How To Spot Phishy Websites And Avoid Getting Spammy Backlinks
There are few things in life as sweet as a genuine link from a trusted website. But spammy backlinks can sink your website’s SEO. You see, Google doesn’t take kindly to websites that try to trick it by linking to each other for the sake of gaining search engine ranking benefits. This is why so many people have fallen foul of Google’s Penguin update and its subsequent updates, which took down several websites because they had been tricked into giving one another backlinks. These days, you can find plenty of phishy sites out there that offer up backlink services that seem legit at first glance but actually carry hidden risks. So in this blog post, we’ll be looking at how you can spot phishy websites and avoid getting spammy backlinks.
What is a phishy website?
A phishy website is a website that offers to link to your site in exchange for something in return. A “link exchange” is where one website links to another in return for the other linking back to them. The term “link exchange” has now evolved to include “link promoting” where one website offers to promote another website in exchange for the other website promoting theirs. This is generally referred to as “pay for backlinks” and is an illegal practice. A phishy website is also a website that asks for your email address, name, address and/or a link in exchange for something. Phishy sites may ask you to sign up for an account, like their page, follow them on social media or leave a comment in exchange for a backlink. They may even ask you to download software that turns out to be malware. The bottom line is, if you have to “do” or “give” something in exchange for a backlink, it’s a bad deal.
Spotting Phishy Websites
- Is the website asking for something in return for a backlink?
- Does the website have a “get a backlink” or “link exchange” form?
- Does the website promise to send a lot of visitors to your website in exchange for a backlink?
- Is the website asking you to sign up for an account or leave a comment or like something in exchange for a backlink?
- Does the website look spammy?
- Is the website using poor grammar?
- Does the website have a funny domain TLD like .info?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be dealing with a phishy website.
The risks of getting a backlink from a phishy site
The problem with getting a backlink from a phishy site is that the link may get you penalized by Google. This is because Google doesn’t like it when people try to manipulate it and get an “unnatural” link. If you get a backlink from a phishy website, you risk getting penalized by Google. This can seriously harm your website’s ranking, so it’s crucial that you avoid backlinks from phishy sites. If you get a backlink from a phishy website, the website “spamming” you may report your website to Google as being “spammy” because you’ve reciprocated the link. In other words, they may tell Google that you’ve asked them to link back to you and Google may then penalize your website. This is because you’ve been caught “gaming” the system. A phishy backlink can also be used to deceive people into visiting your website. Many phishy websites use backlinks from other phishy sites to boost their search engine rankings. They do this by getting other phishy websites to link to them in exchange for them linking back to them. This means that the phishy websites boost each other’s search engine rankings because the links are coming from trusted websites. When someone types in a keyword, the phishy websites are at the top of the page because they’ve been boosted by the trusted websites. This means that people will visit the phishy websites instead of your website. This can seriously harm your business because it means that people won’t visit your website.
An SEO Tool like aHrefs can sort out all of your backs links in domain authority order. DA is basically the “respect level” of a website. Anything with a zero DA should be checked out and flagged after your inspect it and deem it a junk website.
How to tell if the website you’re looking at is phishy
If you’re not sure whether the website you’re looking at is phishy, there are a few things you can do to find out. – Does the website have a .com address? – Does the website have a .net address? – Does the website have an “about us” page? – Does the website have a privacy policy? – Does the website have a terms of service? If the website has all of these things, it could be a phishy website. Since phishy websites often have fake or falsified details, it’s best to steer clear of them.
Tips for avoiding spammy and phishy backlinks
If you don’t want to risk getting a spammy backlink, there are a few things you can do. – Avoid exchanging links with untrustworthy websites. – Don’t ask websites to exchange links with you. – Don’t sign up for accounts in exchange for backlinks. – Don’t comment in exchange for backlinks. – Don’t like a page in exchange for a backlink. – Don’t download software in exchange for a backlink. – Don’t visit a website in exchange for a backlink. – Don’t respond to an email in exchange for a backlink. If you want a genuine backlink that won’t harm your ranking, avoid phishy websites by following these tips.
Conclusion
A phishy website offers to exchange a backlink for something in return, like signing up for an account, downloading software or leaving a comment or social media like. If you think a website may be phishy, check to see if it has a .com or .net address, see if it has an “about us” page, look for a privacy policy and terms of service and avoid exchanging links with untrustworthy websites.