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Google is not that stupid. [Backlinks]

by GeorgR.
12 replies
  • SEO
    • |
There is the common notion that every backlink is "good" as long as it has high PR, some even say that the site's subject doesn't even matter.

So people get out and do angela and paul backlinks, or forum spa...uhm, i mean commenting and blog posts.

Now, there was a post a few days ago Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Hard facts about comment spam
where Google themselves made a comment in regards to "backlink spamming", where Google says

Google has an understanding of the link graph of the web, and has algorithmic ways of discovering those alterations and tackling them. At best, a link spammer might spend hours doing spammy linkdrops which would count for little or nothing because Google is pretty good at devaluing these types of links.
How does this go together with claims that each backlink is good? And what does this mean in regards to angela/paul profile links etc..etc.. ?
#backlinks #google #stupid
  • Profile picture of the author DonDavis
    I think it is pretty much agreed that not all links are created equal, or have I missed your point?

    Perhaps the real question is, can some links actually hurt your rankings? One would think that if that were possible, then G left the door wide open for sabotaging of one's competitors. I have a hard time believing they are allowing that sort of scenario however.
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    • Profile picture of the author butters
      Originally Posted by DonDavis View Post

      I think it is pretty much agreed that not all links are created equal, or have I missed your point?

      Perhaps the real question is, can some links actually hurt your rankings? One would think that if that were possible, then G left the door wide open for sabotaging of one's competitors. I have a hard time believing they are allowing that sort of scenario however.
      I wouldn't think harm more likely just does nothing for you. So if your in the football niche and get links from beauty blogs then nothing will happen. That is opposed to you getting links from actual blogs in your niche which will do wonders, obviously.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarkAse
    I think the football blog getting links from beauty blogs, would still be helped, just less so then links from within their niche. Frankly, I can't imagine a link from an article directory per se counting for nothing.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    Google has an understanding of the link graph of the web, and has algorithmic ways of discovering those alterations and tackling them.
    what does that even mean?

    what is a link graph of the web?

    algorithmic ways of discovering alterations... what alterations? alterations of what?

    what is the criteria involved with giving a link value or no value.

    I read this a day ago and I get that they are trying to deter spamming but what I don't get is what this mumbo jumo means.
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  • Profile picture of the author cagliostro
    I think this is very hard for Google to sort out.

    For example comments in Flickr can be all kinds. Travel links, photography links etc.

    What is wrong about it ? Don't really useful comments exist ?
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  • Profile picture of the author thmgoodw
    As stated a million times on here, Google can say whatever they want, but that doesn't make it so.

    As stated by Google themselves, they are only talking about a potential devaluation. There is no way that one could be penalized for such incoming links.

    Even the devaluation thing, I'll believe it when I see it. I have a feeling that the top sites for stuff like "cheap viagra" will still be going strong despite the massive blog commenting that makes up 99% of their links.

    My sites rank well and quickly from mostly profile backlinks and blog comments. I will be the first to tell everyone when these lose their value, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

    Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post

    There is the common notion that every backlink is "good" as long as it has high PR, some even say that the site's subject doesn't even matter.

    So people get out and do angela and paul backlinks, or forum spa...uhm, i mean commenting and blog posts.

    Now, there was a post a few days ago Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Hard facts about comment spam
    where Google themselves made a comment in regards to "backlink spamming", where Google says



    How does this go together with claims that each backlink is good? And what does this mean in regards to angela/paul profile links etc..etc.. ?
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    Masters Powerlifting
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    • Profile picture of the author WareTime
      I think essentially they are bluffing. Hoping to scare people away from an activity that they actually can't do anything about and DOES make you rank higher. At best they can devalue links, if they ever had them count against you, it would be used to take out one's opponents.

      Sure there are better links than comment and forum spam, but if you can't get the better links and are willing to invest the time and effort, it can boost your site. My own view is that it's worth zero of my time as I can get better links with the same or slightly more effort.
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      • Profile picture of the author halfpoint
        You really think Google is going to devalue every link that is left in a users "profile"?

        Do you realise how many of these types of sites there are on the internet. Millions!

        As others have said, I'll believe it when I see all the viagra type sites not ranking like they do now.

        I'm currently doing an experiment based solely on profile backlinks. I have 6 sites that I haven't done much with previously and I'm using nothing but profile links to see where the rankings go.

        I should be finished by the end of the month and I will then document my results on here for everybody.
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        • Profile picture of the author butters
          Originally Posted by Pat Jackson View Post

          You really think Google is going to devalue every link that is left in a users "profile"?

          Do you realise how many of these types of sites there are on the internet. Millions!

          As others have said, I'll believe it when I see all the viagra type sites not ranking like they do now.

          I'm currently doing an experiment based solely on profile backlinks. I have 6 sites that I haven't done much with previously and I'm using nothing but profile links to see where the rankings go.

          I should be finished by the end of the month and I will then document my results on here for everybody.
          Looking forward to it are these profiles related to your niche in anyway or just random sites.
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          • Profile picture of the author halfpoint
            Originally Posted by butters View Post

            Looking forward to it are these profiles related to your niche in anyway or just random sites.
            They are all irrelevant. My only criteria is that the homepage PR is a minimum of 3.
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  • Profile picture of the author DonDavis
    In Terry Kyle's recent experiment, his site with nothing but unrelated links performed better than the site with related links. How much stock do you folks put into that? I thought it was rather revealing.
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  • Profile picture of the author sweetfranky
    Before I did profile links, I did blog and forum links. I had a lot of success with them and I have a lot of success with profile links. But profile links are going to become harder and harder to find as webmaster close the gaps. It's only a matter of time.
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