Simplified Chinese blog: Avoid auto-generated links
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2007-08-01
Characteristics of quality sites
Quality sites are rich in compelling content and are kept up-to-date. These sites attract natural
links from other webmasters, and obtain higher clickthrough rates from users. Natural links are
one factor Google uses to determine PageRank—but many webmasters mistakenly interpret that
concept as "the more backlinks you have, the higher your site should rank." This theory is
incorrect.
Google's ranking algorithms consider many factors in evaluating a website, not just their
backlinks, but also distinguishing organic versus auto-generated links. A prominent example of our
algorithm calculating more than links alone can be seen in the
May 2007 DuHuGu Contest.
The winning site (that ranked number one on Google) had about 3,600 backlinks in total, while
many other sites with lower ranking contained greater than 10,000 backlinks. Most likely, many of
these links were auto-generated.
What are auto-generated links?
We commonly see two types:
spamware generated links
programs provided by some domains for automatically adding links
Here's an example of spamware used to automatically generate links in a guestbook entry:
Here's an example of programmatically adding links:
Notice the awkward links with the anchor text
"表" and "上汽".
Our take against auto-generated linking
Sites that participate in link buying, self-service linking, and using programs to automatically
generate links run the risk of violating our
Google webmaster guidelines.
Please be aware that if you auto-generate links, your site can be treated in the following ways:
Google will not give credit for auto-generated links.
When we detect that a site has unnaturally generated their own backlinks, the site's ranking can
be negatively affected and can be removed from our index.
Again, webmasters should focus on creating strong content and building natural links. For more
information on building a quality website, please visit
How to create a Google friendly site.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["High-quality websites prioritize compelling, updated content, attracting organic links and higher user engagement, which contribute to better search engine rankings."],["Google's ranking algorithms assess various factors beyond backlinks, including the distinction between organic and auto-generated links, with quality content playing a crucial role."],["Auto-generated links, often created through spamware or automated programs, are discouraged as they can lead to penalties, including negative ranking impact and index removal."],["Websites engaging in link buying, self-service linking, or using programs for automatic link generation risk violating Google's webmaster guidelines and facing potential consequences."],["Webmasters are advised to focus on developing valuable content and fostering natural link building to enhance their site's visibility and search engine performance."]]],["Quality sites prioritize compelling, up-to-date content and earn natural links, which influence Google's PageRank. Google's algorithms evaluate multiple factors beyond backlinks, distinguishing between organic and auto-generated links. Auto-generated links, often from spamware or programs, are not credited and can negatively impact a site's ranking, even resulting in removal from Google's index. Webmasters are encouraged to create strong content and build natural links, rather than participating in link buying or automatic link generation.\n"]]
