I knew better, but did it anyway. Should I keep these backlinks?
-
Out of desperation (lack of time and knowing we were way behind competitors on backlinks) - I went to Fivvr and ordered 50 "high quality" backlinks. I know there are no shortcuts, but this weak little voice push through and said, "Just maybe...it's so cheap, what's the harm?" Well, I should have listened to the rationale voice which is typically so much more assertive! What to do now?
*Note - I haven't had time to review them all, but at 1st glance, it appears they are off-topic, spammy blog comments - snapshot of links: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9d23c93o1ryrhv1/Screenshot 2016-09-21 11.49.26.png?dl=0
- Check each page to see if the rank suggested is correct and leave links with legit high page rank?
- They are all garbage, try to remove them immediately - is this even possible?
- Watch to see if rank is positively or negatively affected, then go about taking them down if needed?
Other suggestions? (Besides don't do that again, stupid.)
-
Oleg is right, you should disavow them. Google won't know (most likely) that you did them--unless your social media ID is tied to them. But, nonetheless, I would disavow them.
If those links are only a small percentage of your overall links (less than 1 percent of total links) then you probably won't see any changes, and they will probably not hurt your rankings. But, if they're a large percentage of your links, then you might want to get them removed completely.
-
Thank you all. Please do not think that I am not completely ashamed. Will follow advice to disavow. Punishment served in time lost... that probably could have been used EARNING 10 real quality links.
-
Oleg and Andrew beat me to it. But I would also recommend disavowing them to protect your site. Other option before going to the disavow tool, is to reach out to the sites and ask them to remove the links.
Hope that helps!
-
Google clearly states that buying backlinks breaches their guidelines and you are at very high risk for penalization. For $5 you are guaranteed to have got yourself a package of automated craplinks and you have made a pretty good case for deserving penalization. You can save yourself by disavowing the links.
Here is Google's guide for disavowing backlinks:
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/2648487?hl=enAnd here is a guide for using the disavow tool:
https://moz.com/blog/guide-to-googles-disavow-tool -
I highly doubt you can remove them - best case disavow them.
At this point, if you are willing to roll the dice, see what kind of effect the links will have on your rankings. Understand that those links are textbook spammy and should be treated negatively (they are irrelevant to your website, have lots of spammy outgoing links) but Google makes mistakes.
It is probably a matter of time before those links will be considered negative/poor and likely to hurt you down the line. However, it could be months/years before that happens.
If you are already ranking well some some terms and are scared of losing rankings, i'd disavow them now.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
301 redirect backlink
Hello, My website is brand new! I am planning to do have some 301 redirect backlinks. Is it safe in terms of SEO ? Do i have any SEO benefits? let me know. Thanks
Link Building | | EchoMartinez1 -
Looking for a dedicated Backlinks/Disavow Platform
Hi Guys, Can anyone recommend a good backlinks program. One which is able to detect spammy backlinks and which has a disavow feature. I've tried Monitor Backlinks, Would appreciate any further suggestions. Priorities are ability to monitor new links and their value, loss of links, link opportunities, with the ability to create recommended opportunity lists and disavow files - ideal if can be used in some way for client reporting also - dashboard or pdf etc. Help with access to contract link builders (perhaps star rated for quality and efficacy) to go after the opportunity lists also a bonus etc. Basically what are people using out there and really liking!? NB: we use moz for some stuff and have a mix of other tools available but nothing seems to be really nailing this for us. Thanks!!
Link Building | | OnlineAssetPartners0 -
How to analyze a backlink
My site has around 6k backlinks, which majority seem to be spammy. I understand the whole process to contact the webmaster, try to get them removed, and disavow them if you cannot get them deleted. 1. What are some main signs of spotting domains that generate negative SEO? 2. Time frame to clean up 6k links assuming 50% are bad? Currently we are looking are a service to take care of this for us, but from reading everything online it seems the only reliable way to do it would be manually. Any recommendations on this would be appreciated.
Link Building | | TITOJAX0 -
Does backlinks in images equal naked backlinks?
I've discovered few backlinks in images came from websites points to my home page. What is the value of these links?
Link Building | | Eslam-yosef0 -
Linked on a mobile app, is it a backlink?
Hey there, My blog was linked on some named Prismatic that is a content aggregation app, and I have views from there. How are those link named? Is there any juice maybe? 😛 Good day,
Link Building | | Kokolo0 -
The Race for Backlinks
I see that this question hasn't been addressed in 2013 and while reviewing my SEOMoz stats, my competition continues to beat me up in the backlink department. I'm wondering if anyone has advice as to how to build those backlinks without Penguin penalty. I want to do it right and I think that's why I can't win this race against my competitors who I see have backlinks on all sorts of sites that are not related to our business. Thanks in advance for the advice!
Link Building | | Debe0 -
How long before backlinks take effect?
In general how long would it take for Google to update the SERP after it found the external link activity? Does it depend on the website the link is on as? So for example, after it found a link on the BBC would the SERP update a lot quicker then after a link on a small blog? Maybe Google updates on a certain day?
Link Building | | activitysuper0 -
Creating Backlinks On Behalf of Client
I'm on my first SEO project with a law firm. I'm at the stage where I am doing competitive backlink research on other law firms that my client gave me. I saw a blog site called typepad. It has a high domain authority so I was going to recommend to my client that they set up an account and blog away! Since it's a law firm, I am not qualified to start blogging on behalf of my client and I know they are extremely busy so now I have to "ride" my client to get busy and start creating content. I feel like I want to do more for them on the blog side to keep things going but not having a law background, probably not doable. Question: Do most SEO's do the blogging for their clients, farm it out or keep pushing their clients to do it? I also want them to sign up with articlebase but the same thing is going to happen. I have to push them to write articles. I guess this is my job? -Bob
Link Building | | Czubmeister0