Does Google Punish Improper Links?

Kev O C

We are currently trying to add links to our 'Links' page.

Our business is formal and menswear and we specialise in retail mens suits & suit hire for Men for weddings. We want to get links to other sites that are wedding related so that we can increase our page rank as well as get our name out there on other sites

We have a lot of hotels interested in exchanging links but I don't want Google thinking we are just spamming by adding links for the sake of it. We're only adding wedding related sites like hotels, womens dresses, photographers etc.

Can someone please shed some light on this for me?

PaulPinnacle

Kev O C wrote: »

We want to get links to other sites that are wedding related so that we can increase our page rank as well as get our name out there on other sites

I assume you mean 'from other sites'?

My personal view on this (I'm not suggesting it's the only way or even the 'best' way) is to simply ignore the 'page rank' side of things. Focus on getting your url in front of your target market and driving relevant traffic to your site.

SE's, especially google, update their algo's on a constant basis. Taking actions 'just' to get a reward on their system is a short term plan that could end up backfiring if/when they change their system (or in some cases get you penalised for intentionally trying to game the system). This is especially important if you're willing to risk the reputation of your site by throwing up 3rd party links (if you start linking to irrelevant content that doesn't benefit your readers, they'll revolt far faster than any SE will). Focus on the traffic and target market, not the page rank directly, and you'll normally find that the page rank will follow naturally.

Remember that no two links are the same. Depending on the placement of the link (in relevant body text vs. on a spammy 'link' list), the anchor text used, the PR of the page, etc. etc. there are huge differences in the benefits of different links. In many cases, the work required to set up link exchanges could be better invested in creating good link bait content which will gain higher quality backlinks naturally.

Kev O C wrote: »

We have a lot of hotels interested in exchanging links but I don't want Google thinking we are just spamming by adding links for the sake of it. We're only adding wedding related sites like hotels, womens dresses, photographers etc.

Ehh? Is there a difference there that I'm missing? Or a typo perhaps?

Regardless, given your business, providing your readers with information relating to hotels would appear to be of benefit to them. So I can't see any reason to outright 'avoid' hotels. Just be selective and only link to sites that you think your readers will appreciate.

Kev O C

PaulPinnacle wrote: »

Ehh? Is there a difference there that I'm missing? Or a typo perhaps?

Regardless, given your business, providing your readers with information relating to hotels would appear to be of benefit to them. So I can't see any reason to outright 'avoid' hotels. Just be selective and only link to sites that you think your readers will appreciate.

No typo. I meant that we have a number of hotels interested and that hotels are wedding related due to receptions. We've been looking into all of them and seeing what they have to offer our customers. I get what you mean by customers will turn on us if the information is not beneficial to them in any way.

That's why I was worried about having hotels on the site because I wasn't sure if Google would acknowledge that it is related to us.

Thanks for your advice

I know you said not to pay to much attention to the page rank but my employer feels it is important so that is why I am partly focusing on that. I was wondering if you could help me with this question. We have a few links lined up and I was wondering does the page rank count for the links page or is it for the main domain that Google takes into consideration.
e.g. if www.example.com has a page rank of 5 and then www.example.com/links (where our link would be) has a rank of 3. Would Google say that our link is associated with a site of a ranking of 5 or a ranking of 3?

PaulPinnacle

Kev O C wrote: »

I was wondering if you could help me with this question. We have a few links lined up and I was wondering does the page rank count for the links page or is it for the main domain that Google takes into consideration.

e.g. if www.example.com has a page rank of 5 and then www.example.com/links (where our link would be) has a rank of 3. Would Google say that our link is associated with a site of a ranking of 5 or a ranking of 3?

As the name suggests, it's the 'Page Rank' (not domain) that is the most important factor here. So in this case, you're more concerned with the 'PR3'.

If you really want to get down and dirty with the mechanics of how the linking algorithm works, there is a lot of information available from previous Google patents submitted (google change the algorithms frequently, so anything you read will already be out of date... including anything I or anyone else says ). I'd suggest going for a summary version available on the web though (something like this), as it gets pretty heavy at times and wouldn't be on my 'reading list' for fun.

The higher the PR of the domain, the better it should be for the individual pages within that domain (due to the internal linking benefits it will receive), so it's not a case of placing no weight on the PR of related domain pages as it's a good indication of how the PR of the specific page will develop. It's also possible (or probable) that a factor relating to the domain trust is also included somewhere in the google factors. So not a case of 'totally ignore it' in my own opinion.

It's worth remembering that any 'Google PR' scores that are published are a snapshot of the page that are now out of date. Google will recalculate the 'current' PR and doesn't use the most recent published scores (the ones you have access to)... so they're a ballpark figure at best. (One of the many reasons not to get too hung up on PR)

Add in the additional factors like how many outgoing links are on a given page, the relevant content on that page, etc. etc. it becomes a nightmare to try and get 'too technical' on it. The fact of the matter is that even the best SEO experts are using best guess, previous experience (which may be out of date) and 'trade secrets' (which may or may not be true) to figure out an algorithm that only google knows for certain. While the advice you get should be taken on board and will provide benefits, remember that the facts are continually changing, nobody can be 100% sure of the fine details, so worrying about the fine details is a largely fruitless task.

If you're gaining relevant backlinks from a site with your potential target market to provide traffic, then great it's a perfect start. If it also helps your PR, even better.

(Slight aside, but having been able to pop into the store, no backlink will ever do justice to the friendly and helpful staff. Top job in there lads, keep up the good work)

link8r

The exact same post with links et al was posted on IWF. I suggested it was Forum spam but draw your own conclusions. To be honest, the lack of reply from OP means there was no interest in getting advice, therefore its abuse of the forum simply to get a link.

-Chris-

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