Can a competitor get you penalized by Google?

madison_avenue · 01-12-2009, 03:58 AM

Can a competitor get your site penalized by Google, by sending you hundreds or maybe thousands of links thereby alerting Google that you may be using questionable tactics to get traffic.

A sudden unexplained spike in your your traffic might put you on Google's radar. Anyone is open to this risk and there is nothing you can do about it because you can't stop sites linking to you. I was wondering what you guys thought about this?

freetraff · 01-12-2009, 04:13 AM

Only Google can give a precise answer to this question.

But SEO community thinks that - as you do not have real control over incoming links - Google should not punish for tons of *questionable* inlinks.

The only thing Google should do in this case is to value these backlinks as zero. This is logical, because anyone can junk the site of the competitor like this.

But this is what we assume Google should do, I would not bet any money on stating that Google does exactly like this.

Suzanne Morrison · 01-12-2009, 04:46 AM

I agree - from what I have read, Google shouldn't penalize your website for something that is outwith your control such as links from questionable sites or bought links. The links would just be devalued.

However, linking to questionable websites or selling links on your site could result in a penalty.

Cheers
Suzanne

sunnyman · 01-12-2009, 04:52 AM

Yes, this agrees with what I have heard from the *gurus*.

It also means that if you go overboard building incoming links to your site, Google might decide to ignore them - so your effort is wasted. This happens especially if they all have about the same anchor text - looks un-natural.

madison_avenue · 01-12-2009, 05:14 AM

Thanks for your replies guys. Yes I thought it would be logical that you don't get penalized . I am not concerned if there is no benefit to a big spike in links, what I don't want, is to be penalized. If they just discount them that's fine.

Andyhenry · 01-12-2009, 05:21 AM

I disagree.

I know the common theory on this subject but I've seen an seo friend 'test' this theory and the results were not as most people believe.

Only Google can tell you the specifics involved for how they deal with this.

Andy

ryanman · 01-12-2009, 05:26 AM

If you are following google terms no one can get you penalized.

Jon Alexander · 01-12-2009, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanman

If you are following google terms no one can get you penalized.

and no innocent man ever went to the gas chamber, either.

xims · 01-12-2009, 05:38 AM

If you go to google and read from the webmasters help center it says this:

Can competitors harm ranking?

There's almost nothing a competitor can do to harm your ranking or have your site removed from our index. If you're concerned about another site linking to yours, we suggest contacting the webmaster of the site in question. Google aggregates and organizes information published on the web; we don't control the content of these pages.

01-12-2009, 03:58 AM	#1
madison_avenue Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, United Kingdom. Posts: 902 Thanks: 675 Thanked 89 Times in 79 Posts	Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? Can a competitor get your site penalized by Google, by sending you hundreds or maybe thousands of links thereby alerting Google that you may be using questionable tactics to get traffic. A sudden unexplained spike in your your traffic might put you on Google's radar. Anyone is open to this risk and there is nothing you can do about it because you can't stop sites linking to you. I was wondering what you guys thought about this?

01-12-2009, 04:13 AM	#2
freetraff Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: , , . Posts: 1,601 Thanks: 1 Thanked 26 Times in 18 Posts	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? Only Google can give a precise answer to this question. But SEO community thinks that - as you do not have real control over incoming links - Google should not punish for tons of questionable inlinks. The only thing Google should do in this case is to value these backlinks as zero. This is logical, because anyone can junk the site of the competitor like this. But this is what we assume Google should do, I would not bet any money on stating that Google does exactly like this.
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01-12-2009, 04:46 AM	#3
Suzanne Morrison Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 2,185 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 29 Thanked 132 Times in 93 Posts Social Networking	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? I agree - from what I have read, Google shouldn't penalize your website for something that is outwith your control such as links from questionable sites or bought links. The links would just be devalued. However, linking to questionable websites or selling links on your site could result in a penalty. Cheers Suzanne
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01-12-2009, 04:52 AM	#4
sunnyman HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern Europe Posts: 250 Thanks: 6 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts Social Networking	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? Yes, this agrees with what I have heard from the gurus. It also means that if you go overboard building incoming links to your site, Google might decide to ignore them - so your effort is wasted. This happens especially if they all have about the same anchor text - looks un-natural.
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01-12-2009, 05:14 AM	#5
madison_avenue Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, United Kingdom. Posts: 902 Thanks: 675 Thanked 89 Times in 79 Posts	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? Thanks for your replies guys. Yes I thought it would be logical that you don't get penalized . I am not concerned if there is no benefit to a big spike in links, what I don't want, is to be penalized. If they just discount them that's fine.

01-12-2009, 05:21 AM	#6
Andyhenry Beware - Straight Talker War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 9,255 Blog Entries: 25 Thanks: 1,178 Thanked 4,487 Times in 1,494 Posts Social Networking	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? I disagree. I know the common theory on this subject but I've seen an seo friend 'test' this theory and the results were not as most people believe. Only Google can tell you the specifics involved for how they deal with this. Andy

01-12-2009, 05:26 AM	#7
ryanman The Ultimate Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 922 Thanks: 18 Thanked 295 Times in 141 Posts	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? If you are following google terms no one can get you penalized.
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01-12-2009, 05:38 AM	#9
xims Warrior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cedar Rapids, Iowa Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Can a competitor get you penalized by Google? If you go to google and read from the webmasters help center it says this: Can competitors harm ranking? There's almost nothing a competitor can do to harm your ranking or have your site removed from our index. If you're concerned about another site linking to yours, we suggest contacting the webmaster of the site in question. Google aggregates and organizes information published on the web; we don't control the content of these pages.