WARNING! - Another link network getting hit

39 replies
  • SEO
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Seolinkmonster sites are being deindexed.
#warning
  • Profile picture of the author PPC-Coach
    I think they're all going down.

    I wonder if someone ratted out all these companies or if Google actually figured out things on their own. (Wouldn't be hard for them to do so).

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    • Profile picture of the author ballhogjoni
      Originally Posted by PPC-Coach View Post

      I think they're all going down.

      I wonder if someone ratted out all these companies or if Google actually figured out things on their own. (Wouldn't be hard for them to do so).

      Ya I don't know but I was using BMR and SLM and since BMR went down I decided to check out SLM sites. Sure enough, running site:domain.com on multiple (like 20) of their sites they were not found.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by PPC-Coach View Post

      I think they're all going down.

      I wonder if someone ratted out all these companies or if Google actually figured out things on their own. (Wouldn't be hard for them to do so).

      No doubt a lot of people responded to the GWT (Google Webmaster Tools) 700K bad link message, exposing multiple backlink networks in a very short time span.

      I'm 99.9% sure that Google didn't figure anything out on their own.

      The reason I'm so sure is, sites like BMR were ranking very high in the SERPs for their services/keywords. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to do a 2 second Google search to check who is selling links.

      IMO, customers of the public backlink networks brought them down, with the GWT scare tactic.
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      • Profile picture of the author nik0
        Banned
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        No doubt a lot of people responded to the GWT (Google Webmaster Tools) 700K bad link message, exposing multiple backlink networks in a very short time span.

        I'm 99.9% sure that Google didn't figure anything out on their own.

        The reason I'm so sure is, sites like BMR were ranking very high in the SERPs for their services/keywords. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to do a 2 second Google search to check who is selling links.

        IMO, customers of the public backlink networks brought them down, with the GWT scare tactic.
        You think Google really needed these reports after they send out a message of unnatural link patterns? I mean how can they send out a report of unnatural links if they don't know them yet
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      • Profile picture of the author FraserC
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        IMO, customers of the public backlink networks brought them down, with the GWT scare tactic.
        This is exactly right. The larger and more popular the public network becomes, the more likely it's going to get punished. I'll bet they had information on the network for a long time and just waited to deindex it in a way that caused maximum impact in the minds of marketers.

        "Reveal your methods and we'll go easier on you."

        Not an easy equation... this is not a "kick them" and it's all good. That's why they go slowly doing it - even if we think it's a one kick trick...
        Another great comment from Fernando Veloso. Google wants to convert enemies into allies. It wants people building websites, creating content for the searchers. So it's much better to slowly bring people around to the light.

        That's why they're always forgiveness with Google, it might just take a few months.
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    • Profile picture of the author jimmyn
      Originally Posted by PPC-Coach View Post

      I think they're all going down.

      I wonder if someone ratted out all these companies or if Google actually figured out things on their own. (Wouldn't be hard for them to do so).

      They probably figured it out a while ago. More of a case of should we or shouldn't we.

      Was it on this forum some guy claimed he'd tipped them off? Haha.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexander K
    Good news for those of us who never used them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Curtis2011
      Originally Posted by Alexander K View Post

      Good news for those of us who never used them.

      I hear ya on that
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  • Profile picture of the author purpleraven
    I never used them but I did use BMR. I wanted it to last forever but I knew better. Diversifying is key in all businesses.
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  • Profile picture of the author HappyLuke
    Ouch! Glad I don't use those things! Times are a changing!
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  • Profile picture of the author RECarolina
    Wouldn't it be nice if Google would reward sites with SERP ranking and increased PR JUST for writing good, relevant content, have a site built around social networking, and one that was updated often and encouraging engagement.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ryan David
      I'm surprised it's taking so long. Dan Thies mentioned (about 5 years ago) that Google had purchased this one guy's software to map out entire networks. This was back in the paid link days so those were the targets. And he witnessed this guy map out all the sites in a network just by knowing one of the sites.
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      • And he witnessed this guy map out all the sites in a network just by knowing one of the sites.

        Yes, that's right. Relational databases were invented for tasks such as this. Once you've identified one blog and links to xyz domain appear there, it's easy to find all the other links to xyz domain and keep a file of those that fit the footprint.

        BMR said about 75% of their blogs were deindexed. Had they wanted to, I'm pretty sure Google could have gotten 95% or more but it wasn't necessary to get the job done.

        Someone else commented Google probably had one outsourcer working on it. That sounds about right. Chilling, isn't it, when you think about the millions of dollars spent on private blog networks, that they could be taken down by just one or two people.

        fLufF
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      • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
        Originally Posted by Ryan David View Post

        I'm surprised it's taking so long. Dan Thies mentioned (about 5 years ago) that Google had purchased this one guy's software to map out entire networks. This was back in the paid link days so those were the targets. And he witnessed this guy map out all the sites in a network just by knowing one of the sites.
        They (Google) need to keep a balance, otherwise they kick all these sites providing "power" to other sites, and then their pages (Google SERP's) turn into a mess of weird sites, good sites, and spam sites.

        Not an easy equation... this is not a "kick them" and it's all good. That's why they go slowly doing it - even if we think it's a one kick trick...

        Funny, I have this love/hate thing with Google, but amazing how after some years you start to understand their motivations - thats when you start anticipating their (most probable) moves.

        That or my dinner had some weird acid and I'm hallucinating.

        :p
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        • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
          Originally Posted by Fernando Veloso View Post

          That or my dinner had some weird acid and I'm hallucinating.

          :p
          Better be nicer to your cook.
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  • Profile picture of the author StevenK
    Google is very smart and knows what's going on all the time...

    It was just a matter of time before they took action. The link farms are gone, for now.


    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by StevenK View Post

      Google is very smart and knows what's going on all the time...

      It was just a matter of time before they took action. The link farms are gone, for now.


      Steve
      Wrong,

      Google didn't know about JCPenney until after their backlinks were outed by the media (proof they don't know everything). They only took manual action in the SERPs (after the fact) to cover their a$$ because the media put them in the spotlight.

      No private backlink networks have went down, only public backlink networks took a dive.

      Nothing has changed for private backlink networks.

      Anyone that owns a backlink network & advertises that network openly, isn't selling backlinks on a private network.
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      • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
        Originally Posted by yukon View Post

        No private backlink networks have went down, only public backlink networks took a dive.

        Nothing has changed for private backlink networks.
        I love how people read a couple threads and then start coming to the conclusion that every network is coming to an end just because it happened to a couple of popular and public ones.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProPowerSEO
    Google has turned up the heat this year big time on removing any sites related to this type of service. Blog networks seem to be getting hit and a lot of niche site keyword domain owners are reporting that their networks are being detected and de ranked. In fairness, most of these are scrapping content which is really being cracked down on right now.
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  • Profile picture of the author ProPowerSEO
    They only took manual action in the SERPs (after the fact) to cover their a$$ because the media put them in the spotlight.
    Yes I have seen instances myself where fairly big name sites are reported and no action is taken. It is well argued that google sometimes turns a blind eye to some "brands" that do well and have a large customer data base.
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  • Profile picture of the author rodanglee
    Yup, as long as your private network look like a regular website, then it has to be reported to get deindexed.. Creating an AI that can differentiate between the 2 might hit legitimate websites in the process, so it boils down to manual review.
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    • Profile picture of the author Green Moon
      Originally Posted by rodanglee View Post

      Yup, as long as your private network look like a regular website, then it has to be reported to get deindexed.. Creating an AI that can differentiate between the 2 might hit legitimate websites in the process, so it boils down to manual review.
      It may not be worth Google's time and money to knock out private networks as well, but unless the entire network is set up for a single money site, don't think for a minute that software couldn't be written to detect where site X1 links to sites A, B, D; X2 links to B, C, D; X3 links to A, C, D and X4 links to A, B, C. Sure, on a small sample basis some legitimate sites might fit the pattern but if you have even a couple of dozen sites in your private network, the odds that a legitimate site will fit into the pattern are miniscule.
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  • Profile picture of the author razza
    Ouch sounds like bad news for seo link creators
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  • Profile picture of the author codenaam
    Originally Posted by ballhogjoni View Post

    Seolinkmonster sites are being deindexed.
    Stupid question, but how do you know? I am actually surprised nobody asked this question before.
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  • Profile picture of the author nik0
    Banned
    Originally Posted by ballhogjoni View Post

    Seolinkmonster sites are being deindexed.
    LOL didn't that happen 3 weeks ago already and where the owners came up with stupid excuses like: Oh yes client, but you were on another part of our hosting and only that one got affected.

    LOL LOL LOL

    Are those network owners really that dumb or am I so clever?
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    I've only talked to one person with a private network that was hit, and the way he used his, I'm not surprised. Nothing but spun PLR posted to 300+ websites. 20+ categories on each site. 5-10 posts per site a day. Pretty easy to see why that one was found.

    The rest have been public networks. SEO Link Monster was nothing but garbage. There is pretty solid evidence from users that it was deindexed within a few days of its launch. Not surprising considering how heavily promoted that piece of junk was by "gurus". I was getting 3-4 emails a day about it, which just further showed me which "gurus" knew nothing about SEO.

    What is really sad is that users are saying they are getting no responses from the owners to tickets and inquiries, and they are also still taking new paying customers even though the network basically no longer exists.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mack Attack 77
      Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

      What is really sad is that users are saying they are getting no responses from the owners to tickets and inquiries, and they are also still taking new paying customers even though the network basically no longer exists.
      That's the sad part of business for you.

      These threads just go to show how powerful proper White SEO is...I'm definitely going to evaluate my approach to make it as clean as possible from now on.
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      • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
        Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

        What is really sad is that users are saying they are getting no responses from the owners to tickets and inquiries, and they are also still taking new paying customers even though the network basically no longer exists.
        Originally Posted by Mack Attack 77 View Post

        That's the sad part of business for you.

        These threads just go to show how powerful proper White SEO is...I'm definitely going to evaluate my approach to make it as clean as possible from now on.
        How is that the sad part of business for me? Has nothing to do with me.

        I was just pointing out how poor their customer service is and the fact that they are continuing to suck in those who are unaware of what happened to their network and freely taking their money.
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  • I cancelled my subscription with them earlier in the week. I'm very impressed with ALN and a few others, so we'll see how that goes. I think the key with this is the same with most anything else: Diversify.
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      Originally Posted by AffordableMarketingLists View Post

      I cancelled my subscription with them earlier in the week. I'm very impressed with ALN and a few others, so we'll see how that goes. I think the key with this is the same with most anything else: Diversify.
      ALN was largely deindexed as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Naxie
    Glad I was lazy in getting started using these types of services, but now wondering what to do instead :p
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    Much like Naxie above I never got around to signing up for a network. I was in the process of researching them and I was about ready to make a decision. I think for now that idea is on the back burner.

    Obviously Google does not like to be manipulated and that is bascically what blog networks are for.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jospeh31
    Sad news indeed. BMR worked very well for over a year so many people earned big with their sites. 15-20 posts a month were enough for low competition keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author kimseo
    Originally Posted by ballhogjoni View Post

    Seolinkmonster sites are being deindexed.
    They got slapped
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  • Profile picture of the author HKSEO Rotzee
    Nothing new here nor was it any thing completely unexpected or prepared for by most Blog Networks. Fixes and solutions are already on their way, just another play in the game of SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author StevenK
    I think the blog networks are probably already working on a few schemes to outwit Google. It's a cat and mouse game that is never ending.

    Steve
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