If you’re looking to increase traffic on your website, creating effective backlinks works! However, while performing SEO for your website, it’s also equally important to be able to identify the kinds of negative backlinks you could generate that violates the guidelines prescribed by Google webmaster, to avoid being penalized. The penalty often leads to terrible ranks on the Google search console and might even cause a ban on your website.
The first step to reduce this weakness is to identify these types of bad backlinks. This article provides a ready guide to consult before you start building links:
Let’s Know the Most 17 Reasons which can drop your SEO ranking in Google
#1. Large Scale Link Exchange
While link exchange was a very popular method to increase backlinks to your website in the last decade, Google has now adopted a stricter stance against it. Large scale backlink exchanges are not cool with Google, and might result in a penalty. Adopting a strategy of one-way link building is a safer way to build backlinks.
#2. Blog Network Participation
Many blog networks, and websites that have backlinks from them, have been targeted by Google analytics since 2012 and were heavily penalized. Therefore, participation in blog networks and having your website backlinked through them is a bit of a risk, and is best avoided.
#3. Backlinking to Widgets
Google has a strict no follow policy on widgets, and their webmaster guidelines advise against using widgets for backlinking. In the past, action has been taken against major websites like GoDaddy for using widgets as a method of link building. One way to work around this guideline is to give people the option to choose to link to your website or not, while providing the plug-in code that you want them to embed on their website.
#4. Sponsored Ads
Using advertorial backlinks and sponsored articles, or accepting the same on your website, may bring you under Google’s radar of suspicion. Numerous important websites, including famous newspaper websites, have been flagged by Google previously for using these means to generate more links and traffic.
#5. Paid Links
Google link building guidelines does not approve of manipulation of PageRank by using text or image links that your website has paid for. Paid links might turn out to be counterproductive for your website as Google follows a no-follow policy for sponsored backlinks.
#6. Stagnant Article Directories and Web Directories
Google has devalued websites like Ezine Articles and Article Base. The primary reason for the same is the fact that they only serve to generate repetitive articles on identical topics with backlinks, thereby providing no real value to users. Using such article directories may work against your objective of SEO. It is a better idea to get rid of such outdated techniques and instead put in efforts to submit your website on eminent and appealing directories like Yellow Pages.
#7 Hidden Links and Hacking
Hacking other websites with the purpose of hiding your backlink in CSS and Javascript can now be easily detected through advanced search engines bots that Google has developed. These underhand practices that fall under the category of spam backlinks are more likely to get penalized today under stricter guidelines.
#8. Sidebars and Footer Backlinks
Backlinks that feature on the side-bars and footers on every page of your website may be identified as spam backlinks by Google, which increases the risk of imposition of a penalty. Google intensively works to eliminate irrelevancy, and spamming is not a good idea.
#9. Over-optimization of Anchor Text
Building backlinks by repeating keywords very often throughout the text might lead to penalty for your website. Google algorithm can easily detect such loopholes in your anchor text, which is why it is important to avoid resorting to such techniques.
#10. Backlinks from Websites of a different language
An Indian website with backlinks from Russian or German websites, for example, may raise red flags. Backlinks generated from foreign language websites does nothing to make your content more relevant for Google. It eventually affects your ranking negatively.
Suggest to Read: Top 10 SEO Factors to rank top in Google
#11. Guest Blogging
Google’s standards regarding guest blogging and guest posting have often been criticized for being vague and poorly defined. While good quality guest posting is a great method of link building, low quality guest blogging counts as spam.
#12. Auto-generated Backlinks
Backlinks that are automatically generated may appear to be very attractive deals, but they are the surest way to get your website banned in a few days time. It is best to avoid bot-generated backlinks like comments, forum posts and web 2.0 websites like Squidoo and HubPages that put out great cost-effective deals, but put you at an even greater risk.
#13. Bookmark Websites
It is smart to stay away from websites where users can leave their personal bookmarks, similar to the other automated techniques that we have talked about before.
#14. Irrelevant Backlinks
Relevancy is absolutely crucial to building links and generating positive traffic for your website, and this cannot be stressed enough. If your website has too many backlinks from another website that have no connection to your product or line of business, Google’s algorithm will detect the discrepancy. It will push your website further down the Google search results page to obscurity.
#15. Duplicate Websites
Backlinks generated from websites which have a lot of duplicate and low quality content may lead to Google undermining your website too, for lack of originality and usefulness, thereby bringing down your own ranking.
#16. Low Quality Backlinks
One fundamental rule to keep in mind while building backlinks is that, the harder it is to get one, the more valuable it will be for your website. Moreover, Google’s policies are violated by easily generated backlinks such as free directories, wiki pages, forum profiles and signatures and other similar platforms.
#17. Manipulative Links
As stated earlier, Google does not encourage links that tamper with the search engine rankings, and its algorithm can easily identify such links. It is therefore necessary to undertake link building very cautiously, taking care to never leave footprints. Staying away from link schemes that violate these guidelines is a good way to begin.
Read: Top 10 SEO and Digital Marketing Company in the World
In order to ensure a clean chit when it comes to building links to achieve SEO and generate more traffic to your website, backlink checkers are of great help. They help to identify spam backlinks and enable you to get rid of these drawbacks with efficiency.
Effective link building might seem like a huge hurdle to begin with, but it gets simpler once you get the hang of it. Hope this article was helpful! For any further queries, feel free to contact us. We’ll be happy to help!
Picture Credit: Pixabay & Canva, Flaticon
Content Credit: Akib Ahmed
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