Presented at Search Marketing Day 2013

1. HOW TO SPOT
BAD LINKS
BY GARETH HOYLE

2. WHO IS GARETH
HOYLE?
Not a content marketer
@search_magician

5. One of the largest link
providers in the UK

6. BAD YEARS
2012-2013
For blatant SEO

7. Some counted some
did not
PRE 1ST QUARTER OF 2012
If you threw enough of the
right stuff you won
Throw as many links
as you dared

8. WHAT CHANGED?

10. IS A PENALTY OR FILTER
PENGUIN
AIMED AT LINKS

11. TO DULL THE EFFECT OF
DESIGNED
People Chasing the Algorithm

12. PENALTIESLINK

13. PENALTIESLINK
Google have sent a
number of waves of
unnatural link
warnings

14. PENALTIESLINK
Google have sent a
number of waves of
unnatural link
warnings
There is now a much
more formal
procedure to get the
penalty removed

15. PENALTIESLINK
Google have sent a
number of waves of
unnatural link
warnings
There is now a much
more formal
procedure to get the
penalty removed
They are still
sending them

16. WE ALL NOW FACE
THE PROBLEM

17. Links are STILL
the Signal

18. THE MYTHOF NATURAL LINKS

19. THEY NEED US
WE ARE THE SIGNAL

20. ABOUT SHEEP
A WARNING

21. Don’t follow what everyone else does
or you’ll be in the next filter
Guest Posts Infographics

22. WHAT’S LEFT ?
TYPES OF LINK

23. PAID LINKS

24. GIFTS

25. ADVERTORIALS

26. YOU HAVE TO MANAGE EACH ONE
EVERY LINK HAS RISK

27. WHAT WAS
OUR RESPONSE?

28. We needed to try understand what the link risk was of every
link we had place or were going to place

29. Google have hidden
what they consider a
bad link well
To rank you have to
build, but you have to
manage the risk far more

30. MANAGING THE RISK OF LINK BUILDING
1. 2. 3.
Have someone audit your
links with experience
Audit what you have
Determine what is risky
and what to remove

33. WHAT TO LOOK FOR!
SIGNALS OF RISK!

34. Higher % of anchor text links!
Higher % of site wide links!
Higher % of suspect cctld!

35. What makes a link
problematic?
Reason for
the site!
Commercial
Anchors again
and again!
Poor link metrics
(Majestic / Moz / PR)!
No Social Activity
on a site (Twitter /
Facebook)!
Banned
Words!
Links to bad
places!
No interaction
on the site!
Wrong
CCtld!

37. OR EVERY SUSPECT ONE
LOOK AT EVERY LINK

39. Risk is obvious in the anchor text distribution!

42. WHAT TO DO IF YOU
GET CAUGHT?!

43. 3 Main Risks:
Penguin Link Devaluation Link Warnings

44. AND WAIT FOR GOOGLE!
REBALANCE!

45. WITH CAUTION!
REBUILD!

46. Manual Penalty

47. REMOVALS!

48. FOR EVERY LINK
YOU REMOVE
You have to consider what
you might have to add & how

49. WAIT!

50. REINCLUSION REQUEST
IF YOU AREN’T SUCCESSFUL TRY AGAIN

51. KNOW WHEN YOU’RE
BEATEN

52. 301’s

53. DON’T WORK AS WELL AS THEY DID
301’s

54. ASK THE CASINO AND FINANCE SPAMMERS
301’s

55. REDIRECTIONS
AND NEW DOMAINS
BEWARE WHAT PASSES…

56. SAY HELLO!
info@manuallinkbuilding.co.uk
@search_magician
uk.manuallinkbuilding.com
linkrisk.com