In the present digital age, maintaining the reputation of your brand is of utmost importance. A significant 63.6% of consumers rely on Google reviews before engaging with a business, and 35% consider "trust in brand" as a primary factor when choosing a retailer. Managing your reputation has become a crucial component of any digital strategy due to the potential for lost sales and severe damage to your brand's image.
Even if you actively take positive steps such as promoting positive reviews, addressing negative feedback, and closely monitoring mentions, there is still a risk of damaging your reputation or acquiring a negative one through improper linking practices. It's not just individuals who may form a negative perception of your brand; the presence of harmful backlinks can also harm your ranking on search engines.
However, there's no need to worry, as we are here to assist you. In this article, we will explore how detrimental link building can undermine your reputation and provide effective measures to ensure its untarnished state. But before we delve into that, let's examine how external sources can impact the credibility and reputation of your website.
How External Links Contribute to Enhancing Your Domain Authority
You may already have an understanding of the connection between backlinks and search engine optimization (SEO). However, if you need a quick refresher or are new to the concept, take a moment to read the following information (but don't forget to come back).
External links play a significant role in shaping your SEO strategy, particularly through their impact on domain authority. This impact can be positive or negative.
To explain further, when a webpage receives a substantial number of incoming links, it has the potential to enhance its PageRank. Google interprets this as a signal that the content on that page holds strong authority, which can subsequently have a positive impact on its ranking in search engine results.
Moreover, the quality of the links also influences your domain's ranking. Google assigns different weights to incoming links based on the reputation of the websites they originate from. For example, an incoming link from a government agency or a reputable university indicates to the search engine that your content is trustworthy, resulting in an improved ranking.
Developing a Negative Reputation via Link Building
Unfortunately, the world of backlinks isn't always filled with positivity and pleasant experiences. In fact, an inappropriate incoming link can have detrimental effects on both your ranking and reputation.
Now, let's explore how your link-building endeavors could potentially result in negative outcomes for you or your clients.
1. Revealing Your Identity as a Link Builder or Engagement with a Spam Agency
This advisory is specifically aimed at agencies that engage in impersonal and mass link request practices.
These types of link request programs often involve sending numerous requests to the same website owners on behalf of multiple clients.
It goes without saying that if website owners become annoyed by such requests, they have the ability to take action. They may choose to publicly mention the details of the company involved, including the name of the link requester, agency, and client, in a blog post.
Moreover, frustrated webmasters can report these agencies to spam denylists. Platforms like Domain Name Systems Blacklist (DNSBL) maintain lists that include the agency in question and any associated clients. By simply searching on their website, one can easily find a compilation of well-known agencies and their client base.
If your business revolves around generating links for clients and you find yourself listed on one of these denylists, it can lead to significant issues.
2. Links Associated with Unfavorable Neighborhoods
We often come across advice recommending the avoidance of obtaining links from unfavorable sources. While it may appear straightforward to steer clear of these "bad neighborhoods" during link building, sometimes it becomes inevitable.
Let's consider the example of blog commenting. You come across a blog where you leave a comment, casually including a link to your website. Initially, everything seems fine. However, upon returning to check on your comment, you discover that it has been flagged as spam.
Now, if a potential client were to come across these comments, they would hesitate to click on any links within the page, assuming they are all spam-related—including yours.
In the case of WordPress blog owners, they have an additional option. When they identify a comment as spam, they can utilize spam filter programs to mark it as such. This action adds the website's URL to a database, preventing comments containing that URL from being published on other WordPress blogs.
This means that if a client hires a link building service and their URL ends up being added to the spam database, the client will typically be unknowingly blocked from posting comments.
Now, imagine this scenario: You stumble upon the perfect blog where the ideal audience is actively engaging, and leaving a well-placed comment could bring significant benefits to your business. However, you encounter a roadblock as you are unable to include your URL in the comment due to a spammer who has polluted the comment section.
As a result, you miss out on a valuable opportunity solely because of someone else's spam-related activities.
3. Excessive Directory Submissions and Their Impact on Your Reputation
Web directories still have the potential to impact your search engine ranking positively, although their significance has diminished over the past two decades. Nonetheless, they can still play a minor role as a ranking factor, especially for local search results.
A reputable and relevant directory within your industry can be a valuable source of traffic and trust. However, it's crucial to recognize that not all directories offer equal benefits.
To be straightforward, many directories, and possibly the majority, are either ineffective in improving your ranking or, in the worst-case scenario, can actively damage it. This is primarily due to the prevalence of spam within these directories.
If you have submitted your website to be listed on one of these spam-filled directories, search engines will devalue the relevance and credibility of your site.
Remember the concept of "bad neighborhoods" that I mentioned earlier? Well, this situation with spam-filled directories is another manifestation of that.
4. Misleading the Client's Representation
Conversely, when an agency includes their client's domain in their email communications or requests, they essentially present themselves as representatives of that client.
Now, envision yourself as a website owner, receiving an onslaught of spammy requests from a company you hold dear. Or imagine your blog being flooded with spam originating from a brand you genuinely admire, seemingly sent by someone who appears to be affiliated with the company. Undoubtedly, your perception of that brand would suffer a considerable decline, wouldn't it?
Impacting Your Reputation Negatively According to Search Evaluators
Until now, our primary focus has been on the impact of negative links on your relationship with search engines. However, it is equally important to consider another aspect of your website's reputation: the experience of real users, including Google search evaluators.
When evaluating the E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) of your site, these evaluators consider your external reputation as well.
To assess your website's authority, these evaluators rely on various third-party sources to monitor customer concerns and complaints. Platforms like Yelp, Amazon Customer Reviews, and Facebook Ratings and Reviews help them gain insights into the typical customer experience.
If they perceive your site to have low authority based on these external sources, they can flag it as a low-quality result, even if Google's algorithm has initially ranked it highly.
Preserving Your Reputation Unscathed
Now that you understand the risks associated with low-quality backlinks and their impact on your reputation, it's crucial to learn how to protect your reputation during the link-building process. Here are a few straightforward recommendations:
1. Avoid bulk spamming: Steer clear of indiscriminate mass link requests. Instead, focus on personalized and targeted outreach efforts.
2. Exercise caution with link placement: Avoid placing your links on websites that have a reputation for receiving excessive spam. Choose reputable sites that align with your content's context.
3. Personalize link requests: Take the time to personalize each link request and ensure that the requested link is relevant and appropriate for the targeted website. This demonstrates genuine interest and respect for the site owner.
4. Engage with blog posts: Read blog posts within your niche and provide valuable comments that contribute to the discussion. This helps build relationships and establishes your credibility within the community.
5. Disavow bad links: Regularly review your backlink profile and identify any low-quality or spammy links. Utilize the disavow tool provided by search engines to indicate that you want these links to be disregarded when assessing your website's reputation.
By following these simple suggestions, you can minimize the risks of developing a negative reputation while engaging in link-building activities.
Steer clear of taking shortcuts.
Building links requires effort, much like developing your brand reputation.
It's important to remember that for many individuals, their first interaction with your brand occurs when they encounter it in search engine results. If your brand doesn't appear in those results, you'll miss out on valuable exposure.
Therefore, it is crucial to approach your linking strategy with care and avoid being reckless or hasty.
Instead, be intentional and thoughtful in your actions, ensuring that you pursue high-quality backlinks that will have a positive impact on your search ranking rather than a negative one.
By exercising caution and dedicating the necessary effort, you can cultivate the desired links while maintaining the integrity of your reputation.
