Backlink inconsistency
-
Hello!
We were ranked on page 1 in Google for the past 10 years for a specific key phase until this February when we were pushed to page 2.
When analyzing backlinks via majestic.com we found that our backlinks haven't been consistent, we typically have around 1,000 or less, but in February they dropped, then began spiking inconsistently (from 3000+ to a few hundred, then back up). Not sure how accurate Majestic's reporting is but we've also noticed some sites which are spamming our site with links on their low-quality and porn content websites.
Is this type of backlink inconsistency normal, or is this something that could be negatively impacting our rankings?
-
Hi Eileen
I just noticed you didn't respond to my questions here - are you all good? Would love to help in any way that I can!
Also, can you provide a URL so I can review? Thank you!
-
See if the changes correspond to the Feb 4th update
http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change
Its possible that the algorithm update was the reason for your drop and will give you a starting place to investigate.
Also it would be worth disavowing any undesirable links such as porn just to be on the safe side.
-
Hi Marcy
When these fluctuations happen, what types of links are you seeing? Are they only porn / low quality sites? Are they the same ones over and over?
I still think you should look into the help section for Google regarding spam and I would also look into the two resources that Moz has regarding link removals:
Ultimate Guide to Google Penalty Removal
Link Audit Guide for Effective Link Removals & Risk Mitigation
Your Start to Finish Guide for Google's Disavow ToolAt least from these you can look into spam reporting and also removing/disavowing these potentially dangerous backlinks. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What is the difference between 301 redirects and backlinks?
i have seen some 301 redirects on my site billsonline, can anyone please explain the difference between backlinks and 301 redirects, i have read some articles where the writer was stating that 301 are not good for website.
Technical SEO | | aliho0 -
How to tell when a directory backlink or other backlink is worthy of disavow tool? Especially when a keyword is not ranking passed where it should.
Hello, I jumped aboard as SEO for a client, who seems to of had been hit by panda and penguin back in 2012 of April, the panda part I feel I've fixed by creating better content, combining pages that were same topic into one, basically creating a better content experience that relates better to search terms users are searching for. Once the site was redesigned and relaunched all keywords improved minus one, the main keyword they want to rank for. Created a landing page for it, that is very nicely optimized for that keyword and it's brothers and sisters, however that page isn't used by google since it's brand new with a PA of 1. Doing a backlink audit I found 102 links out of 400 using the same anchor text as the keyword they want ranked for, they also have synonyms anchor text for other links too but not quite as much. Most of those 102 domains using the main keyword anchor text are directories, in my opinion I'd declare all of them spam, however there are a few with DAs higher than 50, making me little more nervous to disavow, since I want to make sure we get out of the penalty if we were hit by penguin but also don't want to ruin the ranking for other keywords we're doing better with, since they are longtails and short, but very relevant to users. How is the best way to determine if a site / directory is spammy enough that it's penalizing you and how could I approach the anchor text issue with backlinks? 99% of these links I cannot have changed, since they're directories I doubt many have had a human mess with them in a while. Sidenote* If you're going to post a link as a response, try to summarize what that link will be about, as many times links are giving as an answer but end up not really providing the meat we were seeking. Thank you!
Technical SEO | | Deacyde0 -
Backlinks from unindexed pages - disavow ?
Hi I was analyzing my sites's backlinks and see a lot of the domains are not indexed by google.
Technical SEO | | VaiSam
I assume google has unindexed them - may be these domains are penalized. Should I request removal of my site's link from these pages ? What is the recommended approach in such a case? Thank you for your inputs.0 -
Can backlinks from advertising cause a traffic drop?
Hi, I recently noticed that our organic traffic has started to drop and maybe coincidently our adwords traffic has increased. I was asked to investigate the drop. I know that from the google update that unnatural backlinks would be penalized so I thought it might be the backlinks from a site that we advertise on because of the sheer number we have required from them in the last month. Would you think that would be the cause? if not, what could it be? and if it is, how do I go about correcting it as fast as possible? Any Help with this would be greatly appreciated. Many Thanks, Colin
Technical SEO | | digital.moretogether.com0 -
Do i need to use proxy when i ping my backlinks?
I just create 50+ backlinks i would like to know when i ping those like do i need to use proxy? Thank you so much
Technical SEO | | locoto00071 -
ASP.net to Wordpress - Conserving the Backlink Profile
I am converting a site from ASP.net to wordpress. The ASP site has a decent backlink profile. Most links are pointing to their homepage. Is there anything I should be on the lookout so I do not lose their link profiles? I believe we are using the same server.
Technical SEO | | rmontanez0 -
Problem generating backlinks
Hello everyone, Over the past couple of days I have been using a variety of different free and paid programs to check how many backlinks I have. I have used at least 15 different ones, SEOmoz is the newest and am awaiting those results. All but one of those programs have said that I have 0 backlinks. The one said I have 11. The thing is...over the past month I have submitted my site to over 500 PR0 directories, 250+ PR3-PR7 directories, have made well over 75 article submissions to over 20 websites(almost all of them were approved and up and running, and some of these websites have a PR of 7), a couple dozen Press Releases, set up profiles linking to my site on over 50 forums, set up profiles linking to my site on a variety of different Web 2.0 sites, and still nothing. I have been doing this every day for over a month. Anyone have any ide?
Technical SEO | | tarik30010 -
Anyone tested Open Site Explorer backlink numbers ?
Hi, I am new here and I have noticed that open site explorer reports about half of the links on my page. I am really interested in knowing your perspective on this. cheers, Vishal
Technical SEO | | vishalkhialani0