Google recently updated its Link Spam and this has changed how the search engine identifies and rewards affiliate sites. What prompted this update was Google’s need to always promote quality products and service reviews in their results, and to combat spam.
Let’s dive into the concept of what link spam is;
When people are searching for various things online, Google wants them to always get the best result, and to get the desired results they want, they use different quality signals. A backlink is one of those quality signals; however some sites make use of questionable backlinks to manipulate their rankings. These questionable backlinks are known as link spams.
As an affiliate marketer, this new update would allow google to determine trustworthy and reputable to come up during a search. Therefore, Google rewards sites that provide the best information which provides a better experience for both affiliates and their visitors.
How do you know if the link spam update is affecting your site?
- Reduced traffic: One of the ways you can determine whether the link spam update is affecting you is by checking your organic traffic between July 2021 and mid-August 2021. If it reduced drastically, your site was likely affected by the update.
- Google Penalties via Google Search Console: If you got a mail stating that you have received a penalty for posting irrelevant content, there is a possibility that there’s a link spam.
- Lower Overall SERP(Search Engine Result Page) Ranking: If you saw a drop in your organic site ranking, this means that your SERP has taken a hit too.
How can affiliates make use of the guidelines provided by Google to reduce link spam?
It’s important to note that any affiliate site can easily be affected by this update. However, certain guidelines and measures can be followed to avoid it.
- Avoid posting irrelevant contents be it images or texts. Also, avoid speaking content from other sources.
- Focus on your niche and use sponsored link tags.
- Stop buying backlinks in exchange for certain services.
- Check your sites and clear all harmful links.
Following Google’s best practices would save you from unnecessary troubles and also allow your sites to be more visible to visitors.