Can You Get Penalized for Inbound Links to Your Site? - So what does this mean?
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I know I know…this technical mumbo jumbo ain’t explaining why your site’s “visual” PR disappeared or why you are nowhere to be found in the SERPs. Bare with me though. Eventually, I will make some sort of point here.
The point is that the Google search engine relies heavily on the interlinking nature of websites within their index. In fact, it can be said that their ranking also factors in linking more than any other search engine in existence. This is why “on-page” optimization (metatags, etc…) factors are nowhere near as influential on Google SERPs as they are on some of the other engines.
Since links are so influential, and since many unscrupulous webmasters will attempt to sabotage their competitor’s SERPs by any means necessary, it is of utmost importance that search engines create controls that will limit or eliminate this possibility. The easiest way to directly influence the SERPs position of a specific URL is to point links (commonly referred to as “inbound links” or “backlinks”) at it. Most of us already know this, and that is why we spend countless hours trying to “acquire” quality backlinks for our sites. The plot thickens when we consider the possibility that, just as a “good” backlink can improve our SERPs, a “bad” link could potentially worsen our SERPs, or even get a URL or an entire domain banned!
In my opinion, allowing inbound links to adversely affect SERPs would open a virtual “Pandora’s box.” Every unscrupulous spammer and their momma would begin setting up bogus “bad neighborhood” URLs specifically for the purpose of pointing links at their competitors. These “bad neighborhood” links would allow spammers to gain top rankings for their target search terms through the process of attrition. If all of your competitors are being adversely affected by “bad” inbound links, then it should be an easy ride to the top for the spammer. This would have a severely adverse affect on the relevance, quality, and objectiveness of overall search results.
Next: Arguments and counterarguments >>
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