Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Backlink from foreign language websites good for SEO
-
I was wondering if backlinks from foreign language webistes can help me in ranking?
For example: I ve got website in slovak language and I would place article with backlink on the foreign language website. In which language should be the text surrounding the keyword?
-
So my perspective is similar to what everyone else here is saying, but I still feel like I can add something to the conversation.
If you believe that the future of links has to do with co-citations (as described by Rand in this WBF) then language HAS to be a factor.
We already knew that anchor text was being devalued, but the words surrounding that anchor text will also have an effect.
Having said all that, those links would still signal some kind of authority, right? For example, CNET probably has links from 50 different languages. As long as the sites are authoritative that has to be a positive signal on some level.
I'd say, as long as the link doesn't cost you anything, go for it. It won't hurt. And if you write a great landing page in Italian it could be a good long-term investment.
-
No, our market is almost exclusively non-Italian. I see where you're coming from with the idea of translating certain pages into Italian, but only something like 0.01% of our clients are Italian, so -- at this stage -- I'm not sure it's worth it.
-
Are you targeting the Italian market? If yes, then this link is valuable to you since your business happens in Italy. It's also perfectly natural.
But either way, you might want to consider having at least some main pages translated to Italian if that's where your business is. Also, it would give you a nicer landing page to point the Italian link to.
-
Similarish-question to Jozef Majda:
I run website about Italian real estate that's written in English (and 99.99% of the links are in English). I have the opportunity to get a link on a partner's Italian-language website, where whatever anchor text she chooses will be in Italian. Is this of any use to me?
-
Think about it like this. The average visitor to your site is going to speak Slovak, right? If you link to a page in English, or Russian, or Urdu, or whatever, the search engines have to make a judgment call about the likelihood that a visitor to your page will find that linked page valuable. My guess is that they would value a link to a page written in a similar language or English more than a link to a page written in a very different language because the average visitor to your site speaks Slovak, probably has some knowledge of related languages, and might also be able to read English, but they probably aren't able to read Kazakh or Spanish.
The reason I say that is that Google knows that my site, for example, is written in English, but that I talk a lot about French and German, so there's a good chance that people that visit my site have at least a passing knowledge of those languages, so if I write a blog post about a new German movie and then link to a review of it in German, I would guess that that link would pass more equity than if I linked to a review in Chinese because a link to a Chinese review holds no value for my average visitor.
-
there is definitely less value in foreign language links. it depends a bit on the language though. if the links are czech it's not as bad since that happens quite often naturally. the main point is that the main amount of links should come from the language you want to rank for.
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
-
Backlinking Strategy
I am particularly new to the field of SEO and Backlinking and I have recently started my own blog feel free to have a look (https://thehorseradar.com/). What I wanted to find out is how can I achieve a DA of at least 30. What should be my link-building strategy? & what steps should I take first? With an abundance of overwhelming info available online I have gotten really confused about what would work and what would not. If someone would lay out the steps needed to be taken, I would be extremely grateful! Thank You
Link Building | | haris3131 -
Are Sidebar Backlinks worth for SEO?
Hello! Let's use the following example: I have a blog (let's call it Blog A) and I find another blog in the same niche (this will be Blog B) that has higher DA and PA than mine. Will Google penalize me if the Blog B puts a link to my blog in their sidebar? Remember, the Blog A and Blog B are from the same niche. I ask this because Google says that links on sidebars appears in every page and in some pages the link may be useless. But if both blogs are from the same niche, there won't be pages where the links will be from different themes and with less relevance. So, is my thought correct: we can use sidebar links without caring about penalization ONLY if the blogs are from the same niche? Thanks in advance!
Link Building | | btqkelvin0 -
What are the SEO implications of high quality backlinks from US-based websites to UK-based websites?
Hi everyone, quick question I hope someone could help me with: We're representing a client based in the UK. As part of their overall strategy we've been linkbuilding. At the moment, about 80/90% of the links we've gained come from UK-based sites, with 10/20% coming from US-based websites. The US based websites are very good (think New York Times and genuine, relevant blogs with good readerships). An external search analyst/consultant has contacted the client to say that the US links will be harming the site, because the links are from websites in the US and not the UK. We believe that if 80/90% of the links were from the US this could indeed cause harm as it could indicate to search engines that our client is in the US when it's not (which might compromise their chance of ranking in .co.uk versions of search engines) however because it's only 10/20%, and because the linking sites are very good, we believe that they will getting all of the benefits of the positive metrics without any meaningful negatives. We just wanted to get a few opinions on this to see if people think that we're mistaken, and would be glad to hear any opinions contrary to our own.
Link Building | | GoUp0 -
Back link from site with DA of 72 to a website domain. Clicking on the link redirects to our website not the attended one.
Hi,
Link Building | | JIMBO16
I've ran a back link check and discovered a good back link to a site which then gets redirected back to my company's website. I have a feeling that an old SEO agency has purchased a small website which has a decent link back from a relevant organisation with a high Domain authority and then redirects the domain to our website to get the link juice. What are your thought on this? Is this really bad practise and possibly damaging? Thanks, Jim0 -
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 -
Creating A Scholarship For SEO
My client is a Law Firm just outside of Tampa, and I am trying to get her keyword phrase: "Tampa Car Accident Attorney" in the top 3. One of the strategies I want to use is to create a scholarship for "Tampa Area Students and how a car accident impacted their life" or "Tampa Area Students and how they think they can decrease car accidents." (that's still be worked on). Once the scholarship is created, I want to put it on our Tampa Car Accident Attorney page, and get other companies to link to that page. My question is what links should we go after? Because that will tailor it to who we give the scholarship to. We could give it to a University of South Florida student, and get one .edu link. We could do the same thing for the University of Tampa, or Stetson Law School, but we'd only be getting one link from each of them. If we set it up for high schoolers, we can get more links from the community and schools, but I'm not sure high school .edu links matter all that much. Is 10 high school .edu links as important as 1 college .edu link? I don't know. If anyone has had an experience with this or any insights, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
Link Building | | KempRugeLawGroup1 -
How to save links from an old website when building a new website even if the site map changes?
I have a client that needs a new website with better navigation, etc. The site has been up for a number of years and has backlinks that I would like to keep when building the new site in WordPress.
Link Building | | Doug_Hay0 -
Are backlinks to a domain that redirects useless?
I am working on trying to get backlinks. We are currently redirecting a few Domains to our current domain name. One of the Domains that is redirecting is the main Domain, we will be advertising in the near future. Can I send backlinks to the redirected URL or does it only carry link juice if it is to the main Domain?
Link Building | | hfranz0