How to Identify Unnatural Links to Your Site and How to Fix Them
In the world of SEO, backlinks play a crucial role in improving the visibility, credibility, and ranking of your website. However, not all links are created equal. Unnatural links, which violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, can lead to disastrous consequences including penalties and substantial drops in search rankings. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to understanding, identifying, and handling unnatural links effectively.
Understanding Unnatural Links
Often, we come across terms such as “”bad links””, “”spammy links””, or “”toxic links””. These refer to unnatural links which are typically acquired through manipulative practices, aiming to deceive search engines and gain a ranking advantage. Unnatural links can be split broadly into two significant categories: self-made links and spammy backlinks.
Types of Unnatural Links
- Self-Made Links: These are created manually by the website owner in an attempt to trick search engines. Methods include adding backlinks in forum profiles, blog comments, user profiles, or interlinking websites that are under the control of the same owner.
- Spammy Backlinks: These are usually created by third-party sites with an intent to harm your website’s reputation and SEO ranking. They could be the result of negative SEO practices or may be linked to low-quality, irrelevant, or harmful websites.
Identifying Unnatural Links
Identifying unnatural links involves analyzing your link profile to root out the bad links. Remember, a link portfolio overloaded with unnatural links will trigger Google’s algorithm, and your site might receive a dreaded manual action or Google Penguin penalty. Here are some steps you can follow.
- Regularly Review your Backlink Profile: Regular checks are the key. Create a habit of checking your backlinks once a week or at least once in a month.
- Keep an Eye for Sudden Traffic Drops: A considerable decrease in organic traffic can be a cue for a penalty. Investigate if this aligns with new links pointing to your site.
- Look out for Irrelevant or Off-Topic Links: A link from a website promoting health products on a tech blog may not be very natural or relevant.
Tools for Identifying Unnatural Links
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Google Search Console | This is one of the most fundamental tools to start with and is freely available. It provides data about your site’s search traffic and performance and also enables you to review your backlink profile. |
| SEMRush | SEMRush is a holistic SEO tool that offers a comprehensive backlink audit tool, which identifies toxic links and gives them a toxicity score from 0 to 100 based on various parameters. |
| Moz’s Link Explorer | This tool gives you complete link metrics for any website, including inbound links, linking domains, anchor texts, and top pages. |
How to Fix Unnatural Links
As daunting as it may seem, fixing unnatural links is not an impossible task. However, it requires investigation, analysis, and strategic steps for removing or disavowing these links. Let us delve into the details.
Link Removal Techniques
- Manual Link Removal: Reach out to the website owners and request them to remove the link. This can be time-consuming and the response can be unpredictable. It’s essential to document these efforts for further reference.
- Disavowing Links: If manual removal does not bring the desired results, Google offers a “”Disavow Tool”” allowing you to inform Google not to take certain links into account when assessing your site. It should be your last resort as Google suggests making considerable efforts to get the links removed manually before disavowing them.
Using the Disavow Tool
Google’s Disavow Tool can seem like a godsend when you’re dealing with a large number of unnatural links. However, it’s not a magic wand and should be used with caution. Incorrectly disavowing the wrong backlinks can harm your site’s ranking. Make sure to thoroughly investigate and verify that the links you are disavowing are indeed harmful.
Preventing Unnatural Links in Future
Prevention is better than cure – the idiom fits perfectly in managing unnatural links scenario. Building and maintaining a healthy link profile requires a proactive approach. Monitor your link profile regularly, establish relationships with reputable websites for natural link building, and always adhere to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
Monitoring Your Link Profile
Regular monitoring of your link profile helps you stay updated with the incoming links. Use tools as mentioned previously to keep a close eye on your backlinks. Unnatural links can pop up anytime without you having any knowledge about it, making it essential to monitor frequently.
Adopting Healthy Link Building Practices
Creating high-quality content that naturally attracts backlinks is the best line of defense. Engage in guest blogging, deliver infographics, generate original research reports, and involve in community participation to earn natural, high-quality links.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the best way to stay safe from the effects of unnatural links is to consistently build high-quality links and regularly monitor your website’s backlink profile. Dealing with unnatural links can be challenging, but it’s absolutely crucial to handle them effectively to maintain your site’s reputation and search engine rankings.
FAQs
1. What are unnatural links?
Unnatural links are links that are intended to manipulate a site’s ranking, are deceptive, or are a result of a low-quality link scheme. They violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can lead to penalties that can negatively affect a website’s search engine ranking.
2. How can I identify unnatural links to my site?
You can identify unnatural links by reviewing your backlink profile regularly, using SEO tools such as Google Search Console, SEMRush, and Moz’s Link Explorer. Pay special attention to sudden drops in traffic, and inbound links from irrelevant or off-topic websites.
3. Can I fix unnatural links myself?
Yes, you can tackle unnatural links by requesting the website owner to remove the unnatural links manually or disavowing the links using Google’s Disavow Tool. However, utilising the Disavow Tool should be your last resort, and you need to use it with caution.
4. How to prevent unnatural links in the future?
You can prevent unnatural links by monitoring your link profile regularly, adopting healthy link-building practices such as creating high-quality content, engaging in guest blogging, delivering infographics, generating original research reports, and participating in communities relevant to your niche.
5. What is Google’s disavow tool?
Google’s Disavow Tool is a function provided by Google that allows you to ask Google not to consider certain links when assessing your site.