Using Expired Domains To Build Links
Expired domain abuse is another tactic Google is wise to, but that doesn’t stop people from trying it.
One way that expired domains can be used to build unnatural links is by purchasing it and then redirecting it to another website. The idea is that all of the authority and backlinks belonging to the expired domain will be forwarded through the redirect. Don’t do this.
Any Link Can Be Bad If It’s Lazy Enough
Does the automated press release spam mean you shouldn’t send press releases? No!
Does the prevalence of poor-quality directors mean you can’t use directories in a high-quality way? Also no!
This goes for many link building strategies. There’s usually a high-effort, valuable version and a low-effort, spammy version.
Take guest posting as an example.
If you’re an expert in your field and take the time to write useful content aligned with E-E-A-T best practices, that’s valuable.
If you want to reach new audiences, you could send that post to a website with a large reach. It makes sense for that website to then link back to you as a reference for readers if they like your writing and want to learn more.
This is an ideal linking relationship. A website has chosen your content because it provides value to its readers and links to you as the source of the expertise.
But when one party turns lazy, this becomes toxic.
A website might decide that, for whatever reason, it makes sense to start allowing poor-quality content with links.
Maybe it starts charging or uses a big catalog of content to build an affiliate strategy.
On the other side, link builders might generate poor-quality content with links and post it on websites that either don’t mind or don’t know better. Or they might try and sneak them by following stricter editorial guidelines.
When one side of the equation gets lazy, guest posting becomes a manipulative linking strategy.
The Risk Of Manual Actions
The most likely risk of an unnatural link is that it will be a waste of time and/or money.
If you build a link for SEO that goes against Google’s guidelines, algorithms will simply ignore it either immediately or at an unspecified time in the future when they discover it.
If you have many toxic links and you’re using a strategy that the algorithms don’t immediately catch, this can open you up to a sudden reduction in SEO effectiveness.
At some point, Google will likely release an update that improves how the algorithms detect the links.
When that happens, if you have many of them, the adjustment can significantly impact your rankings and traffic. This can look like a targeted penalty, but generally, it isn’t.
Google uses automated systems and manual actions to punish toxic and spammy link building, but generally, you’re safe from this action unless you’re intentionally using these tactics on a large scale.
On the other hand, you can receive specific penalties for unnatural links, both coming to your site or going out from your site.
Unnatural links manual action notification in search console.
Links To Your Site Vs. Links From Your Site
If you host unnatural links from your site to other sites, you may be hit with a manual action. This indicates to Google that you’re on the supply side of the ecosystem it’s trying to stop.
A large number of unnatural links coming from your website could cause Google to decide it doesn’t trust you and issue a penalty. This will be communicated to you in Google Search Console. These penalties can be reversed, but generally this requires you to fix the problems and submit a request for reevaluation.
This video from Google about unnatural links from your site explains more. It’s your responsibility to ensure that your site does not host unnatural links. This video from Google provides a great overview. Remember: “A natural link is an editorial choice.”
For example, if you use your domains to host bad link tactics and sell links to others, you’re at a high risk of receiving a manual penalty from Google that suppresses or removes your website from the Search index.
You can also receive a manual penalty for unnatural links to your website. This seems less likely, because there are many cases where it wouldn’t be fair to punish a website for incoming links. However, you might still receive a manual penalty if Google is confident that you are trying to manipulate your ranking.
This video from Google about unnatural links to your site has more information:
How To Spot Shady Links
A good link is a genuine interaction of trust between two parties.
Spotting shady links is actually pretty easy, especially when there’s a pattern.
If you’re auditing your backlink profile or putting a potential service provider through their paces, here are some signs to look for.
1. New or young sites on blogging domains.
If you notice links from blogging subdomains ( e.g. blogger.com ) to your website, especially if they aren’t directly relevant, appear in high numbers (without nofollow attribute), or even in some cases where the blog has your website or brand name, this is a sign that someone was building shady links to your website.
This is a good indication of a PBN.
You should ask a link building service provider whether they create new websites to build links. This is a red flag.
2. Many unnatural links from unrelated forums.
Links like this can indicate automated link building with bots. Generally, using UGC sites to build links is against the terms of service of those websites.
Usually, the strategy involves pretending to be a genuine user. If you have to pretend you’re someone you’re not, it’s a shady link.
3. Links from irrelevant websites and directories.
Relevance really does matter with links, and if you’re looking through a link profile and see domains that just don’t make sense, they bear investigation. For example if you are a recipe publisher a link from plumber’s article is highly irrelevant. That means it was likely the result of an unnatural link building technique.
However, if you add your website to relevant directories that have value from the users’ perspective, this can be totally fine. For example, you should add your restaurant website to Yelp, which is used by 32M active users who look for reviews before booking a reservation. Check our list of directories that still matter.
If you want to learn more about link building and its many pitfalls, check out SEJ’s ebook The Dark Side Of Link Building.
More resources:
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