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Sudden increase of similar directory backlinks - is this spam?

by Iveta Golková
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hello,

Recently I'have experienced sudden drop of majority of tracked keywords for my website. Firstly I thought this is Google algorithm related, however when the rankings haven't recovered I started to look for other reasons.

Around the time when the rankings were dropping, I've started to see a large number of links appearing, all from similar domains like directory.(name of the county or town).co.uk...it feels like listing was created at one of those and then it has spread to other linked domains. All those domains are having relatively good domain rating according to Ahrefs, therefore I am not sure how to tell that this is a spam. But the links keep appearing.

I've checked search console for any manual actions or penalties but there is nothing there. Does anybody has a similar experience or can advice on how to investigate if this is spam or not?
#backlinks #directory #increase #similar #spam #sudden
  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi Iveta,

    It could a lot of things that have triggered your drop in rankings.

    One thing for sure is that local business directories are direct competitors of the businesses they list in the directory. They are literally trying to outrank your listing to get your current traffic heading their way. This is how they earn money.

    It might be as simple as your competitor's overtaking your rankings, by posting better content, or it might be due to intermittent problems on your web server providing slow loading pages, or a hundred other possibilities.

    I suggest you take a holistic approach and look at everything that could be an issue that you can fix, or improve. Then get busy fixing and improving everything. Use tools like Google Analytics to get a better understanding of what is helping and what is harming your website.

    HTH,

    Don Burk
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    • Profile picture of the author Iveta Golková
      Originally Posted by dburk View Post

      Hi Iveta,

      It could a lot of things that have triggered your drop in rankings.

      One thing for sure is that local business directories are direct competitors of the businesses they list in the directory. They are literally trying to outrank your listing to get your current traffic heading their way. This is how they earn money.

      It might be as simple as your competitor's overtaking your rankings, by posting better content, or it might be due to intermittent problems on your web server providing slow loading pages, or a hundred other possibilities.

      I suggest you take a holistic approach and look at everything that could be an issue that you can fix, or improve. Then get busy fixing and improving everything. Use tools like Google Analytics to get a better understanding of what is helping and what is harming your website.

      HTH,

      Don Burk
      Hello,
      That's the thing, I've checked and non of those directory listings is appearing for those keywords in search results.

      The 'real' competition will always cause some fluctuations in rankings, but it just sounds odd that would be a reason for sudden drops in rankings for majority of keywords like three pages down or from top 10 to not be found in top hundred.

      I am working in a SEO team so we are using all the tools like Google Analytics, Search Console, Ahrefs etc. to be able to find out reasons for changes and the directory issue is the only problem which stands out and was also found for other websites we manage.

      But thank anyway for the reply.
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  • Profile picture of the author DABK
    The directory links have nothing to do with anything.

    All websites get a bunch of them. Yes, one of them found your site, the other directories scraped it from there (or from the place the 1st one found you). That's how it works and, as I said, it's not the cause.

    Did you do anything to the site? Change anything?


    Originally Posted by Iveta Golková View Post

    Hello,

    Recently I'have experienced sudden drop of majority of tracked keywords for my website. Firstly I thought this is Google algorithm related, however when the rankings haven't recovered I started to look for other reasons.

    Around the time when the rankings were dropping, I've started to see a large number of links appearing, all from similar domains like directory.(name of the county or town).co.uk...it feels like listing was created at one of those and then it has spread to other linked domains. All those domains are having relatively good domain rating according to Ahrefs, therefore I am not sure how to tell that this is a spam. But the links keep appearing.

    I've checked search console for any manual actions or penalties but there is nothing there. Does anybody has a similar experience or can advice on how to investigate if this is spam or not?
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    • Profile picture of the author Iveta Golková
      Originally Posted by DABK View Post

      The directory links have nothing to do with anything.

      All websites get a bunch of them. Yes, one of them found your site, the other directories scraped it from there (or from the place the 1st one found you). That's how it works and, as I said, it's not the cause.

      Did you do anything to the site? Change anything?
      Nothing what would cause such a drastic change. The website was actually doing really well in terms of ranking, traffic etc. before this. If this would be only a couple of directories I wouldn't be alarmed, but there is quite a lot of them now appearing for a lot of our clients. All those directories seems to be somehow linked to the Central Index service so I am wondering if those are automated listings being created through different linked directories, Google might not like this. The domain ranking for example for Hertfordshire Mercury is quite high, however the URL rating for the director.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk where the baklink is coming is totally different story.
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  • Profile picture of the author Md Murad
    Friend!
    In 2017 Actually directory backlink are not working. Yes! As an Amazon affiliate Marketer I am not making Directory Backlink for my Niche site. Better! Try to remove those link what you have gotten from directory by google disavow.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Friend, what are you talking about? Why would anyone bother to remove backlinks from directories?

      Originally Posted by Md Murad View Post

      Friend!
      In 2017 Actually directory backlink are not working. Yes! As an Amazon affiliate Marketer I am not making Directory Backlink for my Niche site. Better! Try to remove those link what you have gotten from directory by google disavow.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Tough to say Iveta, but if you focus on the fundamentals - creating value, guest posting, effective blog commenting - these fluctuations will not bother you one bit, as your rankings will improve by following the basics.
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  • Profile picture of the author bangthetable
    Getting more backlinks from the same website would not consider as spam. But if the site is having very low authority or irrelevant site means, it might be affect your keywords ranking.
    Sometimes our backlinks will suddenly increase from the single website, if we add our website URL on our client site in the footer. Those kind of backlinks are good for our site.
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    • Profile picture of the author Iveta Golková
      Originally Posted by bangthetable View Post

      Getting more backlinks from the same website would not consider as spam. But if the site is having very low authority or irrelevant site means, it might be affect your keywords ranking.
      Sometimes our backlinks will suddenly increase from the single website, if we add our website URL on our client site in the footer. Those kind of backlinks are good for our site.
      The backlinks are not from the same website, the structure of the URL is same, however each time its different directory URL, for example for Hertfordshiremercury.co.uk the directory URL will be directory.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk which would be a subdomain I assume which I think wouldn't necessarily carry the same domain authority as the original domain.
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