Links remain a critical factor in search engine optimization (SEO).
Internal links help spread the authority to different pages on your website, while backlinks help distribute E-E-A-T from one site to another.
Understanding and managing links is crucial for a website's success; However, not all links are beneficial.
Some can harm your SEO and are called "toxic links." This article will explore toxic links, provide examples, and discuss strategies for counteracting their negative impact on SEO.
What are Toxic Links?
Let’s first look at Google’s history for context. Before the 2012 Penguin update, the more links a website had, the higher it ranked. Link quality did not matter; many users were unhappy with the search results because pages with thin content could rank first.
After the Penguin update, Google prioritized quality backlinks rather than quantity. All links need to be relevant, trustworthy, and naturally linked.
Toxic links, also known as spammy or harmful links, are inbound links that can negatively impact your site’s search engine ranking. These links often violate search engine guidelines and may come from low-quality, irrelevant, or malicious sources. Additionally, Google reports that,
"Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site."
Toxic links can find their way into your backlink profile in a few different ways:
- You built links to a spammy website;
- You bought a website that previously engaged in black-hat tactics;
- You are on the receiving end of a negative SEO attack;
- Your SEO agency engages in spammy link building practices.
When search engines identify a website with a high number of toxic links, they may penalize it by lowering its search rankings or even removing it from search results altogether.
Examples of Toxic Links
These are the most common types of toxic links to look out for:
- Low-Quality Directories:
Links from spammy or low-quality web directories can be considered toxic. These directories exist solely for the purpose of link building and lack editorial standards, resulting in a poor link neighborhood.
- Link Farms:
Link farms are networks of websites that exist solely to link to each other, attempting to manipulate search engine algorithms. These reciprocal links are often low-quality and can lead to penalties.
- Irrelevant or Unnatural Anchor Text:
Links with overly optimized or irrelevant anchor text can be seen as an attempt to manipulate search rankings. Search engines favor natural, contextually relevant anchor text.
- Comment Spam:
Links placed within the comments section of blogs or forums solely for the purpose of link building can be considered toxic. These links are often irrelevant and can be flagged by search engines.
- Paid Links:
Search engines discourage the buying and selling of links. Links obtained through paid services without the "nofollow" attribute can be perceived as an attempt to manipulate rankings.
How do toxic backlinks affect SEO?
Now, Google ranks pages based on relevance to specific queries. So, if your site obtains relevant, high-quality backlinks, then Google boosts that page's rankings so that users can find it easily.
On the other hand, if your page is full of spammy links that have no relevance and do not help the user answer their query, then Google can penalize your site.
Receiving a penalty on your website can cause your ranking in the SERPs to drop. In addition, if you receive too many penalties, Google can decline to index and crawl your site, which denies your site the ability to rank.
There are three ways in which toxic backlinks can harm your SEO:
- You receive a manual penalty. If the webspam team finds excessive spam in your profile, they can apply a manual action to your site. The site owner must remove the toxic links and submit a reconsideration request.
- You receive an algorithmic penalty. Search engines update their algorithms frequently, which can trigger penalties for unnatural links. Typically, you will notice algorithmic penalties if your rankings drop. To fix it, you must earn more relevant and high-authority links and remove the toxic ones.
- Google ignores your links. Search engines are getting better at identifying unnatural links and ignoring them. So, there is a high chance that the links will have no impact on your site. John Muller states that:
"So from a practical point of view, both from the 404 side and from the disavow, probably
those links are not doing anything negative to your website."
How to identify toxic backlinks on your site
The faster you can identify and resolve toxic links, the better. Many site owners frequently audit their backlinks to spot issues before they become significant problems.
However, taking the time to review each link to your website could prove impossible. Instead, some tools automatically search for toxic links. These tools include:
These tools look at different metrics of links, including:
No matter which tool you're using to run a backlink audit, it's crucial to have an export option. This way, you can sort the data and examine the links thoroughly before removing them from your site.
When assessing whether the links are toxic, ask yourself:
- Is the linking domain relevant to my site?
- Is the anchor text a concise match instead of an exact match?
- Is the link coming from a country where you don't do business?
- Are the links no longer compliant with webmaster guidelines?
These questions help you understand if a backlink is valuable to your site. Then, after analyzing your backlink profile for toxic backlinks, it's time to remove them.
Counteracting Toxic Links
- Regular Link Audits:
Conduct regular link audits using tools like Google Search Console or third-party tools to identify and monitor the quality of incoming links.
- Build High-Quality, Relevant Links:
Focus on building high-quality, relevant backlinks from reputable sources. Quality links positively impact a site's authority and can help counteract the effects of toxic links.
- Monitor Anchor Text Diversity:
Maintain a diverse range of anchor text in your backlink profile. Avoid over-optimization and ensure that anchor text is natural and contextually relevant to the content.
- Educate Your Team:
Ensure your team is educated on SEO best practices and the potential risks associated with toxic links. Implement clear guidelines for link building to prevent unintentional harmful practices.
In the dynamic world of SEO, staying vigilant against toxic links is crucial for maintaining and improving search engine rankings. Regular link audits, proactive removal or disavowal of harmful links, and a focus on building high-quality, relevant backlinks are essential strategies for mitigating the impact of toxic links on a website's SEO performance.
