If your website doesn’t appear high up on search engine result pages (SERPs), it could be due to a number of reasons. One possible explanation is that the site has been overrun by spam links.
Spam links can deal a massive blow to your search engine optimization (SEO) campaigns. That’s due to their ability to reduce user experience, a key metric used by search engines like Google in ranking websites on their platforms.
So, even if not for any other reason, the mere fact that spammy links can impede your SEO goals is enough justification to remove them. We’ve prepared a definitive guide to spam links, with a focus on the cryptic signals that your site could be playing host to these intrusive URLs.
What Are Spam Links?
Spam links are low-quality backlinks that offer no value to users interacting with online content. The links are typically created to manipulate a website’s rankings in organic search results. Some spam links may also be designed for outright malicious activities.
Regardless of the initial intention, it’s paramount to invest in a spam backlinks checker as a proactive way of ridding your website of these intrusive, worthless URLs. Allowing the links to linger on your content might affect your site’s online visibility besides predisposing it to additional penalties by search engines.
What Are The Types Of Spam Links?
Spam links come in two primary forms.
The first category is the useless, irrelevant links that simply waste your time while interacting with certain content.
The second type is links that pose some security risks to your website.
Why Are Spam Links A Problem?
As already indicated, spam links can impede your SEO goals by throwing your website lower on SERPs. Search engines like Google use various metrics to assign websites their positions on SERPs. One such aspect is user experience.
The fact that spammy links diminish user experience explains why sites replete with these URLs struggle to achieve higher online visibility. If you’re unlucky enough, or depending on the duration your website entertains spam links, the site may be removed from search results altogether.
Even if spam links do not cause your SEO rankings to suffer, these URLs could still reduce quality traffic to your site by increasing bounce rates. Most online users interacting with your content would be repulsed by the links and quit your platform before converting into meaningful leads.
Lastly, as mentioned, some spam links can expose your website to hacking. Clicking on such URLs may be all it takes to have your data slip into the hands of scammers.
Where Do Spam Links Appear?
Spam links can appear on virtually any online platform. These include websites, blogs, social media platforms, and online community forums.
You may also encounter the links on user comments (typically comments on a viral post), emails, and pop-up windows.
Signs Your Site Is Infected With Spam Links
1. Unusual Domain Names
The domain portion of a URL is the part after the http:// and before the first /. It’s often a sure indicator of a potentially malicious link.
Note that the domain part suggests the link’s source. For instance, https://www.google.com/maps has Google as the source. Beware of URLs with suspicious domain names.
2. Seemingly Doctored Domain Names
Hackers understand the authority that major search engines like Google and Bing come with. Therefore, they may doctor a domain name associated with credible brands.
It’s imperative to be equally wary of suspiciously altered domain names. For instance, in the URL https://www.google.com.spuff_login.me, the active domain name is spuff_login.me and not google.com.
3. Shortened URLs
Shortened URLs are common, especially on social networking platforms and online community forums that impose character limits. These links are both convenient and neat.
However, hackers also have a penchant for shortening malicious URLs. Always double-check a link to ascertain it’s associated with a credible URL shortening service before clicking on it.
4. Hyphenated Or Symbols-based Domain Names
Most legitimate links do not often use hyphens or special characters in their domain names. The converse is true for spam links.
Scammers may incorporate symbols into an otherwise legitimate domain name with a view to fooling unsuspecting users. A single click is all it takes to head to a malicious site.
5. Number-based Domains
As well as hyphens and symbols, many spam links tend to be entirely number-based. These URLs may resemble an IP address, only preceded. Such links leave you with no way of guessing the real owner behind the domain. And with such sensitive information hidden, there is a high chance you could be dealing with a spam link.
6. Out-of-Context Anchor Text
You’re reading a scintillating piece about iconic game parks in Africa when suddenly, you stumble upon a link with anchor text on a subject like angel numbers or the property market in America.
The lack of synchrony between the two subjects is another tell-tale sign of a potentially spammy URL.
7. Incoherent Anchor Text
Not all scammers are native English speakers. Many are not even speakers of English as a second language. So, you should expect glaring typographical and grammatical errors in their anchor texts.
Only a scammer will go through the trouble of creating a link but cannot hyperlink their URLs properly.
Wrap Up
Identifying spammy links on your website isn’t enough. You should move swiftly to remove these URLs from your site before they greatly blow your overall SEO goals and user experience.
