Backlinks Archives | Dallas SEO Dogs Wed, 21 May 2025 15:29:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 SEO Glossary: Terms & Definitions https://www.seodogs.com/blog/seo-glossary-terms-definitions/ Fri, 09 May 2025 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.seodogs.com/?p=11334 Establishing a strong online presence is no longer optional for businesses aiming for growth — it’s essential. Central to this online visibility is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  However, the field of SEO is filled with specific terminology that can often seem like a complex code. For marketing directors and business owners, understanding this language is

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Establishing a strong online presence is no longer optional for businesses aiming for growth — it’s essential. Central to this online visibility is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

However, the field of SEO is filled with specific terminology that can often seem like a complex code. For marketing directors and business owners, understanding this language is the first step toward harnessing the power of SEO to drive traffic, generate leads, and ultimately increase return on investment (ROI). 

To help you understand your place in the system and all we can do for you, Dallas SEO Dogs presents our foundational SEO Glossary, designed to demystify the jargon and provide clarity on essential concepts. Familiarity with these terms empowers businesses to engage more effectively in SEO strategies, whether implemented in-house or through a partner agency.

What Does SEO Stand For?

Let’s start with the basics. Many people ask, What does SEO stand for? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. At its core, SEO is the practice of optimizing a website and its content to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant user queries. 

The goal is to attract more organic (non-paid) traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, and others. When someone searches for products, services, or information related to a business, effective SEO helps that business appear higher in the search results, making it more likely that the user will click through to their website. 

Understanding what SEO stands for is the first step — appreciating its impact is next. SEO involves a wide range of techniques, from technical website adjustments to content creation and link building, all aimed at signaling relevance and authority to search engines. 

Understanding SEO Terms

Navigating the world of digital marketing requires a certain level of literacy in its specialized language. Understanding SEO terms is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it allows business leaders and marketing directors to have informed conversations about strategy and performance. When discussing campaigns, audits, or results it makes it a lot easier to communicate and set goals when you know the difference between indexing and ranking, or on-page versus off-page SEO!

Secondly, familiarity with SEO terms enables better evaluation of SEO efforts and reports. Metrics like Click-Through Rate (CTR), Bounce Rate, and Conversion Rate are fundamental indicators of performance. Understanding these helps businesses gauge the effectiveness of their SEO investment and its contribution to the bottom line. Without this understanding, SEO can feel like a black box.

Finally, a grasp of key SEO terms empowers businesses to make more strategic decisions. Understanding keyword research, user intent and E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) helps align your SEO activities with broader business objectives. 

This is foundational knowledge that transforms SEO from a mysterious technical task into a tangible business driver. This Glossary of terms can provide that foundation.

SEO From A to Z | Your Comprehensive SEO Glossary

To help businesses navigate the complexities of search engine optimization, here is a comprehensive SEO Glossary covering essential terminology. This resource, effectively a detailed Glossary of SEO, is designed to be a quick reference guide. Understanding this SEO Glossary of terms is vital for anyone involved in digital marketing or overseeing a business’s online presence. We present this SEO Glossary of terms alphabetically for ease of use.

Algorithm

A complex set of rules and calculations used by search engines (like Google) to determine the relevance and ranking of web pages for specific search queries. Search engine algorithms are updated frequently.

Alt Text (Alternative Text)

A description added to an image’s HTML tag. Alt text helps search engines understand the content of an image and improves accessibility for visually impaired users relying on screen readers.

Analytics

The collection, measurement, analysis, and reporting of web data, typically used to understand user behavior and website performance. Google Analytics is a widely used tool.

Anchor Text

The visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. Using descriptive, relevant anchor text can help search engines understand the context of the linked page and can influence rankings.

Backlinks (Inbound Links)

Links from external websites pointing to your website. Backlinks are a crucial ranking factor, as they signal to search engines that other sites trust your content. Quality and relevance matter more than quantity.

Black Hat SEO

SEO practices that violate search engine guidelines in an attempt to manipulate rankings. These tactics (like keyword stuffing or buying links) can lead to penalties, including removal from search results.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who navigate away from a website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate your page content isn’t meeting user expectations or providing a good user experience.

Breadcrumbs

Navigational links typically found near the top of a webpage, showing the user’s location within the site’s hierarchy (e.g., Home > Services > SEO). These improve user experience and help search engines understand site structure.

Cache

A temporary storage area where website files (like images and HTML) are saved by a browser or server. Caching helps websites load faster for repeat visitors.

Canonical Tag (rel=”canonical”)

An HTML tag used to specify the preferred version of a web page when multiple URLs display similar or duplicate content. It helps consolidate link equity and prevent duplicate content issues.

Citations

Citation sites are online directories. These sites, like Yelp, Google, or Bing, help improve local SEO by validating the business information across the web.  The sites will publish the business name, address, phone number (NAP), and website. 

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who click on a specific link (e.g., a search result or an ad) out of the total number of users who viewed it (impressions). CTR is a key metric for evaluating SERP performance and ad effectiveness.

Content Marketing

Creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content (like blog posts, articles, videos) to attract and retain a clearly defined audience, ultimately driving profitable customer action. Crucial for SEO.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action (a conversion), such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter.

Crawling

The process by which search engine bots (spiders or crawlers) discover new and updated content on the web by following links.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

A stylesheet language used to describe the presentation (look and formatting) of a document written in HTML. CSS separates content from design.

Domain Authority (DA)

A score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages. DA is based on factors like linking root domains and the number of total links. While not used by Google, it’s a common comparative metric.

Duplicate Content

Content that appears on the internet in more than one location (URL). Significant duplicate content can dilute rankings and confuse search engines; canonical tags help manage this.

E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)

A concept from Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines was used to assess web page quality, especially for “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) topics. Demonstrating E-E-A-T is crucial for ranking well.

External Links (Outbound Links)

Links from your website point to other websites. Linking to relevant, authoritative external sources can enhance the credibility and usefulness of your content.

Featured Snippets

Selected search results featured in a box at the top of Google’s organic results, designed to directly answer a user’s query. Earning a featured snippet provides significant visibility.

Google Analytics

A free web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, user behavior, conversions, and more. Essential for measuring SEO success.

Google Search Console (GSC)

A free service from Google that helps website owners monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site’s presence in Google Search results. It provides data about crawling, indexing, security issues, and search performance.

Gray Hat SEO

SEO practices that are technically not against search engine guidelines but are ethically questionable and potentially risky. They fall between White Hat and Black Hat SEO.

Headings or Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)

HTML tags used to structure content on a webpage, creating a hierarchy. H1 is typically the main title, followed by H2 for major sections, H3 for subsections, etc. Headings help users and search engines understand content structure.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

The standard markup language used to create web pages and web applications. Defines the structure and content of a page.

Indexing

The process by which search engines store and organize the information gathered during crawling. Once a page is indexed, it becomes eligible to appear in search results.

Internal Links

Links from one page on your website to another page on the same website. Internal linking helps users navigate, distributes link equity, and helps search engines understand site structure and page importance.

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address)

A unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.

Keyword Density

The percentage of times a specific keyword appears on a web page relative to the total word count. Once considered important, modern SEO focuses more on natural language use and topic relevance than strict keyword density.

Keyword Research

The process of identifying popular words and phrases (keywords) that users enter into search engines when looking for information, products, or services related to your business. Foundational to any SEO strategy.

Keywords

Keywords are the words and phrases that users type into search engines. Primary keywords are the main search term, followed by the secondary keywords that support the primary. Optimizing content for relevant keywords helps search engines match your pages to user queries.

Landing Page

A standalone web page specifically designed for a marketing or advertising campaign, where a visitor “lands” after clicking a link in an email, ad, or search result. Optimized for conversion.

Link Building

The process of acquiring backlinks from other reputable websites to your own. Quality link building is essential for improving Domain Authority and search rankings.

Local SEO

Optimizing a website and online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches (e.g., “pizza near me,” “plumber in Dallas”). Involves optimizing Google Business Profile, local citations, and localized content.

Meta Description

An HTML attribute providing a brief summary of a webpage’s content. It often appears in SERPs below the title tag and can influence click-through rates. While not a direct ranking factor, it’s important for user engagement.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google primarily uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking. This makes having a mobile-friendly website critical for SEO performance.

Nofollow Attribute (rel=”nofollow”)

An HTML attribute added to a link to instruct search engines not to pass link equity (PageRank) to the linked page. Often used for paid links, user-generated content, or untrusted sources.

Off-Page SEO

Optimization activities performed outside of your own website to impact your rankings within SERPs. Primarily involves link building and building brand signals.

On-Page SEO

Optimization techniques applied directly within your website’s pages to improve rankings and user experience. Includes optimizing content, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, images, and internal links.

Organic Search Results

The unpaid listings on a SERP that the search engine deems most relevant to the user’s query based on its algorithms. SEO focuses on improving visibility in these results.

PageRank

An algorithm historically used by Google to rank web pages in their search results. It works by counting the number and quality of links to a page to estimate its importance. While still part of the core algorithm, it’s just one of many ranking factors now.

Page Speed

How quickly content loads on a webpage. Page speed is a ranking factor (especially on mobile) and significantly impacts user experience. Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights measure this.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

An internet advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. Search engine advertising (like Google Ads) is a common form of PPC. Often works synergistically with SEO.

Query

The word or phrase a user types into a search engine.

Ranking Factor

One of the criteria used by search engines to determine the order of search results. Factors include content relevance, backlinks, mobile-friendliness, page speed, user experience, and many others.

Redirects (301, 302)

Methods for sending users and search engines to a different URL from the one they originally requested. A 301 redirect indicates a permanent move (passing most link equity), while a 302 indicates a temporary move.

Robots.txt

A text file located in a website’s root directory that instructs search engine crawlers which pages or sections of the site should not be crawled or indexed.

ROI (Return on Investment)

A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment. In SEO, ROI calculates the revenue generated from organic search traffic relative to the cost of the SEO efforts. Understanding SEO terms helps in accurately measuring ROI.

Schema Markup (Structured Data)

Code added to a website’s HTML to help search engines better understand the context of the content. Schema can enhance SERP listings with rich snippets (e.g., ratings, prices, event dates). Part of a good Glossary of SEO.

Search Engine

A software system or platform designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. Examples include Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

A broader digital marketing strategy encompassing both SEO (organic) and PPC (paid) activities to increase visibility in search engines.

SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user’s query. SERPs typically include organic results, paid ads, featured snippets, knowledge panels, and more.

Sitemap

A file (usually XML) listing the important pages on a website, helping search engines discover and crawl them more efficiently.

SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer)

A digital certificate that authenticates a website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection (HTTPS). HTTPS is a ranking signal and essential for user trust and security.

Technical SEO

Optimizing the technical aspects of a website to help search engines crawl and index it more effectively. Includes site speed optimization, mobile-friendliness, site architecture, structured data, and managing crawl errors.

Title Tag

An HTML element specifying the title of a web page. Title tags are displayed on SERPs as the clickable headline for a given result and are a critical factor for on-page SEO and user engagement.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

The address of a specific resource on the internet, typically a web page. Well-structured, descriptive URLs can be beneficial for SEO.

User Experience (UX)

The overall experience a person has when interacting with a website or application, particularly regarding ease of use and efficiency. Google considers UX signals (like page speed and mobile-friendliness) in its rankings.

White Hat SEO

SEO practices that comply with search engine guidelines, focusing on providing value to users and earning rankings through legitimate means like quality content, good site architecture, and natural link building.

XML Sitemap

A type of sitemap specifically created for search engines, listing a website’s important URLs in an XML format to facilitate crawling.

Need SEO Help? Call on the Dallas SEO Dogs Today

This Glossary should provide a good starting point for understanding the language of search optimization (SEO). While the field is constantly evolving, mastering these core SEO terms will equip you to navigate your digital marketing journey and work towards achieving greater online visibility and success. Building a strong foundation with reliable tools like this SEO Glossary is key.

At Dallas SEO Dogs, we specialize in helping businesses of all sizes across the U.S.A. improve their search visibility, drive traffic, and grow their online presence. Our team of SEO experts is here to guide you every step of the way, expanding your business on the online directories. Contact Dallas SEO Dogs today to take the next step toward achieving your digital marketing goals.

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E-E-A-T: What Is It & How It Impacts Your SEO https://www.seodogs.com/blog/what-is-e-e-a-t-and-how-it-impacts-your-seo/ Fri, 16 Aug 2024 18:22:45 +0000 https://www.seodogs.com/?p=10470 In the fast-paced world of search engine optimization (SEO), staying ahead of the curve is critical for any business aiming for online visibility. Google’s ever-evolving algorithms constantly seek to provide users with the most relevant, high-quality, and trustworthy information. Enter E-E-A-T – a concept that’s reshaping how websites are evaluated and ranked. What is E-E-A-T?

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In the fast-paced world of search engine optimization (SEO), staying ahead of the curve is critical for any business aiming for online visibility. Google’s ever-evolving algorithms constantly seek to provide users with the most relevant, high-quality, and trustworthy information. Enter E-E-A-T – a concept that’s reshaping how websites are evaluated and ranked.

What is E-E-A-T? What Does E-E-A-T Stand For?

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a framework that Google’s search quality raters use to assess the overall quality of web pages. While not a direct ranking factor, E-E-A-T significantly influences how your content is perceived by both users and search engines.

Experience

Does the content creator demonstrate firsthand or real-world experience with the topic? Personal insights and practical knowledge can greatly enhance the credibility of your content.

Expertise

Does the content reflect a deep understanding and specialized knowledge of the subject matter? Qualifications, credentials, and a track record of producing authoritative content all contribute to expertise.

Authoritativeness

Is the content creator or website recognized as a reliable and respected source of information within its field? External recognition, citations, and backlinks from authoritative websites can help establish your authority.

Trustworthiness

Is the content accurate, honest, and transparent? A secure website, clear contact information, and positive user reviews all contribute to building trust.

How Does E-E-A-T Impact Your SEO?

Google’s mission is to provide users with the best possible search results, prioritizing websites that demonstrate high levels of E-E-A-T. By aligning your content with these principles, you can significantly improve your chances of ranking higher in search results and attracting organic traffic.

Higher Rankings. Websites with strong E-E-A-T signals are more likely to be perceived as valuable and trustworthy by Google, leading to improved search rankings.

Increased Visibility. Higher rankings translate to increased visibility in search results, making it easier for potential customers to find your website.

Enhanced User Experience (UX). E-E-A-T-focused content provides users with relevant, accurate, and trustworthy information, improving their overall experience on your website.

Greater Trust. When users perceive your website as a reliable source of information, they’re more likely to engage with your content, share it with others, and ultimately convert into customers.

Tips for Improving Your E-E-A-T

  1. Showcase Expertise: Highlight the qualifications and experience of your content creators. Include author bios, credentials, and links to their professional profiles.
  2. Create Authoritative Content: Conduct thorough research and cite reputable sources to back up your claims. Use original data, case studies, and expert interviews to add depth and credibility to your content.
  3. Build Trust: Ensure your website is secure, easy to navigate, and provides clear contact information. Encourage user reviews and testimonials to build social proof.
  4. Focus on User Experience: Create content that’s informative, engaging, and easy to understand. Use clear language, visuals, and formatting to enhance readability.
  5. Stay Updated: Regularly review and update your content to ensure it remains accurate and relevant. This demonstrates your commitment to providing high-quality information.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google E-E-A-T

What Is EEAT in SEO?

In SEO, EEAT is a framework used by Google’s search quality raters to assess the overall quality of web pages.

How Does EEAT Impact SEO?

Websites with strong EEAT signals are more likely to be perceived as valuable and trustworthy by Google, leading to improved search rankings and increased visibility.

How Can I Improve My EEAT?

You can improve your website’s EEAT by showcasing expertise, creating authoritative content, building trust, focusing on user experience, and staying updated.

Remember, E-E-A-T is an ongoing process. By consistently prioritizing these principles, you can position your website for long-term success in the ever-changing SEO landscape!

Call on Dallas SEO Dogs

By focusing on E-E-A-T, you can not only improve your search engine rankings but also establish your website as a trusted authority in your industry. Remember, building a strong online presence takes time and effort, but the rewards in terms of increased visibility, traffic, and customer engagement are well worth the investment.

If you need professional assistance in optimizing your website for E-E-A-T and achieving higher search rankings, consider partnering with a reputable SEO agency like Dallas SEO Dogs. Our team of experts can help you develop a comprehensive SEO strategy and offer search engine optimization services that align with Google’s latest guidelines — and deliver tangible results.

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Is Link Building Still Relevant In 2024 https://www.seodogs.com/blog/is-link-building-still-relevant-in-2024/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 14:30:08 +0000 https://www.seodogs.com/?p=10444 As a business owner in the age of Google Updates, you might wonder if time-tested strategies like link building still hold weight in the SEO arena. The answer is a resounding yes — but with a twist. What is Link Building? Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own.

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As a business owner in the age of Google Updates, you might wonder if time-tested strategies like link building still hold weight in the SEO arena. The answer is a resounding yes — but with a twist.

What is Link Building?

Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. These hyperlinks, also known as backlinks, act as votes of confidence in the eyes of search engines like Google.

Q: What are backlinks?

Backlinks are incoming links to a webpage. When a webpage links to any other page, it’s called a backlink.

Q: What is link building?

Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own.

Wondering just how to build links? There are lots of ways you can learn to leverage, but the most common methods include guest blogging, creating infographics and submitting to site directories.

Think of it this way: the more reputable sites linking to your content, the more credible and valuable your site appears to search engines. This often translates to higher rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) and, ultimately, more organic traffic.

Is Link Building Still Relevant?

Despite ongoing algorithm updates and the rise of other SEO tactics, link building remains a fundamental pillar of search engine optimization. However, the game has changed.

The days of indiscriminate link acquisition are long gone. Quality now reigns supreme over quantity. A single high-quality backlink from a trusted authority site can outweigh dozens of low-quality links.

This shift in focus makes SEO link building more strategic and challenging, yet more rewarding than ever. It requires a deep understanding of your audience, industry, and the ever-evolving algorithms that power search engine rankings.

What Does Google Say About Backlinks?

Google’s official stance on backlinks is clear: they remain a critical ranking factor. However, they emphasize the importance of natural link building, where links are earned organically through high-quality content and genuine relationships.

Google’s algorithm is sophisticated enough to distinguish between natural and manipulative links. Tactics like link buying, excessive link exchanges, or participating in link schemes can lead to penalties, harming your SEO efforts.

Link Building Strategies and Best Practices For Link Building

Here are some proven strategies to build high-quality backlinks in 2024:

1. Craft Content That Commands Attention

Your content is the heart and soul of your link building strategy. It’s not enough to simply write; you must create content that resonates deeply with your audience and leaves a lasting impact. Aim for:

  • Informative: Go beyond surface-level information. Offer unique insights, actionable advice, and valuable resources that your readers can’t find elsewhere.
  • Engaging: Write in a compelling style that keeps your audience hooked from start to finish. Use storytelling techniques, vivid language, and thought-provoking questions.
  • Shareable: Craft content that people naturally want to share with their networks. This could be through eye-catching visuals, surprising statistics, or emotionally resonant stories.

By consistently producing exceptional content, you’ll establish yourself as a trusted authority in your field, and the backlinks will follow.

2. Become a Guest Blogging Guru

Guest blogging is a powerful tool for building relationships and earning valuable backlinks. Seek out reputable blogs and websites in your niche that accept guest contributions.

When pitching your guest post ideas, focus on topics that align with your expertise and the interests of the target blog’s audience. Craft well-researched, high-quality articles that provide unique value and leave a positive impression. By consistently contributing guest posts, you’ll expand your reach, gain exposure to new audiences, and naturally earn backlinks to your own site.

3. Reclaim Broken Links

The internet is full of broken links — links that lead to 404 error pages. These broken links represent missed opportunities for both website owners and those seeking backlinks.

Utilize tools like Broken Link Checker or Ahrefs to identify broken links on websites relevant to your industry. Once you’ve found a broken link, reach out to the website owner and offer your content as a suitable replacement. This not only helps them fix a broken link but also earns you a valuable backlink.

4. Turn Unlinked Mentions into Link Love

Monitor the web for mentions of your brand, products, or services. Many times, these mentions won’t include a link back to your site. This is a golden opportunity for your link building agency, or for your own efforts!

You’ll want to politely reach out to the website owner or author and thank them for the mention. Then, gently request that they add a link to your site alongside the mention. This is a simple yet effective way to earn backlinks from sites that are already talking about you.

5. Leverage the Power of Data

Original research, surveys, case studies, and data-driven content are incredibly valuable assets for link building. They provide unique insights and valuable information that other websites will naturally want to reference.

Invest in creating high-quality data-driven content and promote it actively. Reach out to journalists, bloggers, and industry publications who might be interested in covering your findings. By sharing your data, you’ll position yourself as an expert in your field and earn authoritative backlinks.

6. Build Relationships, Not Just Links

Link building is not just about transactions; it’s about relationships. Connect with other website owners, bloggers, and influencers in your industry. Engage with their content, share their work on social media, and offer genuine support.

By fostering authentic relationships, you’ll create a network of allies who are more likely to link to your content naturally. Building a strong community is a long-term investment that can yield significant dividends for your link building efforts.

The Future of Link Building

As we look towards the future, link building is poised to become even more sophisticated. Advancements in AI and machine learning will likely play a significant role in identifying and analyzing link opportunities.

However, the core principles of link building will remain the same:

  1. Relevance. Links should come from sites and pages relevant to your industry and target audience.
  2. Authority. Prioritize links from high-authority websites with strong domain authority and trustworthiness.
  3. Diversity. A natural link profile includes links from a variety of sources, including blogs, news sites, directories, and social media.

Supercharge Your SEO With Dallas SEO Dogs

At Dallas SEO Dogs, we understand the intricacies of link building in today’s competitive landscape. Our team of seasoned SEO professionals can tailor a link building services strategy that aligns with your unique business goals and drives sustainable growth.

Whether you need a comprehensive link building campaign or expert guidance on best practices, we’re here to help you harness the power of backlinks and elevate your website’s visibility in 2024 and beyond.

Contact Dallas SEO Dogs today to unlock the full potential of your online presence.

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How to Disavow Spammy Backlinks https://www.seodogs.com/blog/how-to-disavow-spammy-backlinks/ Wed, 15 Sep 2021 16:46:12 +0000 https://www.seodogs.com/?p=8599 Backlinks are a critical part of search engine optimization (SEO) and climbing up in search results. While it’s important to amass a collection of quality backlinks from sites that boost your brand’s credibility, not every backlink is a winner. What is a Spammy Backlink? First, let’s do a quick refresher on what a backlink is.

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Backlinks are a critical part of search engine optimization (SEO) and climbing up in search results. While it’s important to amass a collection of quality backlinks from sites that boost your brand’s credibility, not every backlink is a winner.

What is a Spammy Backlink?

First, let’s do a quick refresher on what a backlink is. A backlink is a link from another website back to your site. All press is good press, though, right? Not necessarily, when said press impacts your SEO.

Spammy backlinks come from low-quality websites, poor authority websites, and/or useless link farms and outdated directories. 

SEMRush SEO Software Audits Site For Spammy Backlinks

Bad backlinks typically have :

  • Low trust
  • Low domain authority
  • A large of outbound links on one page
  • High spam scores
  • Domains that Google won’t index

Why Are Spammy Backlinks Bad for SEO?

Spammy backlinks can quickly ruin your site’s rankings on search engines. Sure, a bad link here or there may not make a huge difference on your site. 

However, if you ignore sudden upticks in your links and allow spammy links to your site prevail, Google will take notice and take action. 

Bad backlinks make your website look spammy or untrustworthy, Once Google finds out about them:

  • Your site’s rankings may plummet
  • Your site may be penalized until you make corrections

Why Would a Site Receive Bad Backlinks?

Some of the biggest sources of low-quality links include:

  • Link directories that don’t have a theme related to your topic or site
  • Bot comments across your blogs and website
  • Suspicious, over-optimized link anchor text
  • Irrelevant websites to your brand
  • Foreign websites

When your site starts to receive spammy backlinks, someone is responsible for the issue. You may be a victim of negative SEO, or may have hired an SEO team that used black hat practices to cheat the system.

If it’s the latter, find a new SEO team! Either way, you have some corrective work to do.

How to Disavow Spammy Backlinks

So, you or your digital marketing team did your research and discovered your website has some bad backlinks. Does this mean that your site is just stuck with them and forced into constant penalty battles?

Not necessarily.

Google offers a disavow tool through Google Search Console. This tool can help remove low-quality links to your site when Google completes website crawls. This means that Google will know that the link you’ve disavowed is poor and will not count it against your site’s quality.

Google Search Console's Disavow Tool

Let’s look into the necessary steps to disavow unwanted links and the impact this action could have on your SEO

  1. Understand if Disavow is Really Your Best Option?

While this is a tool that can help get bad links removed from your site, Google representatives even say site owners should disavow sparingly. After all, these decisions are fairly permanent; so, if you accidentally disavow a slew of valuable links, your site could find itself in a constant uphill struggle towards success.

 

That’s why it’s important to know how and when to use the disavow tool. Google can easily distinguish a bad link from a valuable one, but needs help understanding which links you’d like to claim.  If low-quality links continually point to your pages, or Google has slapped your site with a manual action due to the links pointing to your site, it may be time to carefully use the disavow tool.

1. Create a Disavow List

Example
# Two pages to disavow
http://spam.website.com/stuff/comments.html
http://spam.website.com/stuff/paid-links.html
# One domain to disavow
domain:sketchyseo.com

Creating a disavow list is a simple process if you are using a program like SEMRush to get the job done. Through a backlink audit tool, you can easily create the list and upload it as a text file to Google’s disavow tool.

If you don’t have an automated SEO program at your fingertips, creating a disavow list is still possible. You just need to follow some specific guidelines to ensure that Google accepts your list:

  1. Create your disavow list line by line
  2. Use one line to list the domain or page you want to disavow
  3. Ensure your file is a text file (.txt)
  4. Adhere to the maximum URL length of 2,048 characters
  5. Begin each entry with “domain:”
  6. Do not exceed the maximum file size of 2MB
  7. If you choose to make comments on your list, start them off with “#” so that Google will know to ignore them during the process

2. Upload the List 

In order to upload your disavow list to Google, you must be the owner of the website that you’re trying to clean up. 

Once your disavow list is ready to go:

The total process takes between 2 and 4 weeks for site owners to notice a difference. 

Remember, the disavow action is an advanced action that has a prominent effect on your site’s SEO. Uploading a new list to a site that already has a disavow list on it will replace the current list. So, make sure that every step you take in list creation is precise and correct.

Can You Undo a Disavow Action?

To err is human, and it’s possible that your disavow list could have links on it that don’t hurt your SEO. Fortunately, you can “reverse” your mistake by re-submitting a new list with the correct disavowed links, replacing your old list.

However, it will still take that 2- to 4-week window to show any improvements to your site’s performance.

Keep Your Site Clear of Low-Quality Links With Dallas SEO Dogs

Don’t let low-quality links or little SEO mistakes bring your site’s rankings down. As a brand with something to offer your audience, you deserve to dominate search engine positionings and establish yourself as a point of authority in your industry.

Dallas SEO Dogs helps clients create unique content, follow Google standards, establish a winning PPC campaign, and so much more! Contact us today to learn more about us and to schedule your free consultation with a member of our team.

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