Over the years, many questionable SEO tactics have become very popular, only to end up being directly penalized by Google. Sitewide links are the perfect example of this cycle. At Big Red SEO, we feel by learning more about this strategy and why Google doesn’t like it, you’ll be able to understand how SEO myths spread and why it’s so important to be careful about who you go to for SEO advice.
Understanding Why Google Doesn’t Like Sitewide Links
In Google’s Quality Guidelines documents, Google explicitly says that “any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.” If you think about most sitewide links, those sentences describe them perfectly.
While there are situations where it may make sense to have one or two sitewide links, what often makes these links especially unnatural is they contain keyword stuffed anchor text. So instead of one Omaha business linking to another using the actual business name, the link will be attached to a spammy keyword phrase.
If your site has multiple sitewide links pointing to it and you haven’t already been penalized, you should look into this issue as soon as possible. You probably won’t have to take any action if there are only a few links and they use your Omaha business name. But if there are dozens or even hundreds of sitewide links pointing to your site that use the same keyword phrases as anchor text, it’s probably going to be necessary to get many of them changed or removed.
A Great Lesson About the Pitfalls of Bad SEO
The biggest SEO mistake that individuals and companies make is only thinking about the short-term. However, since attempts at short-term gains can ultimately harm the long-term success of an Omaha business website, it’s vital to look at the bigger picture. By focusing on strategies like proper optimization, fixing technical problems and consistently producing & sharing great content, businesses can improve their online presence in a way that won’t harm them in the future.
Big Red SEO is a Local SEO Company You Can Trust: (402) 522-6468
Regardless of what stage you’re at with promoting your Omaha business online, there’s always room to improve the amount of targeted traffic your website receives and how many of those visitors are converted into customers. At Big Red SEO, we’re committed to using proven strategies to help businesses attract more clients. If you want to ensure that all your SEO is done in a way that Google approves of, give us a call today at (402) 522-6468 to discuss what we can do for you.