Reporting a Link Scheme to Google
-
Hi Mozzers,
Two questions...
There is a negative article showing up in the SERPS for my boss name which we've been doing some rep management to get rid of. Well, someone started building links to that property recently, and it has pushed the result to the #2 spot. I did some research, and the property has never had a single link pointed to it until recently. There are 7 referring domains, all of which use the same theme, and have the same author for each article. Each property has over 1,000 articles in not even 2 years. All articles are based around the same topic. The property they are promoting negatively went from 0 backlinks to 55 in under 2 months. My Question is, is it okay to report this to Google? It seems like a cut and dry example of a link scheme.Second question, I have recently seen an increase of spammy links showing up in ahrefs. These links were likely built by a predecessor of mine as far back as 2010. I had been letting them fall off naturally, but now they are coming back (around the same time the above mentioned link scheme began). Do you think someone is re-indexing my links as a sort of attack? Or is it possible Google is re-indexing them? I'm going to contact the webmasters where I can, but seriously considering using disavow tool. My rankings started dropping when the links started getting indexed. And continue to drop. Negative SEO, or Googles recent "Quality Update"?
Thanks for any and all input.
Ryan
-
Q1: Google is very bad at dealing with stuff like this, they really don't care to much in my experience. I have seen otehrs try and flood the front page with things like twitter facebook and linkedin to push down negative content. Try to use these strong networks to boost his name. Also might as well give it a shot and report it to Google.
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/93713?hl=enQ2: Every day Googlebot gets smarter and more nosy! It crawls javascript it does al;l sorts of things. Crappy sites go up and down and have index issues eventually Google will get to them and index them. This is likely what you are seeing.
If they are pretty bad then get them in the disavow file ASAP. A Penguin update is not that far away and you need to be ready a month in advance.
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
-
When buying used domains, how do i see the links pointing to that domain? OSE not showing links
when buying used domains, how do i see the links pointing to that domain? Sometimes the open site explorer doesn't show any links to the domain, especially if the domain is parked. Obviously a domain for sale with 1000 domains linking to it has lots of SEO Value right? Thanks mozzers!
Link Building | | Ron100 -
Internal links
hey guys, these days should internal links within your site carry no-follow tags? or does it really matter? thanks!!
Link Building | | tm46150 -
Is a no-follow link/sponsored link a good editorial link?
Ok maybe this is a dumb question. I really need some better, more quality backlinks pointing to my site. There is a site that has domain authority of 72, page rank 5 that is offering me a sponsored blog post. Do sponsored posts count as a good editorial link? Also what if they are no-follow (and how would I find out ahead of time), does that still give me link juice?
Link Building | | tutugirl0 -
Did Google Panda and Penguins have any effect on Outbound Links?
I am just a beginner in SEO. But has any of the changes recently implemented by google affected out bound links? Meaning if a website now has a good number of outbound links to strong websites and pages could that Translate to better rankings?
Link Building | | sherohass0 -
"Activating" Links - Do External Links Have to Be Clicked On to Really Have Value?
I heard an SEO talk about the concept of "activating" a link - meaning that if an external link to your site exists, but google doesn't detect that it has gotten any actual clicks, they will significantly discount or ignore the value of the link. Obviously between Chrome, toolbars, and GA, google does have a lot of ways to detect whether a link has gotten clicks. What is the SEOmoz take on this issue?
Link Building | | kbrake0 -
Linking Root Domains V.s Total Links
When analysing a company's inbound links, what is more important to note: The number of linking root domains, or the total number of links? And why?
Link Building | | SEOrookie170 -
Google Webmaster Tools Link Count
What are your thoughts on the link information provided by GWMT? It often takes quite a bit of time for the links to show up, and some quality links are never shown. Is it cause for concern if your link count is lower in GWMT than, say OSE? Any implications worth noting?
Link Building | | ericbramlett0 -
Does Google see this as an inbound link?
Hi, I'm looking at adding my site to a directory. It's highly relevant to my industry and has relatively good PA/DA. The external links on the directory uses some PHP code like the following: http://www.ThisDirectory.com/visit.php?i=3141635&url=http://www.ExternalDomain.com Obviously the links works as a redirect but they do not show up in OSE. Would Google count this link as an inbound link? Thanks,
Link Building | | Confetti_Wedding0