Research shows that 80% of small businesses affected by toxic backlinks experience a noticeable decrease in their online visibility and organic search traffic within a few months, ultimately resulting in a 30% drop in annual revenue. As a small service area business, you understand the importance of having a strong online presence to attract and retain clients. Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role in ensuring your website ranks well in search results, making it easier for potential clients to find you.
However, bad links could be lingering on your site, hurting your rankings and leading to penalties from Google. These bad links often arise from outdated SEO practices, negative SEO attacks from competitors, or simply being unaware of the types of links that can harm your site. Even if you didn't actively pursue these links, they may have accumulated over time, especially if you've hired SEO agencies or consultants in the past who used questionable tactics.
These bad links can decrease your search engine rankings and reduce the number of clients finding your business online. So, what exactly constitutes a bad link? How can you identify them, clean them up, and get your site back on track?
We'll guide you through the process in this post.
What Does a Bad Link Look Like for SEO?
Defining a “bad link” can be a bit tricky. The most problematic links are those that don’t work at all. After all, if search bots cannot reach the site you’ve linked to, it doesn’t benefit your business.
However, when discussing bad backlinks, we’re usually referring to links on other sites that point to your website and negatively impact your search engine optimization (SEO) behind the scenes. There are other types of links that can also be considered less than desirable.
Here are five examples of the types of links Google may penalize you for if they’re on your website:
1. Links to Social Bookmarking Sites
Linking to social bookmarking sites (like Reddit and StumbleUpon) is considered manipulative. If you use them frequently, it can create issues for your search result rankings. These links are manually placed on these sites, which goes against what Google is looking for.
2. Links to Press Releases
Press release links are easy to find, which is why Google doesn’t reward your SEO for having them on your website. Writing and submitting a press release to distribution sites to gain hundreds of links is simple. As a result, Google discounts them.
3. NoFollow Links
Random NoFollow links can also hurt you, so use them sparingly. Google can find most footprints, especially if you’re not using an automated program.
4. Low-Authority or Questionable Sites
Avoid linking to sites with lower domain authority than yours when selecting links for your site. Using low-authority sites won’t help you and can actually lower your overall reputation.
Not sure what your website’s domain authority is? It’s crucial to know, especially when comparing other websites’ scores. Online resources like UberSuggest, Moz, aHrefs, or Semrush can help! Simply enter your site domain, and either tool will provide your domain score on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the best possible authority score.
5. Forum Links
While not all forum links are bad, having too many on your website or using those from less-than-desirable sites will hurt your rankings. If thousands of links come from poor-quality forums, they appear spammy.
There are other less-than-desirable links to avoid as well, such as:
- Private blog links
- Foreign guestbook links
- Blog comment links
- Links from cheap link services, including Fiverr
- Automatic link-building program links
- Links that aren’t relevant to your site
Now that you know what to avoid, the next step is to remove the bad backlinks. But how do you find them on your site so you can get rid of them? Knowing what to look for is the first step in the right direction.
How to Get Rid of Harmful Backlinks on Your Website
Most business owners don’t intentionally have bad backlinks on their websites. These links may have been created years ago. To get rid of them:
- Identify the links causing the most harm.
- Search the websites for contact information.
- Request link removal through that contact.
- If you don’t receive a response or removal, you can disavow the links (explained later in this blog).
- Upload this information to Google.
When you disavow a link, you’re asking Google to remove it.
Steps to Removing Bad Links
When you realize the extent to which bad backlinks can harm your business – especially if you’ve invested time and money in building your SEO ranking – it’s time to get rid of them. Here’s how:
First, Consider an Audit
One of the first steps is to complete a technical SEO audit (through a professional or an online resource like Moz, SEO Analyzer, or Semrush). This audit will examine factors impacting your ability to rank, such as
- Technical issues with the site
- Crawl issues
- Any tech-based problem limiting access to the site
It’s also essential to review your content. Ensure your content aligns with your goals, as poor content (or a lack thereof) can significantly impact your SEO rankings. Once these areas are addressed, you can proceed with more substantial steps for the removal of bad backlinks.
How to Create a Disavow File
As mentioned earlier, to remove bad backlinks pointing to your site, try contacting the webmasters and politely requesting link removal. A friendly approach is more likely to yield positive results.
If unsuccessful, you’ll need to create a file to submit to Google. We highly recommend using an online tool like Semrush’s Backlink Audit tool to build this “disavow file.” It can access most link sources, providing the most effective results.
Lastly, gather as many links as possible and input them into the system – doing this once is better than dozens of times (a huge timesaver). Following the instructions provided by Semrush makes the process straightforward. The system will review the links, rate them, and prepare the file for you.
You can then send that file to Google via Search Console.
Do You Have a Problem with Bad Links?
Some business owners may struggle to recognize if they have a problem with bad backlinks. Here are a few tips to help:
- Did you notice a drop in overall traffic? Sometimes, this drop can be as much as 35 percent. If that happens, it may be due to Google downgrading your site.
- Check Google Analytics data for other concerns. Is it just one page, or are a significant number of pages performing poorly?
- A manual action notification is another way to know if you have a penalty related to a link. You can find this in your Google Search Console.
Your goal is to determine if bad backlinks could be a problem and ensure Google knows you don’t want those links pointing to your site. However, don’t assume that bad links are the only issue. For many small service area businesses, there’s much more to consider about their existing design and content that could also be limiting their SEO success. But don’t feel overwhelmed. If you need help, we’ve got your back! Contact us anytime.
