A backlink is a link from a website to a page on another website. They are an important factor in SEO because they help search engines understand the relevance and authority of a website or page, resulting in a higher ranking.
Backlinks can be incredibly useful for your website, but only if done right. So, today we’ll mention the 9 biggest mistakes and issues related to backlinks.
Spam Backlinks
Spam backlinks are created to manipulate search engine rankings or increase the link popularity of a website. They can have a negative impact on the search engine rankings and credibility of a website. There are a few tactics commonly used to create spam backlinks:
- Automated link building: Using automated tools to generate a large number of backlinks quickly.
- Comment spam: Leaving spammy comments on blogs or forums with links back to one’s own website.
- Directory submission spam: Submitting the website to a large number of low-quality or spammy directories in an attempt to generate backlinks.
- Link farms: These are groups of websites used exclusively for generating backlinks.
- Blog spam: Creating low-quality blog posts or articles to generate backlinks to one’s own website.
Avoid participating in any practices that may create spam backlinks. Instead, focus on creating high-quality, relevant backlinks from reputable websites.
Link Schemes
Link schemes are methods used by websites to manipulate search rankings through the exchange or purchase of links. There are many different types of link schemes, including:
- Link farms: These are websites that exist solely to provide links to other websites, often through automated means. The links on these websites are generally low quality and have little value to users. Additionally, they’re considered a form of spam and are prohibited by search engines.
- Link exchanges: This is when two websites agree to link to each other to boost their respective search rankings. These links are generally not valuable to users and can be seen as spammy by search engines.
- Paid links: Buying or selling links for the purpose of manipulating search rankings is against Google’s guidelines and can result in a penalty.
- Link schemes using redirects: A website creates a redirect to a different website to pass on link value and manipulate search rankings.
These schemes violate Google’s guidelines and can result in a penalty or even a ban from the search engine. Using manipulative tactics to try to improve your search ranking can ultimately harm your website in the long run.
Overuse of Exact Match Anchor Text
Anchor text is the text that is used for a hyperlink. Exact match anchor text is anchor text that exactly matches the keyword or phrase being targeted for the linked-to webpage.
Using exact match anchor text can be a useful SEO technique in some cases, as it can help search engines understand the relevance of the linked-to webpage. However, overusing exact match anchor text can be a problem for a few reasons:
- It can appear spammy to search engines, leading to penalties or a decrease in search rankings.
- It can make a website’s backlink profile appear unnatural, as it may seem like it is trying to manipulate its search rankings.
- It can limit the potential traffic to a website, as it may only attract users searching for the exact keyword or phrase used as anchor text.
So, vary the anchor text used for backlinks and use a mix of exact match, partial match, and branded anchor text. Also, use a variety of anchor text that accurately reflects the content of the linked-to webpage.
Linking to Low-Quality or Spammy Websites
Search engines use the links on your website to determine the relevance and authority of your site. If you link to low-quality or spammy websites, it can reflect poorly on your own website and may result in a penalty or a decrease in ranking. So, avoid linking to websites that engage in spammy or unethical practices, such as link schemes, paid links, or other manipulative tactics.
Hidden Links
Hidden links are links that are not visible to users but are visible to search engines. There are a few different ways that hidden links can be implemented:
- Links hidden behind images or other website elements
- Links hidden using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
- Links hidden in the footer or sidebar of a website
These links can be used to manipulate search rankings and are a violation of Google’s guidelines and can result in a penalty. So, be transparent and only use visible links to avoid any potential issues with search engines.
Linking to Irrelevant, Banned, or Penalized Websites
When you link to a website, you’re telling search engines that you consider it a valuable resource and relevant to your website. If a website is found to be engaging in spammy or unethical practices, it can be banned or penalized, which means it won’t rank well in search results.
By linking to irrelevant, banned, or penalized websites, you can confuse search engines, which may decrease your ranking. In addition, linking to these websites can also impact the user experience. If users click on a link that takes them to a website that is not relevant to the content they are reading, it can be confusing and may lead them to leave your website.
If you’re unsure if a website has been banned or penalized, you can check its status using tools like the Google Search Console or by doing a manual search in Google.
Broken Links
A broken link points to a webpage or resource no longer available. Broken links can occur for a variety of reasons, such as:
- The linked-to page has been removed or deleted.
- The linked-to page has moved to a new URL, and the link has not been updated.
- The linked-to page is temporarily unavailable due to server issues or maintenance.
Broken links can prevent users from accessing the intended content, leading to a poor user experience. Additionally, they can prevent search engines from crawling and indexing webpages, negatively impacting the SEO of the linked-to webpage. Finally, they can reduce the credibility and authority of a website, as they may be seen as a sign of a poorly-maintained website.
To fix broken links, you can use a tool to identify any broken links on your website and update or remove them as needed. Try regularly checking for broken links and fixing them as soon as possible to ensure your website is functioning properly and providing a good user experience.
Backlinks with Redirect Chains
A redirect chain is a series of redirects a user must go through to reach the final destination page. Redirect chains can occur when a page is redirected to another page, which is then redirected to yet another page. They can be problematic for different reasons:
- They can slow down the loading time of a webpage, as each redirect adds additional time to the process.
- They can make it difficult for search engines to crawl and index pages, as each redirect adds an extra step for the search engines to follow.
- They can dilute the link equity of a webpage, as each redirect reduces the value of the link.
To avoid redirect chains, make sure any redirects point directly to the final destination page rather than another redirect. If there are multiple redirects in place, you should consolidate them into a single redirect. This will help ensure that the loading time and crawlability of the webpage are not negatively impacted.
Lost Backlinks
It’s normal for websites to lose backlinks over time for various reasons. Some possible reasons for lost backlinks include:
- The website linking to your site has been removed or changed the link.
- The linked-to page on your website has been removed, or the URL has changed.
- The linking website has been penalized, and the links from that site are no longer counted.
- The linking website has gone offline or has been removed from search engine indexes.
There are a few things you can do to try and recover lost backlinks:
- Check if the link was removed or changed on the linking website. If it was, you might be able to contact the website owner and ask them to restore the link.
- Check if the linked-to page on your website has been removed or the URL has changed. You may need to update the backlink to point to the correct page or create a redirect from the old URL to the new one.
- Monitor your backlink profile regularly to keep track of any lost links. This can help you identify any potential issues and take action to address them.
- Continue to create high-quality, relevant content and build new backlinks to your website. This can help to offset any lost backlinks and maintain the overall strength of your backlink profile.
Conclusion
Backlinks can be created in various ways, such as through guest blogging, commenting on other websites, or creating valuable content that other websites want to link to. But the practices mentioned above should be avoided at all costs – for your own good.
It’s also important to note that the quality of backlinks is more important than quantity, so you should focus on getting high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.