{"id":2196,"date":"2013-06-16T09:52:49","date_gmt":"2013-06-16T13:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/?p=2196"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:31:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T16:31:10","slug":"bad-link-neighborhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html","title":{"rendered":"Are You Hanging Out in a Bad (link) Neighborhood?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bad<\/p>\n

When you were growing up, your mom probably told you not to associate with the wrong type of people or hang out in bad neighborhoods. Your reputation was at stake.<\/p>\n

Mom was right.<\/p>\n

People judge you by the company you keep and it\u2019s hard to correct a bad public image.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s never more true than in the search engine\u2019s critical eyes. Mom\u2019s coming back to haunt you. After all, you\u2019ve worked hard on keeping a squeaky clean business and online reputation.<\/p>\n

Link Bad Neighborhoods make bad associates<\/h2>\n

The new search engine algorithms are like Mom. They\u2019re watching not only who you\u2019re linking up with, but who\u2019s is trying to link with you. And they\u2019re sending your site to the penalty box if you\u2019re meeting and hanging with the wrong crowd.<\/p>\n

Google is exact with their definition of bad link neighborhoods. Basically, these neighborhoods are manipulative link schemes<\/a> involving outbound and inbound linking.<\/p>\n

So here are a few examples of bad neighborhood outbound and inbound linking \u2013<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Links to\/from nefarious sites such as gambling and porn (known spammers)<\/li>\n
  2. Links to\/from sites that don\u2019t have a thing to do with your niche<\/li>\n
  3. Links left on your site through comments<\/li>\n
  4. Buying backlinks from link farms<\/li>\n
  5. Inconsistent content such as gardening and electronic equipment on the same site<\/li>\n
  6. Reciprocal links from sites that aren\u2019t relevant to your niche<\/li>\n
  7. Linking to\/from sites that have too many links<\/li>\n
  8. Linking to\/from sites with too many adds<\/li>\n
  9. Poor content on either your site or the site creating inbound links<\/li>\n
  10. Links from unindexed sites \u2013 maybe they\u2019re new but most likely banned because they got caught trying to fool the search engines in some way<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How to find out if you\u2019re getting good neighborhood links<\/h2>\n

    SEO companies<\/a> constantly monitor their clients\u2019 inbound links to make sure that web scum and saboteurs are not riding off their clients\u2019 sites trust and credibility. You can check inbound links<\/a> by typing \u201csite:your URL\u201d into your browser.<\/p>\n

    If more links from good \u2018hoods significantly outweigh those from bad hangouts, you usually won\u2019t have a problem avoiding becoming a social outcast.<\/p>\n

    What to do if bad neighbors blackening your reputation<\/h2>\n

    New sites are like the new kid in school.  Many times they are either picked on because they are shy or have their coattails ridden if they show up with enough clout.<\/p>\n

    Who doesn\u2019t want to be friends with the daughter of the richest man in the world or the best student athlete in the city?<\/p>\n

    If your site is brand, spanking new, or relatively new, it\u2019s a good idea to get rid of all the bad neighborhood links you can.<\/p>\n

    First off, analyze your own site to see if inbound links from good neighborhoods outrank those from dubious side of the track.<\/p>\n

    If your site is relatively new, you might be borderline. If you\u2019ve a problem with bad inbound links, you have several options. These options can be time-consuming, but worth the effort to take care of.<\/p>\n

    If folks from the bad neighborhoods are linking to you, you should first notify the webmaster of the site to delete their link to your site.<\/p>\n

    Your next step would be to notify Google about the incoming link using the disavow feature to remove unnatural inbound links.<\/p>\n

    Worst to worst case scenario, you will have to block offenders through your web server settings.<\/p>\n

    Your company\u2019s online credibility is dependent on others\u2019 opinion. If you\u2019re hanging out with the wrong folks in dubious neighborhoods, you become the proverbial black sheep. Mom was right. It pays to keep your reputation squeaky clean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When you were growing up, your mom probably told you not to associate with the wrong type of people or hang out in bad neighborhoods. Your reputation was at stake. Mom was right. People judge you by the company you keep and it\u2019s hard to correct a bad public image. It\u2019s never more true than in the search engine\u2019s critical eyes. Mom\u2019s coming back to haunt you. After all, you\u2019ve worked hard on keeping a squeaky clean business and online reputation. Link Bad Neighborhoods make bad associates The new search engine algorithms are like Mom. They\u2019re watching not only who you\u2019re linking up with, but who\u2019s is trying to link with you. And they\u2019re sending your site to the penalty box if you\u2019re meeting and hanging with the wrong crowd. Google is exact with their definition of bad link neighborhoods. Basically, these neighborhoods are manipulative link schemes involving outbound and inbound linking. So here are a few examples of bad neighborhood outbound and inbound linking \u2013 Links to\/from nefarious sites such as gambling and porn (known spammers) Links to\/from sites that don\u2019t have a thing to do with your niche Links left on your site through comments Buying backlinks from link<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4690,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[980,983,982,24,985,984,981],"class_list":["post-2196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-link-building","tag-bad-link-neighborhood","tag-bad-links-for-seo","tag-harmful-backlinks","tag-seo","tag-seo-link-building-strategies","tag-seo-link-management","tag-toxic-backlinks-seo"],"yoast_head":"\nAvoid Bad Link Neighborhoods for Better SEO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how bad link neighborhoods can harm your SEO. Discover how to identify and remove toxic backlinks to protect your website\u2019s rankings and credibility.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avoid Bad Link Neighborhoods for Better SEO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how bad link neighborhoods can harm your SEO. Discover how to identify and remove toxic backlinks to protect your website\u2019s rankings and credibility.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Search Engine Marketing & Optimization Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-16T13:52:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T16:31:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/broken-image-link-cover.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"934\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip O'Hara\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip O'Hara\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philip O'Hara\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2c12d79fe6de0228be0c8b1a5f638e8\"},\"headline\":\"Are You Hanging Out in a Bad (link) Neighborhood?\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-16T13:52:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T16:31:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html\"},\"wordCount\":629,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/broken-image-link-cover.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"bad link neighborhood\",\"bad links for SEO\",\"harmful backlinks\",\"seo\",\"SEO link building strategies\",\"SEO link management\",\"toxic backlinks SEO\"],\"articleSection\":[\"SEO Link Building\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html\",\"name\":\"Avoid Bad Link Neighborhoods for Better SEO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/bad-link-neighborhood.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/broken-image-link-cover.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-16T13:52:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-01T16:31:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.directoryone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2c12d79fe6de0228be0c8b1a5f638e8\"},\"description\":\"Learn how bad link neighborhoods can harm your SEO. 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