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.
How is Moz DA affected by spam links? Disavow file?
-
So it does not appear that moz let's you upload your disavow file. So when moz calculates your DA how do spammy links factor in? After digging through our GA it appears our site was hit with the 2016 penguin update and never recovered. Our weekly visitors were 2k, then dropped to 500 and have stayed close to that level for a while.
We've used the disavow tool, without success over the past 3 years. During that time we have done link out reach and built around 10 legit good quality DA links since. But we have not recovered. At this point i'm thinking I should just remove the disavow file.
Moz says our spam score for our domain is 5%.
-
Hey there,
Sam from Moz's Help Team here!
So, a couple of things - all links do factor into your DA profile. When you disavow a link through Google, it doesn't actually remove the link, Google just stops putting SEO weight into it. So our crawler will still find the link. Unfortunately there isn't a way in Link Explorer to "disavow" a link yet so we will still show it.
Disavowing a link doesn't take it away from our tools, so they will still appear as backlinks to your site. The fact that Google disregards them in relation to your site does not take them off the sites they are on, so best practice is to approach the webmaster first and request the link be removed. If you get no response then disavow with Google:).
I also want to note here that your Spam Score in Moz Pro is actually the percentage of sites with similar features we've found to be penalized or banned by Google (it's not based on the spam score of the sites linking to you). To improve this score I would recommend reading our guide which explains the 27 factors used to make up this score. You can then look at your site and investigate areas you would like to improve on your site:
https://moz.com/help/link-explorer/link-building/spam-score
Best of luck, and let me know if I can help with anything else!
-
Moz has its own ways of determining if a link/site might be potential spam. As they don't know the disavow data of websites that is something that is not taken into account when calculating Domain Authority. I do believe they take their own measures and calculate that against the Domain Authority/Page Authority metrics.
Also, at some point you need a higher quantity of links, building 10 links over a period of months usually isn't a great signal to search engines that your site needs a boost. If it's just for a specific page, then ignore my comment on it. But usually, I notice that sites need more attention than just building links.
-
This is not an answer, but a question. If Google already knows to discount spam links then why should webmasters have to waste their time tracking down spam links and disavowing them?
I for one will not let anyone waste my time by creating spammy links to any website I own. I never realized how many spam links I have until I signed up for a Moz Pro trial. It seems like most of the spam found by Moz did not show up in the links part of my Google Console, so I really don't feel like disavowing links that I never made. For instance I noticed a number of links to my police misconduct website from spammy looking URLs with pornographic anchor text. And some of it looks like kiddie porn keywords. I am afraid to even look at any of those linking pages. I did not make them. They were probably made by some dirty cop that gets off on that kind of stuff.
So I am wording why this man should have to waste his time disavowing links that Google would not value anyway. Is it not enough for Google to give him no credit?
Again, what do I know. I only worked in SEO before going to prison and getting banned from computers about 7 years ago for a drunken email threat.
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
-
Unsolved when is the spam score updated?
when is the spam score updated?
Link Explorer | | Tv24.ro
we have been waiting since December to see an update of the spam score and moz is lying to us continuously. Shame, whenever we ask questions, they don't answer us, I think they almost make fun of people.
I requested an update to antena24, tv24, digi24, alba24, g4media, b1tv,newsela0 -
Problem with third party cookies while using MOZ?
Hello, I am using Moz Pro and I am happy to have this tool for my SEO work. But I am having a little problem while working on my blog site https://thepoolparadise.com/ some times the Moz does not work and asks to allow third-party cookies, wherein the settings third-party cookies are always allowed. Please guide me in this matter. Thank you.
Link Explorer | | Niujbuj760 -
Why my website Backlinks not getting Crawl by Moz?
Hi, I've the query related to backlinks of my website. Some of the high authority sites give backlinks to my website but these links are still not showing in Moz. My website is 6 months old and also continuously getting backlinks from high authority sites but still these are not showing on Moz and also not improving DA and PA of my website. I've also attached the screenshot of Moz link explorer results please check and guide me what to do with website so Moz will consider it and give some authority. And also guide me How much Moz takes time to crawl website backlinks and shown in their link explorer. Website URL: https://www.welderexpert.com Moz Expert Suggestions needed. Thanks, overview?site=welderexpert.com⌖=domain
Link Explorer | | KOidue0 -
How long will it take to reach DA 2?
Hello, I have a local website (https://iescobill.pk) where I am getting good organic traffic, and also social traffic, and so far my page authority (PA) has reached #13, but DA still 1? Is it normal?
Link Explorer | | iescobill0 -
Is Moz's backlink checker.... just... not good?
Hey everyone! Can somebody explain to me why this keeps happening: Whenever I'm trying to backlink my competitors, I typically use RavenTools. Every time, without fail, if I put that same URL into Moz's Open Site Explorer - It gives me about 1/20th of what RavenTools shows me. Sometimes it literally comes up with 2 or 3 links total. Unfortunately, RavenTools has a cap on how many backlink checks you can perform in a month - so once I've used those up, I have to start using OSE... But, it just doesn't work. Does anyone else have this issue? Thanks!
Link Explorer | | TaylorRHawkins1 -
What does "Number of Linking Root Domains" in Open Site Explorer actually mean?
I've read through the forum, but I'm confused as to what "Number of Linking Root Domains" means in the Linking Domains report. For example, if the root domain is Moz.com and the number is 135,000 does that mean there are 135,000 links from Moz pointing back to my site or does it mean there are 135,000 sites linking back to Moz? Any help is appreciated. Thank you!
Link Explorer | | karrabarron1 -
Site has DA of 26 but no backlinks
I'm asking this for a guy over at SEOchat: http://forums.seochat.com/new-user-seo-questions-answers-123/unusual-change-domain-authority-486962.html Here's what his post says: Exclamation Unusual Change in Domain authority
Link Explorer | | ThomasHarvey
Guys and Girls, I'm having a weird issue in one of my sites , thing is the site had DA 11 in July and however when check on September Site is having 26 without me doing any type of link building and there are no new posts for this month as well. When checked using open site explorer there are no backlinks indexed in their Mozcape index as well. Site: http://www.beijingtravelchannel.com/ Can you give me any plausible reasons for this to happen, so that i can check them out. Thanks in Advance.0