What is unnatural links? I got unnatural links message from Google
Google Web Spam Head Matt Cutts released a new video (11-Feb-2013) in order to answer the question asked by one of webmaster.
Dbizzle from Los Angeles asked an interesting question about “How do we know what are unnatural links pointing to our domain?”
“Google Webmaster Tool says I have “Unnatural Links”, but give little help as to which specific links are bad. Since I have never purchased links, I don’t know which one to have removed, and I’m scared of removing good ones, which will hurt my traffic. Suggestions?”
Dbizzle, Los Angeles
What is unnatural links?
First of all I would like to tell you all that Google recently started sharing information about your bad links in Google Webmaster account (in the form of e-mail).
Normally unnatural links (or backlinks) are
- Paid Links
- Links from banned site or Adult sites
- Links from link exchange network sites
If anyone of you has received such e-mails then you must want to know which links are unnatural as e-mail doesn’t tell you about exact links that Google don’t like on your back link profile.
Matt suggested two ways on how to find unnatural links to your site.
Latest
Back Link analysis
Matt suggested that, Google Webmaster Tool have provided to download your latest website backlink analysis. This functionality provides your links and date when Google have discovered these links.
Now you can check your backlinks around the date on which you received ‘Unnatural Backlink’ e-mail from Google.
It will help you to find bunch of backlinks that may be on radar. You can analyze those links and sources and then removed the links that you think are unnatural or bad links.
Future e-mail will
contain example of backlinks
Matt has given a hint that soon they will roll out a change, once this change will be rolled out then all the ‘unnatural back link’ e-mail will have the example of ‘back links’ as well. These example will help you to find bad or unnatural backlinks within your back link profile.
Why Google telling us
which links are bad directly?
Now my question to Matt is, “why Google is not listing down all the bad (or unnatural) back links within the unnatural back link e-mails as it help blog/website owner to remove unnatural links”.
Why they are sending only example of bad links? Why not list of bad links?
Right now I don’t have any answer to my questions but my assumption is Google is not sharing exact bad links URL as it can help to webmaster/SEO to distinguish between natural and unnatural link logic of Google and they can plan their back link process accordingly to manipulate their client’s ranking.