unfortunately because people have tried to bother the webmasters we have and basically steal our techniques. But rest assured you will be ranking at the top of the pack with our methods 😃
"1 -
Backlinks outside my country
Hi there! If the product, service or resouce I offer is located in my country: Is it worth to include directories located in p.e EEUU in order to increase my Pagerank although this is not my potencial client (due to the "distance" obviouly).? If my potencial clients were people fromo other countries that could come to mine to enjoy this service? Should I include my links in directories of these countries and obtain links from websites of these countries? many thanks
Link Building | | juanmiguelcr0 -
Business directory and rel=canonical
If a business directory is using the rel=canonical tag on the first page of results for each section, is there any value from having a link on page 2 or 3 of these sections?
Link Building | | Silkstream0 -
Before submitting to a directory, what do you look for?
I'm going through one of my competitors links and of course I'm coming across some directories. Just wondering what you might look for in a quality directory. I'm looking at one right now called SoMuch.com and it appears to be a quality directory but then I look down at the footer and I see "Search Engine Friendly Free Link Directory". The domain authority is 80. Thanks
Link Building | | brandco0 -
Where I can find a backlink community exchange?
I know is difficult but it's worth to try. I am looking for a community eager to exchange links. I am in the venue rent for weeding and conferences in London and I would be delighted to find other people to exchange the links. At the moment my page is PR4 I have seen communities for games where they exchange anything, why don't link exchange!!!!
Link Building | | lnietob0 -
Widgets Designed for Getting Backlink
Where can we find widget samples that are designed for widgetbait and getting backlinks?
Link Building | | merkal20051 -
Directories are Paid links right ?
How are directories ok for buying links ? How can the funds be claimed to be used to review your submission when everyone knows you are basically buying a link ? What experiences have you had god and bad with directories ? Is it a free for all any directory will do or should you be more selective in your approach. If so what are the signs to look out for on a top quality directory.
Link Building | | onlinemediadirect0 -
Thoughts on 2 directories?
Thoughts on ScrubTheWeb.com and SearchSight.com ? would directories like these be a good idea? We are a b to b company... Thanks!
Link Building | | inhouseninja0