If you notice that your SEO rating is going down, that is an indicator that you have a backend problem on your website that requires immediate attention. One of the common reasons that you might not always notice is a problem with toxic backlinks. “What are toxic backlinks and how to get rid of them?” you ask. Well, let’s answer that question!
What are toxic backlinks?
Blogging has always been one of the ways to earn money from home. However, if you don’t know what you are doing, you might accidentally use toxic backlinks in your SEO. Or, you might receive toxic backlinks from other websites, but you don’t know how to recognize or track them.
The most common toxic backlinks come from:
- Penalized websites;
- Infamous industries like online gambling, pharma, etc.;
- Unrelated websites;
- Foreign language websites;
- Link directories and link farms.
What are penalized websites?
Penalized websites are domains that received a penalty from Google. Whether an algorithmic penalty or a manual review penalty, site-wide or partial, it labels that domain as a bad one. That usually happens when the website owner uses black-hat techniques or other harmful practices to manage the website.
If you have a link pointing to that website or a link from it leading to you, it looks as if you are “working with them”. This is an example of negative SEO that harms your website, and you need to get rid of it immediately.
Links from infamous industries
Links coming from sketchy websites are never good for your rating. There are a lot of shady deals happening there, and naive people are often getting scammed. It is a huge red flag for your SEO, and it will quickly drop your rating.
Links from unrelated websites
When it comes to website traffic, quality always triumphs over quantity. It’s not just about having hundreds or thousands of websites linking to yours; the key lies in relevance and value within your niche. Imagine being a passionate car enthusiast looking for insightful content, and suddenly finding yourself redirected to articles about healthy food or holistic medicine. It’s the equivalent of hitting a roadblock in your online journey. To avoid such pitfalls and ensure your website’s health and performance, partnering with a reliable WordPress maintenance company is paramount. Companies like WP Full Care specialize in keeping your site in top-notch condition, ensuring smooth functionality, security, and optimal user experience. Entrusting your website’s maintenance to competent people ensures it runs like a well-oiled machine, staying focused on what matters most—your niche content and the interests of your audience.
Foreign language websites
Even though foreign language websites may be entirely legit and have valuable content, that does not contribute to your SEO. There is no value in the content if your visitors cannot read it.
Link directories and link farms
Using link directories and link farms only looks like a good idea. However, it is a strategy that will hurt your SEO. When we talk about the basics of quality link building for SEO, the number one lesson is to avoid farming or paying for links.
It seems like a quick way to obtain many links, but that is not organic link building. It looks unnatural to gain hundreds of links over five days. It is one of the reasons why your website might receive a penalty. It is better to go slow and naturally build your backlinks.
Using citations and backlinks to build quality SEO
Before we start talking about getting rid of toxic backlinks, let’s make a little detour. Since we are talking about avoiding SEO mistakes, let’s see some good strategies to increase your online rating.
Quality backlinks and citations are vital tools you should always use. First, let’s understand how to differentiate them. Backlinks are URLs leading to your website from other websites. Once someone clicks on them, they should be rerouted to your website. Citations are mentions of your business name and contact information in other online directories. They increase your visibility and serve to build a brand out of your business.
These two strategies are the best way to improve your SEO.
How to get rid of toxic backlinks?
Now that we understand different toxic backlinks let’s discuss different strategies to get rid of them. As we explained in the previous section, a backlink points from other websites to your website. That means you cannot know what other websites are using your URL for to redirect their clients. The best way to discover this is to use SEO tools that track your URL mentions on other websites. They scan the internet and show all the links coming from “bad places”. This is an easy way to find toxic backlinks, which is the first step.
To remove toxic backlinks, your first strategy is to find the contact information for the toxic website and ask the owner to take down your link. However, if we consider that they never asked for your permission to link to you, there are slim chances you will accomplish anything. However, Google set that as a requirement, so you need to try.
If asking nicely does not do the trick, there is always the other way
If the website owner does not answer your request or refuses it, you need to create a disavow file and submit it to Google. It is a text file that lets you deactivate chosen links pointing from another domain to your website. This strategy is the most precise way to get rid of toxic backlinks and, most likely, the one you will have to use.
Understanding toxic backlinks and how to get rid of them
Just how you don’t want to find toxic backlinks leading to your website, you should also avoid creating them yourself. This guide to understanding toxic backlinks and how to get rid of them should help you battle the negative SEO and increase your search engine rating. Remember to always take it slow and make organic traffic and quality backlinks your priority.
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