How to Reduce the Spam Score of a Website?

VIRRGOTECH
How to Reduce the spam score of the website

Spam backlinks are detrimental to your website’s SEO performance. One spam backlink won’t have a serious impact, but when multiple spam backlinks spread across your site, the consequences can be disastrous for your rankings.

In fact, many SEO experts and digital marketers consider spam backlinks as major contributors to low-ranking sites. These links may also signal Google to deindex or penalize such websites.

Considering all these aspects, it is imperative to avoid these spam links at all costs.

Fortunately, there’s a scoring metric designed to help keep spam backlinks at bay. It’s called spam score.

Today’s blog post is all about spam score — what it is, how it works, and what preventive measures should be taken to ensure it doesn’t ruin your SEO efforts.

What is a Spam Score?

In 2015, one of the most reputable and reliable SEO communities, Moz introduced a rating system named spam score that showcases the percentage of penalized and spammy sites connected to your website. 

This system was developed by Matthew Peters — Moz’s Director of Data Science. 

It evaluates the presence of spammy links or links from less reputable websites leading to your page or domain. Initially, Moz’s machine learning model relied on 17 common factors, but now it incorporates 27 flags derived from millions of banned and penalized websites.

According to Moz’s algorithm, a spam score ranging from 1% to 30% is classified as low, while 31% to 60% falls into the moderate category, and anything higher is deemed a high toxic spam score.    

A higher number of low-quality backlinks results in an increased spam score which gradually impacts websites’ search visibility. Additionally, it diminishes your site’s credibility in the eyes of Google, making it less trusted as a reliable resource.  

Best Tools to Check Spam Score

There are multiple ways you can analyze your website’s spam score. Here are a few of them;

When it comes to checking a site’s spam score, Moz Link Explorer comes in handy. It analyzes the quality of inbound links and identifies the harmful ones among them. Moz offers this comprehensive data analysis based on 27 distinct factors. Moreover, it provides the domain authority and page authority of the website.

Ahrefs Site Explorer

Ahrefs Site Explorer evaluates the quality of backlinks, detects spammy links, and provides detailed reports on the health of your link profile. Its extensive database provides insights into keyword rankings and organic traffic.

SEMrush Backlink Audit tool allows you to conduct a comprehensive backlink audit and monitor the site’s link profile continuously.  It uses a combination of over 50 markers to evaluate the quality of each link. It identifies harmful and broken links on different web pages.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console specifically doesn’t analyze spam scores. However, it helps you check the site’s search performance, backlink profile, and any detected issues. It also notifies you if Google has issued any penalty to your site.

How to Check Your Site’s Spam Score?

Checking your website’s spam score is an easy task. Plenty of tools are available to check the spam score but not all tools provide credible results. 

Moz Link Explorer — a tool developed by the originators of the spam score concept — is one of the most widely used tools to analyze low-quality backlinks of your site. With a few quick spets you can get the percentage of links hurting your SEO performance.

Follow these steps;

Open https://moz.com/ in your web browser and click on the “Log in” button located at the top right corner of the homepage.

You will be directed to the Moz login page. Enter your email address and password in the respective fields and click the “Log in” button.

Once logged in, you’ll see the account’s dashboard with various Moz tools. Locate the “Link Explorer” section.

Click on it and you’ll see a menu bar. Click on Link Research and a drop-down menu will appear. You’ll see the option, ‘Spam Score’.

Enter the URL you want to check, and click the ‘Analyze’ button. For example, if you enter Apple’s URL,  all the key details about the spam score and the domain will be displayed.

On this page, you can view all relevant statistics, including linking domains, Domain Authority, and Spam Score.

Tips to Reduce Spam Score

A high website spam score can be a significant obstacle if you aim to rank high on Google. Furthermore, the content of a spammy website is more likely to get buried deep in search engine results. 

Fortunately, some effective approaches can help reduce the spam score of your website. 

Avoid Using Black Hat SEO Techniques

To give an instant boost to the website, many people consider opting for black hat SEO techniques. These tactics are beneficial for the site in the short run, attracting traffic and improving search visibility. However, these techniques ruin your website’s performance in the long run. 

If you’re using black hat tactics and Google caught you doing something shady, chances are high that Google will penalize your website. Being on Google’s radar as a spammy site means there’s no way to go back for at least 6-8 months.

Since black hat SEO can wipe out your site from Google’s search result pages, avoid any activity that Google does not appreciate. Try getting backlinks from relevant and trustworthy sites and create valuable and interactive content. Avoid keyword stuffing and posting low-quality content. All these practices will help reduce the site’s spam score.

Getting rid of unnatural and spammy links is paramount if your goal is to reduce spam scores. Spammy links are a big no in search engine optimization. They diminish your search engine rankings and negatively impact user experience. 

Having these links on your web pages can be troublesome, as they might be used by individuals looking to misuse your website’s content.

Acquire HTTPS and Google Tag Manager

It is important to follow specific guidelines, one of them being the installation of an SSL certificate. A website lacking an SSL certificate is referred to as a spammy website because it lacks a secure connection. These websites are vulnerable to hacking and spamming, becoming an easy target for malicious activities.

Additionally, set up Google Tag Manager on your website. You will rarely find it on a spam site. This is also an ideal way to signal Google as a credible and trustworthy resource. 

Having a website with a tag manager and SSL that is secure and encrypted will lower your susceptibility to spam. Google can easily hunt down a website with a high spam score, so the chances of getting penalized get higher. 

Avoid Long Keyword-rich Domain Name

When you pick your domain name, you have the flexibility to use up to 253 characters. However, using them all is not recommended, as longer domain names can be harder to remember with more risk for typos. 

Although Google does not explicitly consider domain name length in its SEO ranking, longer domain names can raise red flags for spam. This is because spam sites often use keyword-stuffed URLs rather than branded domains, which are more commonly used by legitimate businesses. 

For instance, compare these two domain names: 

  • Arizonafitnessclub.com 
  • Buyhealthvitaminsintheuk.ga

Which one do you think is more likely to belong to a genuine business, and which one seems like a spam site? 

Therefore, when selecting your domain name, it’s important to think about whether it could potentially be perceived as spammy by Google. In addition to considering domain length and content, it’s also best to steer clear of using numbers in your domain name unless they are part of your business name.

One effective method to enhance your website’s ranking is through the creation of backlinks. In simpler terms, backlinks are links from high-authority websites to yours, carrying link juice that helps establish your credibility with Google. The more backlinks you acquire, the greater the authenticity of your site. Acquiring high-quality backlinks is essential. 

Avoid low-quality or paid links, as well as links from spammy sites. Seek out reputable forums to connect with and create high-quality forum backlinks. Furthermore, developing connections with other blogging sites in your field can assist in identifying suitable backlink partners.

Final Words

Maintaining a low spam score is just a small part of helping your website rank high on search engines like Google, which in turn can lead to increased traffic and financial rewards. To ensure a 0% spam score on your website, it is essential to take the necessary steps. 

Be picky about the sites and forums your website is getting backlinks. Link only to reputable and relevant websites. Regularly update your site’s content with valuable information. Offer fresh perspectives and unique insights beyond the basics.

Furthermore, ensure that your site is user-friendly and optimized for search engines. Well-organized websites are more likely to achieve higher rankings. Lastly, promote your site on social media platforms to increase visibility and attract visitors, ultimately enhancing your site’s reputation.

[Read more: How To Elevate Your Sales with Emotion-driven SEO Tactics?]

Scroll to Top