The search engines’ first line of defence against link spam comes in the form of yet another algorithm. While algorithms are used to determine your page content, its relevancy, and the strength of your site’s links, they are also actively watching for any unnatural appearance in your back linking patterns in an effort to combat SERP manipulation via link spamming. There are a number of points which they can algorithmically analyze to determine unnatural linking practices. The following is a brief summary of a few key points which are looked over.
1. Links which are labelled as advertisements.
The search engines can easily scan content in near proximity to your link for terms such as “advertisement” or “sponsors”.
2. Use of site-wide links.
Site-wide linking is rare in terms of natural occurrence, and it should be used only in small doses in your link building strategy. Purchased or otherwise, these links appear to be placed with promotion in mind. The only exception to this rule is the interlinking of sites which are operated by the same company. In general though, site-wide linking throws up a serious red flag, especially when the majority of your links are built in such a manner.
3. Links purchased via a broker.
Link brokers are keen to the link detections set in place by the search engines, and take all the steps they can to avoid having their product detected by the algorithms in question, but this does not mean they do not face problems of their own. An example of this was Google’s reaction to a long time proponent of paid links, We Build Pages. This action resulted in We Build Pages changing its stance on the paid link issue. You can read more at the following address, # .
4. Site selling links details their link sales on-site.
Many sites will have a page which outlines their advertising rates, or details regarding the acquisition of links on their site. Search engines can detect keywords that signal the location of these pages, and can automatically determine if a site is offering up links in exchange for financial compensation. These flags often lead to a review of the site, and the devaluation of links placed upon it.
5. Relevance of your link.
If your link holds little or no relevance to the site it is placed on, this is often an indication that your link was placed with intention to build Page Rank. Lack of relevance is a powerful signal.
6. Quality of your neighbouring links.
If your link is grouped with other non-relevant links, or links to low quality sites, this also can be taken as an indication that your link does not belong.
7. Link is located outside of the page’s main content area.
If your link is located in a sidebar, or at the footer of a page, the search engines can detect when your link is not an actual component of the page content. A link outside of the content can indicate that it is not particularly relevant to the actual content of the page.
Now perhaps you can avoid all these little pitfalls, and build and build up a network of back links which do not send up any red flags to the automatic systems of detection, but this does not mean you are free from worry. There is always the chance that human eyes will notice something is out of the norm. Perhaps your competition may notice your paid link placement; they can always report your site via Google’s authenticated paid links reporting form at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/spamreport?hl=en&pli=1. Keep in mind that you will need to be logged into a Google account to see the form. This is not common, but does happen from time to time. It’s best to do everything you can in order to make your links look as natural as is possible.
