Have you received warning signals from Google about unnatural links? In that case, there are probably good reasons your inbound links looks artificial rather than ‘genuinely earned’.

In this post, SEO Specialist discusses a few of the most obvious and some less apparent unnatural link building methods, what distinguish unnatural links from trusted backlinks and some small hints how to rather work with your link building. Here we go:

Example 1: Keyword snuffing with exact match anchors

Too many exact match anchor texts in incoming links for competitive keywords can often be a clear indication of manipulation attempts. SEO Specialist’s have found that some verticals are more affected than others when it comes to penalization for repeated incoming links with identical anchors.

What to do instead? Focus on exact URL’s you want to promote to relevant target groups and make use of your brand name.

Example 2: No relevance or connection between sites?

Do your site have anything in common with the website referring to you? Think location and consider subjects used and mentioned. If the topic is totally irrelevant, the link might do more harm than benefit.

What to do instead? Focus on relevant sites for link building.

Example 3: High percentage of links from new domains

A high percentage of links from newly indexed domains, typically less than 6 months old, could be an obvious target. However, it seems like that is not the case yet and getting links from new domains still works well in some verticals. If some type of algorithmic penalization will appear within short wouldn’t surprise me.

What to do instead? Create links from both old and new sites, with focus on the more established ones.

Example 4: Peaks followed by wide gaps in incoming links

If there are wide gaps between when you get incoming links it could be a signal that something is not fully legitimate. If your site quickly gets 1000’s of links one month and zero links for several months in a row, the search engines might believe at least some of links are not fully deserved.

What to do instead? Try to get a somewhat continuous pace of new links.

Example 5: Only linking to one site, multiple times

A common type of unnatural links are when your site receives multiple links from one site without being defensible. This often occurs in connection with keyword snuffing in incoming anchor text and the links often follows in one or two sentences. Articles of this type are commonly below 400 words.

What to do instead? Build links naturally.

Example 6: Unnatural no follow anchor text

If you link building methods heavily rely on using [competitive keywords] in incoming anchor texts instead of [Your Name], it’s obvious that the link building techniques are unnatural.

What to do instead? Use your own real name when commenting on blogs and articles.

Example 7: Do you have unusual link placements?

Does a majority of your incoming links come from footers and blog-rolls? With exception from a genuine industry blogs, it can be unnatural to have a majority of site wide links from blogs about unrelated topics. Footer links are usually an even more obvious sign that the links are automated and not genuinely put there. Genuine and trusted links http://www.seospecialist.co.uk/school/links/trusted-links/ on the other hand are often mentioned in content.

What to do instead?Try getting all-natural links with varied anchor text that does not scream ‘bought’.