So Google has sent you the dreaded “Unnatural Links” warning message. It may seem relatively docile at first, but you click on the email and find yourself bombarded with threats of compromised rankings, total Google banishment and deadly plagues upon your children and your children’s children. You have worked way too hard to watch your online business collapse under the weight of Google’s merciless wrath, so what can you do to prevent disaster? For years I have been helping small businesses and Fortune 500 companies alike to maintain and reclaim their good names in the online sphere, and I completely understand the frustration and the trepidation that you’re feeling.
Why Is This Happening?
Once upon a time, Google built a ranking algorithm based on inbound linking patterns. Sites with a greater number of links were considered to be of greater authority, and were therefore graced with prominent search engine rankings. Before long, though, people began to realize that the secret to search engine supremacy was to simply generate as many inbound links as possible. So Google began weighing link value according to quality. One-way links were granted more value than reciprocal links, and sites with higher Page Rank (and later Domain/Page Authority) passed along more link juice than those with lower ranks. Google also began penalizing sites that received links from so-called link farms and other paid spam sources. If you have links pointing to your website from some spammy elephants’ graveyard of CyberSpace, you may already be on Google’s hit list.
The Consequences
If you don’t take action quickly, you may not only see your search engine rankings drop, but you may actually be banned from Google’s index entirely. In other words, your organic traffic for Google will drop down to 0, and this can be absolutely devastating for your online business. In light of the Hummingbird algorithm change, Google is banishing more and more websites which are perceived to violate the almighty Terms of Use. There is a process known as Manual Spam Action, whereby actual human beings review your website for Terms violations, and if you are found—or believed—to have engaged in unlawful linking behaviors, you may be flagged for banishment.
The Quandary
This is a tricky dilemma, because how can you remove links over which you have no direct control? If you pay monthly for specific links, you may be able to remove them simply by stopping the payments. But in most cases, you’re looking at links that were submitted once and are outside your reach. To complicate matters even more, Google is notoriously vague when it comes to their “Unnatural Inbound Links” warnings. They’re not simply going to give you a list of links that they find questionable, and if you have thousands of inbound links, it can be astronomically difficult to find the actual thorn in Google’s side.
The Solution
If you want to get to the bottom of the problem, you’re going to need professional assistance from a seasoned SEO agency that understands how to identify and eliminate bad links once and for all. Coalition Technologies works tirelessly to help businesses restore their search engine reputation, and we can help you, too. Our team of professional SEO techs has prevailed even with businesses that have already been banned from Google’s index. Give us a call at (877) 989-7187 for a free quote, and we’ll show you exactly what we can do for you. Don’t let a few nasty links derail your business. Take control of the situation.