Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • SEO Q&A
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • Case Studies
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic
      Moz Pro

      NEW Keyword Suggestions by Topic

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      What is your Brand Authority?
      Moz

      What is your Brand Authority?

      Check yours now
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • SEO Q&A

        Insights & discussions from an SEO community of 500,000+.

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints
      Moz API

      Unlock flexible pricing & new endpoints

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • Case Studies

        Explore how Moz drives ROI with a proven track record of success.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Link Building
    4. Should i disavow yellowpages.com. Webmater tools shows 656 links coming from it.

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    Should i disavow yellowpages.com. Webmater tools shows 656 links coming from it.

    Link Building
    6
    9
    2134
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • Jason_C
      Jason_C last edited by

      We do not have any manual penalty warnings but I am still concerned that Google will see this as unnatural and be penalizing us to a lesser degree.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • DavidMeshah
        DavidMeshah last edited by

        My client had 17,500 links pointing to his site from Yellowpages.com and it caused a algorithm penalty to there local search results.  Here is a sample of the links. Now notice that each link contains a different city. My client city is Tacoma WA. We are positive this destroyed there NAP because they went from first place in the Google 3 Pac to not being the Google 3 pack at all, but for the same keyword they are number 3 in organics. When you go to Bing they still maintain there local search rankings.

        <a class="sort">Links</a>
        http://reliance.yellowpages.com/tacoma-wa/mip/phils-auto-care-8439833?lid=1001611723702
        http://solarus.yellowpages.com/tacoma-wa/mip/phils-auto-care-8439833?lid=1001612521758
        http://www.yellowpages.com/algona-wa/truck-service-repair
        http://www.yellowpages.com/arlington-wa/engine-rebuilding-exchange
        http://www.yellowpages.com/arlington-wa/mip/integrity-auto-care-480010482
        http://www.yellowpages.com/arlington-wa/mission-motors
        http://www.yellowpages.com/arlington-wa/semi-truck-repair
        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • MarieHaynes
          MarieHaynes @MattAntonino last edited by

          Apparently Google admitted that the Yellow Pages link was given as an example link in error:

          https://www.seroundtable.com/google-natural-link-mistake-17326.html

          Still, it's probably true that if you managed to get a keyword anchored link into Yellow pages, and it was a followed link it could be considered unnatural.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • MarieHaynes
            MarieHaynes last edited by

            The disavow tool is meant to be used to ask Google not to count links that you made with the sole intention of manipulating Google's search results.  A Yellow page link is almost always a nofollowed link, and as such does not need to be disavowed.  But, even if it was a followed link, it would still be a good link.

            Don't worry about the fact that there are a large number of links.  The way that Webmaster Tools presents these links makes them look bad, but in reality, Google knows that this is just one site linking to you and not hundreds of individual links.

            I've seen a lot of webmasters do damage to their site by disavowing too many good citations.  Be careful!

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • MattAntonino
              MattAntonino last edited by

              You will have to keep an eye on it. The more searches are done on the YP sites, the more these links build and over time they do work against you. I agree with everyone else that they shouldn't but the reality is, we've seen them in penalty notices. Google thinks 4000 links coming from yp.com.au, yp.net.au, yellowpages.com.au and yellowpages.net.au are spammy, nofollow or not.

              Jason Mun had the same issue: http://jasonmun.com/links-yellowpages-unnatural-according-google/

              It's interesting to note that he's also referring to the AU version of Yellow Pages even though we've seen it with the .coms as well.

              Anyhoo - I would leave it for now. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't become a bigger problem.

              Edit to add: it does depend on your ad itself - don't use any links within the page. And be careful with how many you let this build to.

              MarieHaynes 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • DirkC
                DirkC last edited by

                Even the volume is not abnormal - suppose you have a Italian restaurant & take-away in Manhattan, then you would probably appear on pages on restaurants, italian restaurants, mediterranean restaurants, catering, take-aways in Manhatten, New York,... - all these lists are indexed in Google and all these pages would have links to your site. Depending on your business & region - you could appear in an awful lot of combinations of (sub)categories & geographic locations.

                rgds,

                Dirk

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • PatrickDelehanty
                  PatrickDelehanty @Jason_C last edited by

                  Hi Francisco

                  I agree with Dirk here - this isn't an unnatural link, but I would check and make sure that you are appearing in relevant and proper categories, as well as service areas.

                  If you find you are appearing in irrelevant categories or locations, I would contact them to make sure you can fix this, if anything from a user experience standpoint.

                  Hope this helps!

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Jason_C
                    Jason_C @DirkC last edited by

                    Normally i wouldn't be concerned but the shear volume of links is what makes it appear odd.

                    Thanks for your thoughts.

                    PatrickDelehanty 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • DirkC
                      DirkC last edited by

                      Normally the links from yellowpages are of type "nofollow" so they do not need to be disavowed.

                      Apart from this fact, given the fact that most businesses are listed in the yellow pages, these links don't seem to be very unnatural to me.

                      rgds,

                      Dirk

                      Jason_C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • 1 / 1
                      • First post
                        Last post

                      Got a burning SEO question?

                      Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                      Start my free trial


                      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.

                      • See all categories

                      Related Questions

                      • LukeBTDT

                        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 | | LukeBTDT
                        0
                      • NCOREGSEO

                        Backlinks vs External Links vs Referral Links vs Outbound links

                        Hello all, I was just wondering if you could explain the difference between all the links above? I'm confused as they all seem to be the same or similar and I would just like to clearly know what distinguishes them from eachother. Thanks for your help, Jayne

                        Link Building | | NCOREGSEO
                        0
                      • fersu

                        How many links per week/month should a link building campaign acquire?

                        I am running a linkbuilding campaign for my company.  I am mostly focusing on guest blogging opportunities and responding to emails from HARO.  How many links would I have to acquire each week or month to be considered doing a good job over a 6 month or a year time period? Thank you,

                        Link Building | | fersu
                        0
                      • VinceWicks

                        Should I disavow nofollow links?

                        I've found a bunch of nofollow links with the help of Link Detox. Now, should I disavow such links (after contacating site owner directly and unsuccessfuly) or i can just filter my nofollow links and handle dofollow ones only?

                        Link Building | | VinceWicks
                        0
                      • Ron10

                        Linking to sites that link to porn or casinos, my site getting penalized?

                        I have some link exchanges with some sites to get web traffic but when i ran the bad neighborhood link checker, i found that one site links to some casinos and another site has one link to a porn site.  Is this getting me penalized?  should i remove the links to these sites? Thanks, Ron

                        Link Building | | Ron10
                        0
                      • JesseCWalker

                        Do links within imbeddable widgets carry link juice?

                        I'm dipping my toes into infographic design. On of my desired outcomes is to gain links by having other sites embed my graphic. I'm considering using Tableau's interactive data visualization software to do so; thus creating a widget, embedding it on my blog, and including the embed code for others to post. Is it possible to include a juice passing link in such an infographic?  I know its possible to include links inside the tableau graphic but not sure if they have straight SEO value. If these links are not juice passing would it be better to go with a simple image link that passes value?

                        Link Building | | JesseCWalker
                        1
                      • BlakeMcGillis

                        Why doesn't the Better Business Bureau show up in my link analysis

                        I've been working on SEO for one of the companies I've designed a website for and I'm confused by the company's lack of Better Business Bureau backlinks. The Company in question does have a BBB account and that account links back to the company's website. However, when I check in the link analysis for the site, the BBB link doesn't appear. My competitors, on the other hand, do have BBB links in their analyses. So, I'm wondering if I somehow don't have the right type of BBB account. The BBB seems to be a pretty good place to have a link from, and the company pays $300.00 per year for the membership, so I'd like to get the most out of it. Here's a link to the BBB page for the company http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/plumbers/platinum-plumbing-services-in-west-jordan-ut-22199778#bbblogo And here's the company's website www.slcplumbing.com Now, the company site I've just listed is 301 redirected to www.platinumplumbinginc.com, but even when www.slcplumbing.com was the main site, the BBB backlink didn't show up. Thank you Blake

                        Link Building | | BlakeMcGillis
                        0
                      • pricefutures

                        Link Frequency

                        I understand that good link building is all about the quality of the link / the anchor text attached to it. But, what about frequency? Should I build until I can't build anymore? or create a plan to submit links to a certain # of sites per week/month?

                        Link Building | | pricefutures
                        0

                      Get started with Moz Pro!

                      Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                      Start my free trial
                      Products
                      • Moz Pro
                      • Moz Local
                      • Moz API
                      • Moz Data
                      • STAT
                      • Product Updates
                      Moz Solutions
                      • SMB Solutions
                      • Agency Solutions
                      • Enterprise Solutions
                      Free SEO Tools
                      • Domain Authority Checker
                      • Link Explorer
                      • Keyword Explorer
                      • Competitive Research
                      • Brand Authority Checker
                      • MozBar Extension
                      • MozCast
                      Resources
                      • Blog
                      • SEO Learning Center
                      • Help Hub
                      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                      • How-to Guides
                      • Moz Academy
                      • API Docs
                      About Moz
                      • About
                      • Team
                      • Careers
                      • Contact
                      Why Moz
                      • Case Studies
                      • Testimonials
                      Get Involved
                      • Become an Affiliate
                      • MozCon
                      • Webinars
                      • Practical Marketer Series
                      • MozPod
                      Connect with us

                      Contact the Help team

                      Join our newsletter
                      Moz logo
                      © 2021 - 2025 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                      • Accessibility
                      • Terms of Use
                      • Privacy

                      Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.