Bad Links That Can Get You Penalized by Google

Discussion Forums 

While some reputable discussion forums can still be utilized for building good links, it is important to stay far away from spammy sites. If they don’t have enough relevant content, and the site has been created for the sole purpose of link building, Google will know and your site may be penalized for it.

Press Release Links

While press releases are designed to be used by businesses and individuals to make announcements to reporters and news editors, many marketing professionals use them to build links. Since anyone can publish a press release, it was easy to embed a link within the page, while having it seem legitimate. However, this tactic was used very often, and now Google considers such links to be a scheme. 

Foreign Guestbooks

Many people use foreign guestbooks as a place to input automatically generated links to websites. While one or two links from foreign guestbook may not break your site, it can look suspicious. If there is any doubt, then it is best to avoid it all together. 

Private Blog Networks 

Private Blog Networks, also known as PBNs, were a favorite for generating links. Google has now adapted and can detect the majority of PBNs, so try to avoid using this outdated technique. 

Directory Submission Services 

There are plenty of legitimate business directories available online. Linking to these sites can improve your search engine optimization. Yet, thousands of directories have been created to house nothing but links. These sites are often used by low cost “link building” service providers with the promise of boosting your search ranking, but this is misleading. Google will instantly recognize a fake directory submission and will be more likely to target your URL. Take the time to submit your links to proven, popular directories like Google My Business, Bing Places, Yahoo Local, Yelp, Foursquare or the Yellow Pages. 

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