Spammy backlinks are working?!

[seomozinator]

Hello, fellow MOZers.

I just read this article of this guy (not myself, I promise ) I never heard before:

http://stream-seo.com/churn-burn-backlinks-case-study/

According to him SUPER spam is actually helping, and, according to him again, google punguin didn't knock it down either.

It looks and sounds all very shady and salesy for all those tools he is mentioning (actually, not just mentioning, but linking to). At the same it looks impressive if it's true.

My thoughts are that it's falsified/buttered article, otherwise, if everything he says is true, we would see direct correlation between ranking position and number of backlinks (linking domains).

I've been struggling to resist the temptation to try some spammy techniques to get backlinks to see what happens, but, at the same time, my brain says not to be an idiot.

[randfish]

Oh - weird. I thought the first comments were from a Dmitrii, but now I see you share the same company

Interesting topic thread for sure!

[TheWebMastercom]

I  must confess that I "learnt" SEO by undertaking in black hat stuff.  I used various programs to mass post spun articles to blogs and directories and anywhere else the software let me.  I spend hours and hours on crafting generic piles of #### to post everywhere I could.

I became so good at SEO for about 2 months.  Things were looking good.. then penguin hit.

Not to let that stop me, I spent even longer crafting the perfect anchor text densities, private blog networks and anything else I could to try and fool Google.... 1 month of semi-greatness.

Ok, starting to learn alot of great things.  Learnt about penalties, and more of what Google wanted.  Let's try white hat.

With white hat it was all about the content.  To my surprise I spent less time working, more time on producing a better site, and to my amazement ranking higher than I ever did before.  That is not to say I have never had issues with content quality (short news posts), but I have never looked back since focusing on content and forgetting about links (although some content I have written is especially to attract natural links from other blogs).

Anyway, just make sure you don't mind losing any site you try black hat stuff on, but still recommend white hat stuff all the way.

[seomozinator]

Mr. Rand himself! Wow

Thanks for the input! By the way, those first comments on that article are mine

Gonna read on the article you linked to, see what it says, while drinking soothing tea to come down my spammy-techniques-confused brain.

Cheers!

[randfish]

Hey Charles - I think some of the first points made in the comments are essential reading on top of the article. Specifically, the first comment notes that until/unless the poster shows the keywords targeted, it's very tough to trust the data or know if the inputs noted are causal. It's also impossible to replicate or investigate. The reply from the author points out that he hasn't tried replicating in 2015, and isn't confident it would work again.

I'd say both of those points make the techniques shown at least somewhat less trustworthy.

If you want to try spamming Google, my advice would be to experiment with sites you're willing to lose entirely and never recover. Also be ready for very spiky and short-term-focused revenue. You could make a lot of money for a few months, then make nothing for a long time (as many spammers have found).

Also recommended reading: http://inbound.org/post/view/confessions-of-a-google-spammer - a good piece from a former spammer on the techniques and process used, and on Google's evolution around webspam and manipulative links.

[seomozinator]

Saw it, read it. Want mooooore! Mua-ha-ha-haha!

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

I would check out the following:
Skyscraper Technique (Backlinko)
Beginner's Guide to Link Building
Moz Academy on Link Building How to Build Links to Your Blog - A Case Study (Moz)

I would also look into citations and listings.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[seomozinator]

Thanks!

Would you happen to have some similar studies or counter-studies on this subject?

Or links to such?

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi there

Simply put - don't do it. Search engines will catch up and figure out what you're doing.

I really can't think of anything more to say more beyond that, but listen to the part of your brain that says "don't be an idiot".

Articles like this are noise, they don't benefit anyone.

Just my thoughts! Good luck!