We might as well start at the beginning and define what a backlink is. If you’ve ever tried to work at improving your website’s SEO, you know that backlinks are important. They are URL links that take users to your website. Who would’ve thought? A backlink is a link back to a website! Crazy!
A network of backlinks to your site will improve your rankings on search engines. We should say a network of good backlinks. There are such things as bad backlinks that we like to call badlinks. As you might’ve guessed, you’ll want to avoid those. They can negatively affect your search engine rankings. How will you know if it’s a badlink?
What’s A Badlink? (Bad Backlink)
It all comes down to the source of the link. But how do search engines decide whether the source is good or bad? UX. If you’ve read our previous blog post about UX, you know what we’re talking about. It’s a user’s experience on a particular website. Every business wants to give its customers the best experience, and search engines aren’t any different.
When people have a great experience on Google or Bing, they want to come back again and again. What’s a good experience on a search engine? Getting relevant and useful information related to the terms they searched for.
The best backlinks happen organically, aren’t paid for, and add value to a website or topic. Badlinks on the other hand, are typically artificial, outdated, or they come from irrelevant or spammy websites. Here some badlinks to look out for and what you can do to remove them.
Spammy Sites
Spam can sometimes be difficult to define, yet we almost always know when we see it. An ad or link to a miracle weight loss pill on a pet grooming website, for example. It’s completely irrelevant and unrelated, not to mention, it’s fake. (As much as we wish it wasn’t.)
Basically, links from any website that you don’t want to be associated with your own. Your website could be receiving links from these websites and hurting your online reputation. We don’t want that. We want to be the coolest kid in school. Duh.
You can use a backlink tool to see where your backlinks are coming from and do something about the bad ones. Google recommends you contact the website and request a link removal first. If that doesn’t work, you can use Google Search Console’s Disavow tool to request the removal of badlinks. Just keep in mind that one or two badlinks won’t really ruin your SEO, but if you find dozens or even hundreds of them, it’s probably worth getting them removed.
Link Mills
Link mill websites have been around for a while now and they are exactly what they sound like. Search engines are always working to make sure their algorithms aren’t manipulatable by the person who has simply bought the most backlinks.
Anyone offering you a bunch of backlinks “guaranteed” to improve your search rankings fall into this category. A million links don’t automatically equate to higher rankings. You know the old saying “quality over quantity.” It’s especially true here. Keep creating quality, relevant content over time and the backlinks will come. Great SEO doesn’t happen overnight as much as we wish it did. You’ve got to nurture it and watch it grow like a cute little SEO baby. Except it doesn’t cry when it needs help, which is great for headaches, but sometimes we wish it did!
Blog Comments and Discussion Forums
Speaking of babies, when the internet was still young, marketers realized they could boost their website traffic simply by posting links in discussion forums and in blog article comments. This isn’t really the case anymore.
It’s ok to engage in forums and on blog articles that interest you, but don’t expect spamming a bunch of links to improve your search engine rankings. In fact, it may hurt your rankings if you do it enough. Search engines can spot backlinks that are just keywords linked to irrelevant websites. If you’re SEO guy or gal is using this strategy, you may want to consider a new SEO guy or gal. Have you heard of Limelight Marketing Systems? ????
You are now equipped to head into the badlands of the badlinks and vanquish any who dare cross your path. But that’s not the end of the SEO fight. You need a consistent, targeted strategy to guarantee your website shows up where it should. We know a little something about that. Give us a call if you need a sidekick in your fight to improve your SEO.
