What are toxic links, and should you be afraid of them?
Toxic backlinks are either low-quality backlinks or backlinks intended to manipulate search engine rankings.
Google considers such links a breach of its so-called Webmaster Guidelines. As an SEO specialist, you should therefore focus more on the quality of links than the quantity to avoid falling rankings or penalties.
Here are some examples of toxic links:
- Links from domains that have nothing to do with your own website.
- Links from domains whose sole purpose is link building.
- Links from domains that aren't indexed on Google.
- Links that spam comment sections on websites.
- Links from a link network, which often all share the same IP address/anchor texts/domain.
- Links from porn and gambling sites.
Here, for example, SEMrush's Backlink Audit identified no fewer than 4,078 backlinks on our client's website, which had been hit by spam links over a long period. As you can see in the image, a good share of them were pornographic in nature, in other words: toxic! Many of them also came from the same IP addresses, and they all arrived within a short period.
How does a link become toxic, and how can you spot toxic links yourself?
There are various reasons why a link becomes toxic.
1. Low-authority sites
Domains with very low authority usually provide low-quality links too. These may be sites that aren't indexed at all or sites with a non-existent backlink profile. They may also be sites about porn/gambling etc.
A good way to check a domain's authority is to use a tool like Ahrefs or SEMrush, where you simply enter the website in the tool, and it will show a DR (domain rating). If the domain's rating is below 10, the domain/link needs reviewing, and you should look into whether it should be removed.
2. Mirror sites
These can be several copies or clones of websites (with different URLs) that all link to your website. They usually use exactly the same anchor text, have the same page structure etc.
Google will regard these as duplicate pages whose sole purpose is to build a larger link profile for the domain they link to.
3. Private blog networks (PBN)
A PBN is a method where you build and maintain a collection of websites whose sole purpose is to create backlinks to other websites, typically old, expired domains that are bought up and restored.
Many SEO specialists will argue that Google will never detect a PBN. However, Google has been actively tracking down PBNs for many years and has penalised sites as far back as 2014. In the end, Google will catch PBNs, and its penalties can be quite devastating for a website's rankings.
How can toxic links affect your SEO?
Now you know what a toxic link is and what makes it toxic, but how does Google actually detect toxic links?
1. Manual actions for toxic links
If your website gets too many toxic links, Google can take manual action to penalise your website. Google has a dedicated team that keeps an eye on spam links and on whether websites break its Webmaster Guidelines.
Your website may be targeted for a manual penalty if:
- Your competitors keep reporting your website for spam links.
- Google's algorithm spots something irregular in your website's backlink profile.
- Some niches are known for having spam links. If your website falls into this category, there's a high risk of a manual penalty.
2. Your website is spotted by the algorithm
As opposed to manual actions, Google's search engine also uses its crawlers to scan websites for toxic links. If the crawlers spot too many toxic links pointing to your website, it can impose an algorithmic penalty.
When Google imposes an algorithmic penalty, you get no warning. So you have to track down the problem yourself to get the website back into the search results. But remember that it isn't necessarily toxic links that have caused your website's penalty. Google uses around 200 factors to rank websites, so there can be many reasons why your website has been penalised.
Just as with a manual action penalty, your website is removed from the SERP until the problem is fixed. So you need to go through your website step by step with a sharp SEO eye and review any changes made to the site to find and fix the problem.
Here are some of the things you can do to avoid being penalised by Google's algorithm in future:
- Identify and take action against toxic backlinks.
- Continuously add informative content and relevant keywords to the website.
- Do organic outreach link building.
What should you do about toxic backlinks?
If you discover a toxic link or a link network, it's a good idea to use Google's disavow tool, which you can find here.
Here, you upload a .txt file listing the toxic links (or domains).
The formatting should look like this:
Where does link building stand in 2022?
As mentioned earlier, Google has repeatedly documented in recent years how its algorithm has become better at identifying toxic links, and it claims the search engine can ignore low-quality links as well as toxic links.
The team at Ahrefs put this to the test back in December 2021, when they simply tried disavowing ALL 3,476 backlinks to three of their biggest blog posts.
The aim of the study was to test whether links actually affected rankings. Interestingly, they immediately saw a drop in traffic and rankings for the three blog posts: one of them lost 18% of its search traffic, and some of their rankings fell from 1st to 4th place.
This study shows how much your backlink profile can matter for your website. Just think what a strong backlink profile could do if it were your website sitting in fourth place with good content and a strong technical profile, but no backlink profile.
So do we even need to use the disavow tool in 2022?
Just because Google claims its algorithm can tell the difference between low-quality and toxic links doesn't mean we should throw in the towel.
You could easily get that impression, though, when the topic is debated so much. A Twitter poll from January 2021 showed that 32% of respondents no longer considered disavows an important tool. Another 42% felt it depends on the situation. I can understand that.
Personally, having worked with backlink profiles for several years, I think we should keep an eye on our backlink profiles on an ongoing basis and use the disavow tool if a profile is in really bad shape.
After all, we can't ignore the fact that there are plenty of spam links out there, and even though Google is getting better at spotting them, we also need to keep an eye on how our backlink profile develops to avoid manual actions. If, for example, you see a link network or mirror pages linking to your site, it's a good idea to upload them to the disavow page, so you make sure they're ignored rather than blindly trusting Google's algorithm.
But be careful! The disavow tool should be used with care. As Google itself puts it:
This is an advanced feature and should only be used with caution. If used incorrectly, this feature can potentially harm your site’s performance in Google Search results.
One thing is certain: if you're not 100% sure whether a link could harm your website, just don't disavow it.
Get help identifying toxic links
Does identifying and disavowing toxic links sound too complicated? At Amplify, we're an SEO agency specialising in link building and SEO best practices. So if you're worried about your website's backlink profile, don't hesitate to contact us.
FAQ: toxic backlinks
What are toxic backlinks?
Toxic backlinks are poison for your SEO. They are backlinks that are low quality or intended to manipulate rankings on Google.
How do I remove toxic backlinks?
If you've discovered one or more toxic backlinks, you can submit them for removal via Google Search Console. You need to upload a .txt file with the toxic domains.
Why do toxic backlinks affect SEO?
If you have a lot of toxic backlinks, you risk Google penalising you and your rankings. It does this if it judges that your website breaks its Webmaster Guidelines.
