SEO Link Love or Landmine?

Updated February 28, 2025

There are some interesting developments about SEO links also known as inbound links. In Google’s official blog on Friday, Matt Cutts talked about notifications that have been sent via Webmaster Tools. Basically  his cautionary message stays true to the theme we continue to share on this blog. If you’re using Grey Hat techniques, it’s time to change your ways to White Hat SEO. If not, it’s just a matter of time before you get nailed.

Unnatural vs. Real SEO Link

As Google crawls your site, they are looking for unnatural links. How is it unnatural? Basically it’s an inbound link from a site that is absolutely off-topic or suspicious. I know I sound like a broken record, but there are still businesses out there that think a SEO link building strategy is responding to offers like “100 links for $100” or monthly services at $199. That practice is a landmine waiting to explode.  According to Matt, Google is specifically targeting sites that have been “engaging in a pretty widespread pattern of link spam.” In severe cases, Google will reduce it’s trust in the entire site (read: dramatically reducing a site’s SEO ranking). Cutt’s recommendation if your site is affected? Remove as many of the spammy or low-quality links as you possibly can and then submit a reconsideration request for your site.

For less severe cases, Google may not downgrade your entire site but target the links themselves. In other words, they may not completely lose trust in your site, but take action just against the spammy inbound link. So, what action should you take? Go into Webmaster Tools and download the Back Link Report. Check the most recent links to spot anything unusual, then work with your SEO provider to remove or correct those links.

Real Inbound Link Love

Those smarty pants over at Google know the nefarious techniques of reputation management companies. They know when someone is trying to manipulate search results for a person’s name by buying links on a well-known paid text link ad network. They are able to sniff out paid links versus real ones. So the moral of the story? Gather real SEO link love, getting inbound references from those in your industry who actually know you and can legitimately refer your services. By building on that strategy, you aren’t putting your site at risk. Why? Because at its core, you aren’t trying to manipulate the system and trick a user onto your site. There’s nothing for Google to target when revising their algorithm.