5 Types of Bad Backlinks You Don’t Want

Backlinks refer to URL links from other websites that point back to your website. Yes, it’s all in the name. They are links back to your website.

Backlinks are an important component of a successful SEO strategy. Nurturing a network of backlinks from various sources can improve your site’s relevancy and reputation with search engines.

However, not every backlink is equal. Some can drive major traffic and improve your SEO. Others reflect negatively on your site.

Luckily, there are ways to find those bad backlinks and clean up your link profile so your overall optimization improves and users can find your site.

Good Vs. Bad Backlinks and Why It Matters

In the epic struggle between good backlinks and bad backlinks, the source matters. That’s really what it comes down to when determining whether a link is good or bad.

Let’s take a few steps back and talk about why search engines care in the first place. Why do they give merit to the sources of some backlinks while dinging others?

It comes down to user experience.

We all want to give our customers the best experience with our products or services.

Search engines, like Google and Bing, are no different. They also want customers who come back again and again because their experience was great.

How do you have a great experience on a search engine? You get the results you are looking for and find trustworthy websites that answer your questions.

Search engines prioritize websites with a positive reputation online. For backlinks to be effective, however, the websites linking to you need a good reputation as well.

How do you know what a good backlink is?

The best links happen organically (meaning you don’t pay or trade for them), add value to the website, and help the user better understand a topic. Sites that provide useful content to their users are generally a source of good backlinks.

Bad backlinks are pinged by search engines and lower your appearance in search engine results, are the opposite. They are artificial, forced, or irrelevant. They may be outdated, come from spam sites, or they might be from another site you own.

5 Bad Backlink Types to Watchout For

As you are working on your website’s search engine optimization, keep in mind there are several types of bad backlinks you don’t want.

In general, you want to avoid anything that feels disreputable or too good to be true. SEO takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. As you’re reviewing your SEO game, these are five of the most significant types of backlinks to avoid.

1. Links From Spammy Sites

Spam is not always easy to define, yet most of us know what it is. It’s ads irrelevant to you or sites that talk about illegal or predatory products. With spammy backlinks, it’s no different.

These are links back to your site from places you just don’t want to be associated with your brand.

It’s usually more than that. It’s not just a single backlink from a random competitor; it’s irrelevant links from places that …read more

Source:: Kiss Metrics Blog