How can a high authority website get away with this?
-
I found out a website i manage recently lost a link from Business Insider - DA 90+ ... after losing this link my DA dropped 5 points! I read the article and it is absolute GIBBERISH. the link that replaced my link actually links to a site that contains pornographic ads (jumbotrons.net).
link: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/ninth-circuit-gay-marriage-quote-2012-12
my questions:
1. how would a company this reputable with a DA 90+ be building pages like this without major penalties? (i realize it is from .au (australia) but from research they own that site too)
2. how exactly does this work? are they selling links to people? did my competitor pay them to replace my link with theirs? why create a page that sounds like robots wrote it
3. would it be a good idea for me to try to get the link back? it certainly was helping considering i lost 5 DA points when i lost the link, but it goes against everything that makes sense in what i've read about toxic links and keeping things clean
Curious to learn a little more about these dark arts!!!
-
"1. how would a company this reputable with a DA 90+ be building pages like this without major penalties? (i realize it is from .au (australia) but from research they own that site too)" - actually being a reputable site makes you less likelyto gain penalties rather than more likely. A smaller less reputable site doing the same thing, would be more likely to garner devaluations and / or penalties. When you become authoritative and reputable, you gain 'trust' with Google. That's a barrier which you can eat into, instead of losing performance. Imagine two people in a friendship who really trust each other, yet one betrays the other. In all likelihood, that trust will be consumed but the friendship will survive. Now imagine the same situation between two people who don't trust each other, since there's no love lost - they will say goodbye and part ways. It may be difficult for a moral, human mind to accept - but trust is a consumable resource and businesses use it as such (just how it is I'm afraid)
"2. how exactly does this work? are they selling links to people? did my competitor pay them to replace my link with theirs? why create a page that sounds like robots wrote it" - Ask them. Find your old link using Wayback Machine, show them your link existed and that it was removed and replaced with a terrible quality link. Maybe they have a rogue editor on the inside and you could bring them to justice. Maybe (instead) they'll refuse to care and they will wall up (to protect themselves). In any case, you could at least ask (without getting nasty about it, don't pick larger battles than you can win)
"3. would it be a good idea for me to try to get the link back? it certainly was helping considering i lost 5 DA points when i lost the link, but it goes against everything that makes sense in what I've read about toxic links and keeping things clean" - I'd certainly try to get it restored. Wayback Machine might be able to help you prove your case and disparage a rogue editor for illegitimate linking practices
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
-
Where can I find where to submit my website to?
Hi there, I am currently reading and learning about backlinks and I find myself stumped as to where I can submit my website to. I understand the logic's and methods for backlinks but just don't know how to find good quality websites to submit my website to. I appreciate any help in advance. Jay
Link Building | | VoodooCreativeLtd0 -
How vital is it to get rid of spam links?
We have about 40, between 1-4 flags. Do you see this as a problem? We looked at the disavow feature, but it seems you need to be cautious about using it. Please advise. Thanks!
Link Building | | churchwebsites1 -
How to identify spammy website before making backlinks on them
Hi, I search in google but didnt find a proper answer for this! maybe search an incorrect keyword! The question is, How can I find out a website that I'm going to make a backlink on is a spammy website? For example I did this guest bloging on this good website: Best Sure-Shot Organic Pest Control Approaches Every Gardener Should Know | Balcony Garden Web But it seems to be spammy because I use SEO POWERSUIT software that shows this backlink is 20% risk of google penalty! Is it right!? So how can we rest assured for making a quality backlink? I can not think any other way 😞
Link Building | | Shervin0 -
Domain authority through blogs
So, I was looking at my competiton, and noticed that they have 4 times the amount of link that my page has. I noticed that they made a blog on almost every free blog hosting available (like webs.com, jimdo.com, .weebly.com...) And every blog has a high domain authority (and poor content) with links to their page. Is this helping with their domain authority? Should i do if for my page too? Thank, M.
Link Building | | Spletnafuzija0 -
Linking between your own websites- yay or nay?
Hi Guys I have 4 different niche websites in the healthcare area and wondering is it a safe strategy to link between them? I'm not sure if this is frowned upon by the search engines. I have heard the term 'link wheel', but I'm not sure if this is what a link wheel would be. I do have 2 sites that are much more important than the other 2. One is a directory of practitioners and the other is my main site of my healthcare business. The 2 other websites are smaller niche markets that I also service. My directory was previously hurt by the Penguin update because I was using Linkvana and blog networks and the anchor text was too specific. I have discontinued using any blog networks or 'quick link' strategies. I'm now implementing a guest posting strategy on reputable websites. I want to do everything buy the book now and thought I should check before any new linking strategy. Thanks in advance! Clinton
Link Building | | ClintonP0 -
Tool based websites after Panda and Penguin
I have several sites that I classify as "tool" based sites. These type of sites includes anagram solvers for word games, ip address lookups and other various based tools. I like to specialize in these kind of sites because frankly I am not a blogger and hate to write. Before Panda I was doing fairly well, I had many users coming to my sites everyday. The Panda update "tips" that I read all over including on google sites seems to always refer to articles and how to deal with those. The only problem is that I am not an article based site. Yes I have content that describes my tools, but we are talking 1 to at most 2 paragraphs per page. I know Panda effected my ratings because I lost ranking with some big keywords. Since then I have been able to gain some ground, but I am having a hard time trying to figure out what exactly google wants from a site like me. The main path I am getting from Panda is concentrating on the users, and what will make their experience better. I focus on that whenever I make a change. I figure the easier I make it for them, the happier they are going to be. I am wondering what you guys think about some things I can look into creating or focusing on to enhance my site. I use social media heavily (FB, tweets, posterous, blog, RSS Feed) already, but is there something else I can look at that might help me that I am not seeing. I seem to be running out of ideas. Maybe add more content to my pages? Check link structure (its pretty basic as it is) add more article based blog posts? Just want some ideas, I will send my URL to anyone who wants to take a look and see what I may be missing. C
Link Building | | cbielich0 -
Page with PR3 but no authority
Hello! I have been offered the possibility of having a link to my site included in this page, but I am a bit confused with it's metrics and I was wondering if you could help me cast some light on the matter. Why does it have Page and Domain authority 1? And why does it have page rank 3? Is it dodgy or should I go for it? Thank you! PS: It's not a paid link, it would be a partnership that would imply a link in this site.
Link Building | | inmonova0 -
Getting a link from a page on a site with high site DA but low PA?
Does anyone know if it is still worth it getting a link from a page on a site with a really low Page Authority - say a news page on a site that has an SEO Moz tool bar PA of just 1 or 2, but the domain of the site has a high DA like say 83 Is this worth getting?? Thanks
Link Building | | inhouseninja0