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.EDU backlinks scam

by MemberWing
19 replies
  • SEO
    • |
It seems that Fiverr as well as WSO section here are getting progressively flooded with "miracle" EDU backlink offers.

Here's are 2 questions to ask to all these service providers:
  1. Do you offer backlinks from US-based .EDU pages or from international, such as .edu.sg, .edu.my and similar?
  2. Please show me (possibly in private by PM) exact url of .EDU -based page where backlink will be coming from to my site.

These 2 questions will likely be enough to weed out 95% of scammers.
Reasons: international ".EDU.xx" backlinks are worthless.
Here are few samples of these "miracle EDU pages" you may expect:
hXXp://blogs.iium.edu.my/cpdtrain/2009/05/22/web-design-tips/
hXXp://marianmi.comp.nus.edu.sg/photos/snapshots/gallery/1297925385.php

Gleb
#backlinks #scam
  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    Actually all .edu backlinks are worthless on their own. They are no different than any other site.

    But you are right. There are a couple of WSO's being offered (one I looked at in particular was at a ridiculous price) to sell .edu's. They are country specific, not normal .edu's.

    Bunch of BS, but unfortunately people will fall for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author MemberWing
    Not true regarding top level .EDU pages.
    Once i noticed that my marketing site was on the first page of google for "night eyes" keyword! Imagine that!
    I researched and found that some deep .EDU directory page was linked to my site through username "NightEyes".
    This was enough to propell it quite high for totally irrelevant keywords.
    Just observation...

    Definitely agree that EDU.* are worthless.

    Gleb
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Ward
    Take this with a grain of salt because I am no SEO expect, but I am under the assumption that some .edu backlinks are powerful because the domain itself is highly backlinked and powerful because it's a popular university website, not simply because the domain ends in .edu

    Does anyone agree/disagree with this? I've felt like this is a huge misconception in the SEO world.
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    "Keep moving forward."
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      Originally Posted by mattward View Post

      Take this with a grain of salt because I am no SEO expect, but I am under the assumption that some .edu backlinks are powerful because the domain itself is highly backlinked and powerful because it's a popular university website, not simply because the domain ends in .edu

      Does anyone agree/disagree with this? I've felt like this is a huge misconception in the SEO world.
      That is exactly right. It's no different than a powerful .com domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author BarryWheeler
      Originally Posted by mattward View Post

      Take this with a grain of salt because I am no SEO expect, but I am under the assumption that some .edu backlinks are powerful because the domain itself is highly backlinked and powerful because it's a popular university website, not simply because the domain ends in .edu

      Does anyone agree/disagree with this? I've felt like this is a huge misconception in the SEO world.
      You're right.

      It has nothing to do with being a .edu but more with the quality of links coming to it and the relative authority being passed on.

      There are crappy .edu links just as there are crappy .com links.
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      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        Calling a .edu.xx an edu link is a lie. A scam.

        Saying that real edu links have some sort of magic is a lie as well.

        It's all about how google perceives the page, regardless of extension.

        Because Canada produces some of the best hockey players, it does not
        mean you can pick a Canadian off the street and claim that person
        is a great hockey player. But that's the way people view .edu links.

        That if a page is .edu, it must be gold. Yeah. Fool's gold.

        A fool and his WSO money are soon parted.

        Paul
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        If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

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  • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
    Yeah, I'm not sure how people are able to pass .edu.* as an actual .edu link. It's been bothering me for awhile, and it's starting to become more and more common. A lot of people are starting to sell these and claim they're edu backlinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author GaryEarle
    Throwing a wrench in the works here..IF....edu.** are worthless......why does Google give many of them some pretty high PR? Hmmm?? I have edu.** in poland..PR6 main domain. And Google loves the backlinks from them..

    And I have countless PAGES from EDU domains in google..many within the first 20 listings...where the page itself is a PRn/a..so..kind of disproves those who think the EDU doesnt carry weight.

    All I know..is that I'll take a nice contextual backlink from my EDU sources (places I can actually write content with links)....versus the CRAPPY forum profile links that are being pedaled in this forum.

    Just my opinion
    Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author MemberWing
    If you have .EDU.xx PR6 page - backlink from it it *will* be treated like PR6 backlink.
    If you have worthless .EDU.sg page (which most are) - the link from it will be worth exactly zero-to-negative (depending how much viagras and casinos spam on it already).

    If you have PR0, 1 day old page at .rutgers.edu - this will give you huge ranking value. And so as any other page off first-rate US-based .EDU institution (which none of these indian/pakistani WSO scammers are capable of offering).

    Gleb
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  • Profile picture of the author GaryEarle
    Gleb..Oh..I agree on that..I wouldnt buy sh*t from some of those sellers...becuase you are right..it's CRAP!

    BUT I have have about 70 nice EDU sources all from the US that I use.....that has taken me months to accumulate....and within some pretty tough markets..all I use...are the EDU backlinks...and guess where I land.....Page 1
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  • Profile picture of the author simonbuzz
    Banned
    I dont care about edu backlinks...high pr dot com backlinks are enough for good seo
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    • Profile picture of the author belgianguy
      I don't agree that .edu links are equal to 'regular' domains. A high PR page from a regular domain comes close, but somehow the .edu links seem to have a little more 'oumph' than regular sites.

      I have experimented a lot with all kinds of backlinks and had amazing results with quality .edu links. I'm not talking about commenting on foreign .edu pages that have dozens of outbound links, but about high quality .edu links.

      Whenever I seem to get stuck at a certain position in the serps, some .edu backlinks will get me moving up again. I have also tried this with high pr backlinks from regular domains and while they also get my site better rankings, they just aren't the same as the .edu links.

      This has been heavily debated before and you'll find a lot of people on both sides of the story, but I only can speak from my own experience and I absolutely love them.
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      • Profile picture of the author MemberWing
        Originally Posted by belgianguy View Post

        ... but somehow the .edu links seem to have a little more 'oumph' than regular sites...
        Care to share a few links to people who got "...your own .edu blogs and wikis" ?

        Gleb
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        • Profile picture of the author paulgl
          This is the same idiocy from people who think .com's are loved by
          google and .info's are not.

          It's just junk seo perpetuated by junk dealers.

          Anyone who tells you that any .edu is worth much more than
          anything else is full of baloney. If that statement comes out
          of a persons mouth, the rest of what they say must be taken
          with a grain of salt.

          Again, it's like saying all people from Canada are great hockey
          players. All Russians are great chess players. All Brazilians are
          great soccer players.

          Because .edu's breed value as a whole, does not mean ALL and
          ANY .edu's have power.

          But, no wise man has the power to reason away what a fool believes.

          Paul
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          If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

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          • Profile picture of the author belgianguy
            Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

            This is the same idiocy from people who think .com's are loved by
            google and .info's are not.

            It's just junk seo perpetuated by junk dealers.

            Anyone who tells you that any .edu is worth much more than
            anything else is full of baloney. If that statement comes out
            of a persons mouth, the rest of what they say must be taken
            with a grain of salt.

            Again, it's like saying all people from Canada are great hockey
            players. All Russians are great chess players. All Brazilians are
            great soccer players.

            Because .edu's breed value as a whole, does not mean ALL and
            ANY .edu's have power.

            But, no wise man has the power to reason away what a fool believes.

            Paul
            Yes, some .edu backlinks are worthless, some aren't. If they all are no better than regular domains, then why do keyword research tools still mention them separately from other links?
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            • Profile picture of the author MemberWing
              Originally Posted by belgianguy View Post

              Yes, some .edu backlinks are worthless, some aren't. If they all are no better than regular domains, then why do keyword research tools still mention them separately from other links?
              Well, I glad you corrected your WSO and footer description that it's not EDU.xx but US .EDU
              That answers Question #1 (see first post).
              Question #2 remains:
              If you'd be so kind to share with me link to .EDU wiki or blog that you help to create (if I understood your WSO correctly) - I'd be happy to consider buying your WSO + writing a review.

              Gleb
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              • Profile picture of the author belgianguy
                I sent you a PM

                Originally Posted by MemberWing View Post

                Well, I glad you corrected your WSO and footer description that it's not EDU.xx but US .EDU
                That answers Question #1 (see first post).
                Question #2 remains:
                If you'd be so kind to share with me link to .EDU wiki or blog that you help to create (if I understood your WSO correctly) - I'd be happy to consider buying your WSO + writing a review.

                Gleb
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        • Profile picture of the author belgianguy
          They don't share their sites with me, for obvious reasons. No one wants to show their keywords to others. My customers are satisfied, that is what I care about

          Originally Posted by MemberWing View Post

          Care to share a few links to people who got "...your own .edu blogs and wikis" ?

          Gleb
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    I recently wasted a lot of time trying to get .edu backlinks but fortunately, I was doing the work manually to see the success rate so all I lost in the end was time. I would definitely not spend any money on offers on edu backlinks and etc. because I think people are just trying to make money off the myth that all edu backlinks are worth more than normal ones, which is obviously not the case as many of you have mentioned earlier.
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