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Worried About 'Dodgy' Backlinks

by Pauline60
12 replies
Over the last couple of weeks I have started to notice some backlinks coming into my sites which I have not created. The sites linking in appear from their names to be porn type sites. I have not checked them because I really don't want to see what might be in them.

My questions are -
  • how and why would they link to my sites which are all very ordinary topics like home and family etc
  • will this harm my sites in any way - will I be seen as part of a bad neighbourhood?
  • is there any way I can stop this happenning?
I have also noticed a couple which are sites relating to illnesses. I know I have not created these links either as I always steer well clear of these as I feel uncomfortable using them at all for marketing purposes.

Any light anyone can shed would be most welcome.

Pauline
#backlinks #dodgy #worried
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Pauline60 View Post

    will this harm my sites in any way
    Extremely unlikely.

    Google understands that you can't necessarily control other people linking to your site. (Your linking out to "bad neighbourhoods" wouldn't be the same thing at all).

    I know there are a lot of people out there (and even some "in here", sadly) who claim that this can damage you, but it's only an "urban myth" of internet marketing, and if you think about it, it actually doesn't stand up to examination or make sense at all. Look at it this way: if that could really damage your site's SEO prospects, it would be the easiest thing in the world for people to disable their competitors' sites that way, wouldn't it? Google has some strange customs and policies, undoubtedly, but they're certainly not stupid enough to allow what would rapidly become the inevitable result of that being the case. So don't worry too much.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Extremely unlikely.

      Google understands that you can't necessarily control other people linking to your site. (Your linking out to "bad neighbourhoods" wouldn't be the same thing at all).

      I know there are a lot of people out there (and even some "in here", sadly) who claim that this can damage you, but it's only an "urban myth" of internet marketing, and if you think about it, it actually doesn't stand up to examination or make sense at all. Look at it this way: if that could really damage your site's SEO prospects, it would be the easiest thing in the world for people to disable their competitors' sites that way, wouldn't it? Google has some strange customs and policies, undoubtedly, but they're certainly not stupid enough to allow what would rapidly become the inevitable result of that being the case. So don't worry too much.

      From Google, Google's John Mueller:
      ANTI-SPAM REPORTING: Just how much is automated and what are the checks and balances? - Webmaster Central Help

      I agree very strongly with what Chris wrote. Looking back, I don't believe I've seen a site that was clearly in a bad position only because of third-party activity (such as getting links from bad websites).

      Theoretically, it's probably possible (which is the reason for the "almost"), but in practice, we have a lot of safeguards that help our algorithms to evaluate sites in useful ways. Our algorithms are pretty complex, it takes more than a handful of bad links to sway their opinion of a website. Even if Webmaster Tools shows a million links, then that's not going to change things if those links are all ignored for ranking purposes.

      Personally, I would not focus so much on how third parties might be maliciously linking to your content -- go forward and focus on your own site instead! Improving your own site, making it useful & valuable for countless users, is always the best "defense" against individuals trying to work against your site :-).

      Cheers
      John

      While Google's John Mueller doesn't say it's likely, it isn't like he could openly say "Go ahead and destroy your competition", either. But since it's "possible" I wouldn't go so far as to claim it's an urban legend.

      If it was possible, Google could never admit it and John Mueller's comments are about as revealing as they could possibly be.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        since it's "possible" I wouldn't go so far as to claim it's an urban legend.
        Well, it's a question of interpretation, I think?

        Where you apparently saw (or at least chose to quote) only the word "possible", I saw the words "theoretically it's probably possible".

        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        John Mueller's comments are about as revealing as they could possibly be.
        I think so, too. But my conclusion's apparently the opposite to yours.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pauline60
    Thanks Alexa, I feel reassured.

    I suppose it will be visible to Google that these sites have linked to me, rather than me to them. Just cannot understand why this type of site would want to link to the sort of sites I have, which are on very mundane topics!

    Pauline
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Pauline60 View Post

      I suppose it will be visible to Google that these sites have linked to me, rather than me to them.
      For sure.

      Originally Posted by Pauline60 View Post

      Just cannot understand why this type of site would want to link to the sort of sites I have, which are on very mundane topics!
      Well, there are a few possibilities, but it probably doesn't really matter which:-

      (a) Those sites are not quite what you think they are?
      (b) Somebody bought some backlinks from some dodgy backlink-merchant and they got his url wrong on some and yours came out instead?
      (c) Somebody else owned your url before you did and used it for something different (this one would, actually, be worth knowing about, and could conceivably be a problem, though not an insoluble one, even if so)?
      (d) A competitor is trying to harm you (but failed, not knowing what he was doing)?
      (e) None of the above ... ?
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Add another possibility...

        The sites are trying to dilute their percentage of links to questionable neighborhoods by including semi-random links to legit sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jacob Martus
    Originally Posted by Pauline60 View Post

    Over the last couple of weeks I have started to notice some backlinks coming into my sites which I have not created. The sites linking in appear from their names to be porn type sites. I have not checked them because I really don't want to see what might be in them.

    My questions are -
    • how and why would they link to my sites which are all very ordinary topics like home and family etc
    • will this harm my sites in any way - will I be seen as part of a bad neighbourhood?
    • is there any way I can stop this happenning?
    I have also noticed a couple which are sites relating to illnesses. I know I have not created these links either as I always steer well clear of these as I feel uncomfortable using them at all for marketing purposes.

    Any light anyone can shed would be most welcome.

    Pauline
    Are you sure they are backlinks or are you just noticing them as sending you referral traffic? If it's the latter it's called referral spam and it's basically a method that spammers use to get YOU to check out their site when you notice the link in your referral urls.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pauline60
    What Jacob said made me wonder - I saw the listed in my Awstats under where it says 'Links from an external page' and I thought this meant it was a backlink. However I have just checked very carefully the links to one of my affected sites on Market Samurai and there is no trace of these links.

    So can the links from exrenal pages shown in Awstats be things other than actual backlinks?

    Sorry for my ignorance on this and thanks to everyone for replying.

    Pauline
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  • Profile picture of the author Brad Gosse
    Could just be referrer spam trying to get you to click
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  • Profile picture of the author Pauline60
    With names they have got I am not going to click on any of them! God only knows what is on them. They are not exactly subtle.
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    • Profile picture of the author wrassie86
      I was worried about the same thing, I may or may not have posted to a blog from or called bloggernoob But wound up with about close to 500 links that are ranging from work at home to porn. Some have PR 3 but most are PR 0. So not sure what to make of it. My url is a fresh name so not used before.
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  • Profile picture of the author @seo
    Build Quality backlinks to your sites it will not harm your site it is general to get this type links to sites. If your site has good high PR backlinks It will be got ranking. There is no effect of a few Backlinks from Porn and adult sites.
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