Beware Spam SEO Campaigns and Those Who Promote Them!

In the past, backlinks, or links to other websites, were the gold standard of SEO for San Diego professionals.  It seemed at one time that every Web Design Company in San Diego was focused on creating backlinks for customers.  The result was that Google and other search engines quickly discovered that this technique was being abused, and began searching for other methods to accurately rank websites in search engine results.

Today, according to Google employees, backlinks are much less impactful than in previous years.  Link signals are still used, but link building campaigns have largely been disavowed by SEO professionals, and Google has taken further steps to completely eliminate the reach of certain types of linking, such as directory or paid links, that are more likely to be abused.  The result is that link campaigns are largely a thing of the past, and those who promote them are often not serving their clients’ best interests.

Links Are Not Completely Gone!

However, it would be a mistake to think that links have no place in a strong SEO campaign.  On the contrary, links are the primary way that Google’s web crawlers discover web pages.  Instead of totally ignoring links, professional SEO firms instead try to communicate with similar sites to encourage collaboration, particularly on topics of importance to the online audience. 

Further, Google has created a way of ranking the quality of links that point to a particular site, and take this into consideration when analyzing a site’s communication methods.  A link graph is used to help the search engine picture the natural links created from interaction as well as the possible spammy links that should be disregarded.

How Can I Protect My Site From Spammy Linking Practices?

There are several steps you can take to ensure that your website is not seen by Google as engaging in questionable liking practices:

●       First, be sure that your SEO professional operates using accepted best-practice procedures.  This includes avoiding link harvesting and creating multiple low-quality back links to your site.  If you have questions about your SEO company’s linking practices, be sure to ask them.

●       Next, examine the links generated in the report you should receive from your SEO professional each month.  Look for high-quality links to well-known, major websites in your area of business.  These are the types of links that will give you the most impact on your rankings.

●       Finally, choose an SEO professional with a trusted reputation.  Almost anyone can call themselves an “SEO expert,” but that does not mean that they follow best practices.  Be sure to choose an SEO company in San Diego that listens to your concerns, answers your questions, and is transparent about their plans for your website.

Calidatech has been in the business of helping San Diego companies create and manage profitable websites for decades.  We employ only the best SEO practices and frequently update our strategy based on guidance from the search engine companies about what constitutes best practices.  To learn more, give us a call today.  We are waiting to help you with your unique SEO needs!