The basics of SEO

All Off-Page SEO Factors 2023

Off-page SEO factors describe events that take place elsewhere than on the page you directly control and try to improve its performance in rankings.

This is usually done in the form of backlinks or link building from other websites to your blog post / content.

Positive off-page SEO factors generally refer to trying to understand honest, natural popularity, with a focus on popularity from more trustworthy and influential sources.

Successful off-page optimization increases the authority and visibility of your website in search results, which in turn improves your search engine ranking.

Positive OffPage Factors

Off-page SEO factor #1: Authoritative inbound links to the page

One of the most important off-page SEO signals:

Receiving links from other websites that have a large number of inbound links to themselves is far more valuable than those without.

The same applies to incoming links, determining the value of the link to you, etc.

In this way, links are like currencies with a hypothetical value between CHF 0 and CHF 1,000,000.

This is a function of the PageRank algorithm.

Sources): Larry Page

Off-page SEO factor #2: Additional inbound links to the page

More links are worth more than fewer equally valuable links.

Of course, this factor does not exist in a vacuum.

Quality can surpass infinite quantity, and many backlinks are literally worthless.

However, as another function of the PageRank algorithm, your website usually needs many links to be competitive in search results.

Sources): Larry Page

Off-Page SEO Factor #3: Authoritative inbound links to the domain

Google distributes the PageRank created by links from external websites as an internal PageRank within a domain.

Domain names tend to gain authority: content located on an authority site is immediately far superior to content published on a domain without real authority.

Sources): Larry Page

Off-Page SEO Factor #4: Additional inbound links to the domain

Once again, more links to a domain of the same value increase the overall authority of that domain name.

In Larry Page's original research report on the concept of PageRank, he describes "hostname-based clustering" as a component of PageRank.

Sources): Larry Page

Off-Page SEO Factor #5: Link Stability

Backlinks appear to increase in value with age.

This could be due, speculatively, to Google moderating spam links and penalizing paid link schemes.

Therefore, backlinks that persist over longer periods are more valuable. A patent also confirms this.

Source(s): Patent US 8549014 B2

OffPage SEO factor #6: Social signals

Social signals are by far one of the least known off-page factors.

This term, coined by Google, refers to ongoing experiments with sharing and viewing on social media to further evaluate the authority of a website.

Following the launch of Google+ and the termination of the agreement with Twitter, Matt Cutts says that this does not matter when experimenting with Google+ data.

Current studies continue to confirm that a positive social reputation correlates directly or indirectly with better rankings.

Sources): Matt Cutts, Moz Study

OffPage SEO factor #7: Keyword anchor text

The anchor text used in an external link helps to determine the relevance of a page to a search term.

The target page does not need to contain this term to achieve a ranking.

Source(s): Patent US 8738643 B1

Off-Page SEO Factor #8: Links from relevant pages

Google expects links from websites that contain similar content to yours.

Contrary to widespread misconceptions and a number of extremely destructive link-building practices, not every link to your website needs to come from a domain dedicated to only one specific topic.

This would seem very unnatural

But that would never make it part of the industry-specific discussions.

This is a function of the Hilltop algorithm.

Sources): Krishna Bharat

Off-page SEO factor #9: Partially related anchor text

If you want to build a backlink portfolio naturally, as it should be done, then not everyone should link to a website in the same way.

Google expects anchor text that contains parts of a keyword phrase, or a keyword phrase and something else.

Google's patents refer to this as "partially related" anchor text, although SEOs more commonly refer to it as "partial match".

Source(s): Patent US 8738643 B1

Off-page SEO factor #10: Partially related ALT text

The ALT attribute of images, just like the anchor text for partial matches, is inherently different and still seems to carry more weight for phrases containing certain words.

This is not confirmed by Google, but can be demonstrated by very simple experimentation with queries that are largely independent of competition, e.g., with invented words.

Google's patents refer to this as "partially related" anchor text, while SEOs more commonly call it "partial match".

Source(s): Patent US 8738643 B1

OffPage SEO Factor #11: Keyword Link Title

It has long been theorized that the title attribute of a link could be treated similarly to anchor text, giving additional weight to certain words.

At PubCon 2005, Google explicitly ruled out such a possibility, pointing out that this attribute is not used by enough people.

Several real-world studies seem to confirm that "title" is indeed not a factor.

Sources): Ann Smarty via SEJ

OffPage SEO Factor #12: Keyword ALT Text

Keywords used in the ALT attribute of an image are treated as anchor text.

Short, truly descriptive ALT tags also improve overall accessibility and have an exceptionally strong impact on images that are displayed in line with Google Image Search.

Source(s): Patent US 8738643 B1, Matt Cutts

OffPage SEO Factor #13: Contextual link

It has been known for some time that the text surrounding a link is taken into account in the context, in addition to the anchor text.

Support for this theory is strengthened by a patent and simple experimentation.

Therefore, links within the text are likely to offer more value than a standalone link that is separated from the context.

Source(s): Patent US 8577893, SEO By The Sea

Off-Page SEO Factor #14: Brand Name Citation

A key factor for local SEO or Google Maps SEO is local citations: brand name, address, phone number, but no backlink.

Rand von Moz noted a case study which he believed supported speculation that this also paved the way into "traditional SEO".

However, this study was debunked by several comments without counter-arguments, so for now we consider it a myth.

Sources): Moz Study

Off-Page SEO Factor #15: Linking pages in the same search results

In the Google patent "Ranking search results by re-ranking results based on local interconnectivity", Google describes a process in which the presence of a backlink from a page that is already ranked for a particular search query can lead to an increase in your search results.

Source(s): Patent US 6526440 B1

Off-page SEO factor #16: Links from many class C IP ranges

In general, Google evaluates the authority, quality, and relevance of pages and domains that link to you, not IP addresses.

The only exception concerns the Hilltop algorithm, specifically section 2.1 of Krishna Bharat's research paper entitled "Detecting Host Affiliation".

Websites that share the same /24 IP range or the first three octets of an IPv4 address (up to C in ABC) are treated as owners and excluded from Hilltop bonuses originating from third-party expert links.

Source(s): Krishna Bharat

Off-Page SEO Factor #17: DMOZ Listing

Of all the websites on the internet from which you can get a backlink, one magical opportunity defies the laws that the rest follow.

This is DMOZ: Directory Mozilla, the Open Directory project, formerly the data feed for the Google Directory.

It's a political nightmare rife with corruption, but it was shaped by people, and when you finally get listed, the effects are felt.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #18: Click-through rate per query/page

It was strongly emphasized that the click-through rate on the results page is a ranking factor.

It's a Bing ranking factor. Matt downplayed its impact on the ranking in 2009.

Rand Fishkin has repeatedly used Twitter to conduct experiments that are surprisingly insightful and confirm that click-through rate is a ranking factor.

Sources): Moz Study, Patent US 9031929 B1

Off-Page SEO Factor #19: Click-through rate on domain

A patent by Nanveet Panda (of the Panda algorithm) describes the assignment of site quality ratings based on the click-through rate for different searches.

The title of this patent is literally "Site Quality Score".

It also mentions brand-specific search queries, followed by clicks as the primary method.

However, these factors, in addition to the indications for search query CTRs as a factor, seem to suggest that the CTR for the entire site can be a factor.

Source(s): Patent US 9031929 B1

Off-Page SEO Factor #20: Backlinks from .EDUs

"Google does not treat .edu and .gov links differently."

While it is true that these websites may have a higher average legitimacy due to frequent, natural citations, «Buy Guaranteed .edu Links» programs are not earned in this way.

Instead, unsecured spam forums and blogs are usually used, where permissions are severely restricted.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #21: Backlinks from .GOVs

Just like with .EDU backlinks, the idea that .GOV backlinks have a magical influence on Google that goes beyond that of a normal gTLD with similar attributes is simply not true.

There was further speculation that the presence of some links from these websites could bring about a "more natural balance".

However, when examining statements, case studies, and the basic logic of considering major brands without this type of link, this is not the case.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #22: Low Bounce Rate

The theory has been put forward that Google considers the bounce rate of search users as a ranking factor.

Even without Google Analytics or Chrome data, this can easily be measured in various ways.

Matt Cutts says no, and tracking how long users stay on a page would be "spammable and noisy".

However, SEO Black Hat and Rand Fishkin have conducted studies that point to something else, and Bing's Duane Forrester has clearly confirmed that Bing uses it.

Sources): Matt Cutts via SER

Off-Page SEO Factor #23: Natural Ratio of Deep Links

As a simple function of the PageRank algorithm, pages that are directly linked receive more authority than indirect links, e.g., links to a page's homepage.

A reasonable percentage of direct inbound links beyond the homepage would be expected if no extremely manipulative practices are used.

Sources): Larry Page

OffPage SEO Factor #24: Twitter Followers

It has been widely discussed that the number of Twitter followers of a brand is a direct ranking factor. However, Google's claims contradict this.

While it is true that a Twitter audience is an invaluable asset for fostering a community of brand lawyers, it also translates into other benefits such as long-term drip marketing, word-of-mouth advertising, and backlinks to your content.

Sources): Matt Cutts

OffPage SEO factor #25: Twitter sharing

According to Google, sharing on social media is basically treated like more backlinks, and there is currently no additional direct benefit to sharing content on Twitter.

In 2010, Google told Danny Sullivan, "if you are interested in Twitter".

In 2014, Matt Cutts said "to the best of my knowledge" that nothing of the sort existed.

Sources): Matt Cutts, Danny Sullivan

Off-Page SEO Factor #26: Facebook Likes

It has been widely discussed that the number of Facebook likes a brand receives could be a direct ranking factor. However, Google's claims contradict this.

While it's true that a Facebook audience is an invaluable asset for fostering a community of brand lawyers, which translates into other benefits such as long-term drip marketing, word-of-mouth advertising, and backlinks from your content, all the evidence points to Google being the key player.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #27: Links from older domains

Microsoft filed a patent application in 2008 to treat backlinks from older domains with higher weight.

The breakdown was 100% for 10+ years, 75% for 6-10 years, 50% for 3-6 years, 25% for 1-3 years, 10% for less than one year.

It is theoretical, but unconfirmed, that Google has a similar process.

Sources): SEO by the Sea

Off-Page SEO Factor #28: Query deserves freshness (QDF)

Google doesn't evaluate every search query equally. Certain search queries, especially those related to news, are particularly sensitive to the recency of the content they publish (and may only evaluate the most recent content).

Google's term for this is Query Deserves Freshness (QDF).

Sources): Matt Cutts, Amit Singhal

Off-Page SEO Factor #29: Query Earns Sources (QDS)

A formulation we developed for a scenario described in Google's Quality Rater Guidelines and used in human quality control of Google search results.

This asks: «This is a topic where expertise and/or authoritative sources are important.«.

This likely applies to all informational search queries (as opposed to transactional and navigational queries).

Sources): Barry Schwartz

Off-Page SEO Factor #30: Query Earns Age (QDO)

This is a phrase we invented to describe a situation described in a Google patent.

The following is explicitly noted: "In some queries, older documents may be cheaper than newer ones."»

The patent then describes the process in which documents are ranked according to their age as a function of the average age of the results for that query.

Source(s): Patent US 8549014 B2

OffPage SEO Factor #31: Query deserves variety (QDD)

Certain search queries are ranked differently by Google.

One theory is called Query Deserves Diversity, probably dependent on a concept called Entity Salience, which involves assigning meaning to the same word with different definitions.

As a kind of riff to the concept of «Query Deserves Freshness», this would resemble a Wikipedia disambiguation page where the search query is vague and a variety of result types are needed at the top of the results.

Not confirmed, but easy to replicate.

Sources): Rand Fishkin

Off-Page SEO Factor #32: Secure Search

Under certain circumstances, where adult content may be present, a website's ranking may depend entirely on whether or not safe search is enabled in Google settings.

Safe search is enabled by default.

Sources): Google

Off-Page SEO Factor #33: Use Google Ads

SEO paranoia seems to be preventing this myth from dying out.

There are no credible studies that have shown that Google Ads can improve ranking in any way.

Google ads that influence organic ranking contradict Google's core philosophies, and no one is more attentive than Google when it comes to speaking out against this myth.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #34: Don't use Google Ads

Just as the use of Google ads is supposedly a ranking factor in some very unscientific circles, so too is the non-use of Google ads.

The idea that Google Ads could have any influence on Google's organic rankings, now or in the future, has been perhaps more aggressively dispelled by Google than any other SEO myth.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #35: Chrome Bookmarks

Although this was directly denied by Matt Cutts, it was confirmed at the BrightonSEO conference in 2013 during the ex-Googler fire.

It is also proposed by a Google patent which states: «Over time, the search engine can analyze a number of bookmarks/favorites associated with a document to determine the importance of the document.»

Source(s): BrightonSEO Fireside

OffPage SEO Factor #36: Chrome Site Traffic

The patent “Scoring of documents based on the traffic associated with a document”, which was also rejected by Google, also concerns the use of browser traffic data for the purpose of ranking websites.

It is noted that: «Information relating to the traffic associated with a document over a period of time can be used to generate (or modify a score) that is associated with the document. »

Source(s): Patent US 20070088693, Lifehacker Analysis

Off-Page SEO Factor #37: User Search History

It is common practice to provide personalized search results based on your search history, unless you have explicitly disabled this feature in Google.

From 2009 onwards, it is no longer necessary to sign in to a Google account to receive personalized results based on your current search history.

Sources): Brian Horling

Off-Page SEO Factor #38: Google Toolbar Activity

Just as Matt Cutts explained that Google does not use Google Chrome data to determine rankings in Google's organic search results, this also applies to the Google Toolbar.

Nevertheless, SEOs, possibly referring to a Google patent, frequently report on exactly how this can be achieved via a browser plug-in.

Sources): Matt Cutts via SER, Patent US 20070088693

Off-Page SEO Factor #39: Low Alexa Score

While there are patents and speculation suggesting that Google could theoretically consider site traffic as a ranking factor, there is absolutely no evidence that they are currently doing this with Alexa.

The existing documentation suggests doing this using Chrome data, which they have fully decided to do.

Source(s): Patent US 20070088693

Off-Page SEO Factor #40: High MozRank / MozTrust Score

The PageRank scores displayed in the toolbar do not match the actual PageRank data used by Google Search.

These data are often very inaccurate nowadays, and this has led many to switch to MozRank.

Nevertheless, Google has always tried to calculate the value of links itself, and although Moz data may correlate, it is not related to rankings.

The same applies to all other metrics from third-party providers such as Majestic or Ahrefs.

Source(s): Speculation

Off-page SEO factor #41: High dwell time (long clicks)

The «Site Quality Score» patent describes a scenario in which brand-specific search queries and clicks are rewarded as a ranking factor.

Furthermore, their methods state: «Depending on the system configuration… a click of at least a certain duration or a click of at least a certain duration relative to a resource length, for example, can be treated by the system as a user selection.»

It is also supported by several other sources and used by Bing and Yahoo.

Source(s): Patent US 9031929 B1, Bill Slawski

Off-Page SEO Factor #42: Submitting the page to Google

Google has long had a tool that allows you to submit your website for crawling.

A long-standing myth claims that this brings some advantages for the ranking.

In fact, a site that isn't even included in the index seems almost like a placebo button.

For your website to rank number 1, Google needs to find it using some useful links.

Sources): Google

Off-Page SEO Factor #43: Submitting the Sitemap Tool to Google

It is possible to submit an XML sitemap to Google using Google Webmaster Tools.

This seems to bring more pages into the index in some cases, but for similar reasons the concept of the "Submit Site" is not ideal, nor is the "Submit Sitemap".

If Google couldn't find them on its own, they're probably doomed never to rank.

And as Rand Fishkin points out, this tool stops many diagnostic processes.

Sources): Rand Fishkin

OffPage SEO factor #44: International targeting tool

Google Webmaster Tools offers a tool for international targeting if this might not otherwise be done correctly.

This applies mainly to usage with a generic TLD such as ".com" or "gccTLDs" such as ".co", which were intended for a specific country but are so widespread that Google decided to treat them more generally.

This can be helpful in certain rankings in certain countries in certain situations.

Sources): Google

Off-Page SEO Factor #45: Verification Requests

The Google review request tool is generally the response to a manual action.

This tool essentially requests Google to manually review a website to determine whether a manually imposed penalty should be removed.

Given that manual actions account for a very small proportion of negative ranking factors, this tool should rarely be needed.

Sources): Google

Off-Page SEO Factor #46: Links from ccTLDs in the target country

Google uses Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) to determine that a website is relevant to a particular country.

It is generally accepted that backlinks from the ccTLDs of a particular country improve the Google ranking for that country.

Sources): Google

Off-Page SEO Factor #47: Links from IP addresses in the target region

Google has informed us that having a server located near your target audience will improve the ranking of that audience on a broad, international scale.

It is also known that a number of other factors contribute to determining geographical relevance: This is demonstrated by a simple comparison of the results from Google.com and Google.ch.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Off-Page SEO Factor #48: Links from IFrames

According to studies by Michael Martinez and Jill Whalen, iframe embeddings from third-party websites are apparently treated like all other backlinks.

Google still advises against frames and iframes, even though its own YouTube thrives on them, as they are neither beneficial for users nor for Google's own confidence in a page's appearance. Nevertheless, there seems to be some value to be gained here.

Source(s): Michael Martinez and Jill Whalen

OffPage SEO Factor #49: Budget Crawl

The number of pages that Google crawls and indexes on your website is proportional to the overall authority your website has gained through inbound links.

Websites of lower-level authorities have been allocated a smaller crawling budget.

Sources): Matt Cutts via Eric Enge via AJ Kohn

OffPage SEO factor #50: Android Pay

Similar to Chrome, Analytics and other Google resources, the theory is that Google could use Android Pay data as a ranking signal.

By linking a Google account, they can receive information about search queries that led to the purchase.

However, this is entirely theoretical and without any evidence (for or against) that is currently known to us.

Source(s): Speculation

Negative Off-Page SEO Factors

Negative off-page factors generally refer to unnatural patterns of backlinks to your page, usually due to deliberate link spam.

Until the introduction of the Penguin algorithm in 2012, the result of these factors was almost always a downgrade and not a penalty.

This means you could lose all or almost all of the value gained through the linking practices that Google considers unnatural.

Otherwise, your website would not be damaged.

While this is still largely the case, Penguin introduced sanctions in some instances that triggered the risk of malicious behavior on competing websites, such as negative SEO or Google Bowling.

Negative Off-Page Factor #1: Excessive Cross-Site Linking

If you own multiple websites, it is not recommended to link them together to increase the permission for incoming links.

The risk increases with the number of interconnected domains.

Common ownership can be determined from the domain registrant, IP address, similarity of content and design, and is rarely identified and punished as part of a manual action.

An exception is made for internationalization or "if there is a really good reason for users to do so".

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative OffPage Factor #2: Negative SEO (Google Bowling)

Negative SEO, historically referred to as "Google Bowling", is the act of malicious link spamming.

This used to be very difficult, as we lived in a world of off-page devaluations rather than off-page penalties.

Should a devaluation occur, a competitor could simply overdo existing systems, causing the value to be lost sooner or more certainly.

If off-page penalties exist, and they do, negative SEO is proven by logic alone.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #3: Paid Link Schemes

It's best to mark these links directly as "nofollow links".

Links cannot be purchased directly from a website owner for the sole purpose of passing on PageRank.

Matt Cutts states that this is directly inspired by the FTC's guidelines for paid endorsements.

To put it another way, backlinks that are considered endorsements and genuine endorsements should be made without direct compensation.

Links should be structured as naturally as possible.

Sources): Google, Matt Cutts

Negative OffPage Factor #4: Fresh Anchor Text

The age of the anchor text used in a link, which appears to change on another page, may indicate a problem.

In particular, this means that the link does not originate from a third party and/or is not an active experiment in ranking manipulation.

Source(s): Patent US 8549014 B2

Negative Off-Page Factor #5: Diluted Page Authority

Depending on the PageRank algorithm, each link on a page divides the total permissions that are passed on to the linked pages.

For example, a page with one link might pass a hypothetical PageRank value of 1,0, whereas an identical page with 1.000 outgoing links would pass 0,001.

Sources): Matt Cutts, Larry Page

Negative OffPage Factor #6: Authority for Diluted Domains

For almost the same reason that diluted pages can be permitted, an entire domain can dilute the outgoing PageRank.

For this reason, websites that are more selective about who they link to are valuable compared to those they link to, while websites that function as complete, free link farms have a value close to zero.

Sources): Matt Cutts, Larry Page

Negative OffPage Factor #7: Unnatural ratio of anchor text

The anchor text used in links determines, to a certain extent, the relevance of the topic.

As with any SEO tactic, the community abused this to the point where it was able to, and controls were introduced to ensure that the limits go far beyond what would occur without manipulation.

This threshold can be as simple as 10% of a specific anchor text. This is a feature of the Penguin algorithm.

Sources): Moz Study

Negative OffPage Factor #8: Unnatural ratio of anchor types

Just as the Moz study revealed a high proportion of an anchor that was repeatedly reproduced in our work on penguin-penalized pages, this also applies to pages that use too much anchor text overall.

Analysis of backlinks across common brands reveals a large number of brand name anchor texts, "click here" anchors, URL anchors, and banners.

Exceeding the boundaries of what is acceptable naturally leads to devaluations and, since Penguin, to potential punishments.

Source(s): Speculation

Negative Off-Page Factor #9: Unnatural variety of linking sites

If you agree with the view that Google ultimately looks for natural trends and accept the studies conducted after Penguin on websites where anchor text exceeding 10% was severely penalized, you can also agree with the view that every type is affected.

An unnatural ratio of off-page activities at scale can hurt you.

Although no public case study is available at the time of writing, we have repeatedly witnessed how those who otherwise practice successful search engine optimization became greedy, their scheme went too far, and they were punished.

Source(s): Speculation

Negative OffPage Factor #10: Webspam Footprints

A "footprint" is an off-page SEO term that describes virtually anything Google could use to identify activities that originate from a common source.

This could be a forum username, a person's name, a photo, a guest author biography snippet, an element of a WordPress theme included in a private blog network, or a subtle detail that relates the efforts of a webspam activity.

A footprint is not always bad, of course, but if a website even slightly violates Google's webmaster guidelines, footprints are often a factor that results in penalties.

Sources): Matt Cutts via SEL

Negative off-page factor #11: Comment spam

If you are dealing with blog comment spam, i.e., mass comments in a repetitive, unnatural format, you should expect that these links will be devalued or penalized as a link scheme.

In particular, your comment is machine-generated, uses an odd keyword anchor text, or leaves a footprint of irrelevant or repetitive content.

A genuine comment, however, is fine.

Mr. Cutts suggests using your real name under such circumstances.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative OffPage Factor #12: Forum Post Spam

Forum posts, like blog comments, are well-suited for inbound marketing if they contribute to a conversation and are more appropriate for people than search crawlers.

John Mueller confirms (among countless other sources that have appeared over the years) that they systematically search for link schemes in the form of mass forum spam.

Sources): John Mueller via SER

Negative OffPage Factor #13: Forum Signature & Profile Links

Google seems to be able to decipher which links are displayed as forum signatures, as opposed to the links that appear as part of a natural discussion, which is treated as editorial context and would likely actually receive the PageRank.

The same applies to the popular webspam tactic used when creating forum profiles.

It seems that both tactics ultimately result in a potential webspam penalty being assigned only a very low granular value.

Sources): Google

Negative Off-Page Factor #14: Inbound Affiliate Links

Before we speculate about that: Incoming affiliate links are frequently affected by PageRank decay via 301 redirects and double content demotions due to URL variables..

It is feared that incoming affiliate links will be devalued for similar reasons, as there are intentionally or unintentionally paid link penalties.

Matt Cutts has suggested using "nofollow" for outgoing affiliate links "if you are concerned about paid links", but has also stated that these are "usually fine".

Sources): Matt Cutts, speculation

Negative OffPage Factor #15: Footer Links

It was made clear that links in the footer of a website do not carry the same weight as links in an editorial context.

This concept is supported by the way the page layout algorithm works, but it also seems that links in the footer of a website are treated even worse than content that is only below the line, as Google has explicitly advised against using too many for more than one occasion.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #16: Heading, Sidebar Links

Similar to footer links, Google appears to target links that appear in the header or sidebar of a website (regardless of whether they are static or not) and define this area as "boilerplate" in its patents.

In patent language, it states in detail: «The article will be indexed after the boiler plate has been removed. The resulting weighting is possibly more accurate, as it relies relatively more heavily on non-boiler plate.

Source(s): Patent US 8041713 B2

Negative Off-Page Factor #17: WordPress-Sponsored Themes

Aside from the low value that footer links have across the entire page, the Google webspam team seems to be aware of the once powerful and now mostly useless tactic of creating WordPress themes with embedded backlinks.

Such efforts definitely leave an obvious spam footprint, similar to the example of the GWG widget, and it's clear that Google doesn't have one.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative OffPage Factor #18: Widget Links

This was once a rather amusing link scheme, harmless and beneficial to many users, but it didn't fit into a world where links are only used as genuine references.

Although it may seem that you can still distribute widgets in 2019, Google requires the use of "nofollow" for the links and does not apply anchor text.

Since Google is Google, this almost certainly means that bad things can happen if you don't do this.

Sources): Google

Negative OffPage Factor #19: Author Biography Links

Every time a link-building tactic becomes too easy for spam, Google penalizes it.

It is not “dead”, but “guest post” in 2010 was almost identical to “article marketing” from 2005 for too many people.

These patterns led to the biographical section of blogs and articles receiving less weight. It's that simple.

And contrary to popular myth, brands are not penalized for “human” guest contributions such as New York Times editorials and other truly influential media placements.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative OffPage Factor #20: Connecting Wheel (Pyramid / Tetrahedron)

You can read Larry Page's article about the PageRank algorithm and find that you can link web pages together in a triangular/circular pattern to repeatedly redirect PageRank to the same web pages.

There is some PageRank decay, but it is very gradual.

If you come across someone still selling steering wheels, pyramids, or triangles in 2019, be prepared for significant devaluations and possible penalties.

Sources): Matt Cutts via ClickZ

Negative Off-Page Factor #21: Article Directories

It is unclear to what extent Google has succeeded in penalizing domain-wide content scores with Panda and unnatural link patterns with Penguin, and whether Google even needs to bother penalizing these websites anymore.

However, it looks like they are still singling out these article directories as a problem, says Matt Cutts.

Therefore, expect long-term problems to occur when using these methods.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #22: Generic Web Directories

Generic web directories were one of the earliest link schemes.

Matt Cutts goes to great lengths to claim that they penalize paid, generic directories as paid links if they do not exercise editorial discretion.

He cites the paid Yahoo! directory as one that is actually okay.

There seems to be a theme associated with every paid or unpaid link: Editorial discretion is good, completely free-for-all listings are bad.

Sources): Matt Cutts via ClickZ

Negative OffPage Factor #23: Mutual Links

Google has a tendency to devalue reciprocal links.

This is more than the expected effect of a PageRank leak, which can result from too many outgoing links.

As a very early link scheme, too many reciprocal links or pages linked to each other is a very clear and obvious sign that most of your links are unearned and not natural editorial placements.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #24: Private Network (Link Farms)

Just as networking your own websites can result in penalties, you can also engage in large, private networks of SEO-only websites.

Google has dealt very aggressively with these websites and has manually shut down entire networks using countless automated methods to analyze their web spam trails.

In 2023, these methods are still prevalent as short-term black-hat systems, but on a sufficiently long timescale, every private network seems to be addressing them.

Sources): Matt Cutts via ClickZ

Negative Off-Page Factor #25: The Google Dance

This term describes a temporary change that occasionally accompanies Google's approximately 500 algorithm updates per year.

Technically, these effects can be positive or negative, as only the ranking is changed and someone has to move up in order for someone else to move down.

However, since a Google dance is always unexpected, we classify it as negative.

Sources): Danny Sullivan

Negative OffPage Factor #26: Manual Action

Despite all other ranking factors, the Google webspam team occasionally takes manual action on certain websites, which can take anywhere from six months to a year to resolve the issues.

These penalties are often accompanied by a notification in Google Webmaster Tools.

For this reason, it is important to constantly look beyond today's functionality and ask: «What does Google want?»

Learn about Google's philosophy and market your website in harmony.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #27: Poor Content in Links

Google examines the quality of the content of backlinks to determine their quality, especially after the Panda and Penguin algorithms were implemented.

The exact effects are unknown, but it is not unreasonable to assume that Google's methods for defining off-page quality are at least as similar as they are for defining on-page quality.

Source(s): Patent US 8577893, SEO by the Sea

Negative Off-Page Factor #28: No contextual links

If the context surrounding a link adds value, then a lack of context must be bad, right?

This factor is probably only a devaluation, as it is still widespread in some respects.

Expect a lesser, but not a complete, loss of value from backlinks that are not placed in an editorial context.

Source(s): Patent US 8577893

Negative OffPage Factor #29: Ratio of links out of context

It is suspected that too many backlinks without context beyond a certain volume indicate a clear spam footprint.

This theory blends three ideas: A Google patent, "Ranking based on reference contexts," states that the context surrounding a link is a useful indicator of quality, as well as Matt Cutts' frequent discussion of webspam footprints and the fact that some links lack context.

Source(s): Patent US 8577893

Negative Off-Page Factor #30: Irrelevant content surrounding links

A Google patent titled "Ranking based on reference contexts" describes how Google can look at the words around a link to determine what that link refers to.

If the writing is not focused and thematic, this potential will not be exploited.

If the surrounding content is irrelevant enough, this would be completely bizarre compared to natural occurrences, and penalties could be possible.

Source(s): Patent US 8577893

Negative Off-Page Factor #31: Rapid Growth in Links

To quote the Google patent: "Although the number of backlinks in search engines may increase significantly, this may also signal a spam attempt."

Rapid, spontaneous growth is highly likely to lead to additional scrutiny by webspam filters.

However, this seems more than acceptable if it involves genuine editorial exposure or "viralization" without the use of intentionally manipulative practices.

Source(s): Patent US 8521749 B2

Negative Off-Page Factor #32: Rapid Loss of Links

For almost the same reason that a rapid increase in links can improve the evaluation of a page's backlink portfolio, a rapid loss of links is at least as justified as a problem, probably more so.

A simple logical exercise: Webspam is often quickly moderated by website owners, and paid links expire.

Source(s): Patent US 8521749 B2

Negative OffPage Factor #33: Page-Wide Links

Page-wide links are not harmful in themselves, but Google penalizes them, so they are basically treated as just one link.

Matt Cutts confirms that while page-wide links do occur naturally, they are also frequently associated with web spam.

For this reason, the Google webspam team performs manual reviews of page-wide links.

There are likely some automated components in this process and a greater overall risk.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #34: Links from irrelevant pages

Since the Hilltop algorithm, Google has given a bonus to incoming links from relevant websites.

A widespread SEO myth and a number of very dangerous "link unbuilding" and "disavowing" services have emerged, suggesting that links from irrelevant websites are inherently bad.

While too many such links could lead to an unnatural footprint, it would be at least as unnatural to only retrieve links from websites that exactly match your own.

Source(s): Analysis of link profiles of popular websites

Negative OffPage Factor #35: Negative Page Linking Speed

A Google patent states: «By analyzing the change in the number or rate of increase/decrease of backlinks to a document (or page) over time, the search engine can derive a valuable signal about how up-to-date the document is.»

This suggests that a decreasing rate of inbound linkers can be harmful, especially (though not necessarily exclusively) for search queries that deserve fresh content.

Source(s): Patent US 8521749 B2

Negative Off-Page Factor #36: Negative Domain Link Speed

It is speculated that something is wrong if your website's backlink portfolio stagnates or other websites remove links to your website.

This may be partly supported by a Google patent that speaks of a declining rate of inbound linkers to a particular document, indicating a lack of recency, combined with the mass of individual page rank factors that have been confirmed to apply to the entire domain.

Source(s): Patent US 8521749 B2

Negative OffPage Factor #37: Rejected Links

In 2012, Google Webmaster Tools added a feature that allows you to request that a link be ignored.

These effects are permanent, irreversible, and can severely impact your brand's long-term reputation in search results if not used correctly.

This should only be used as a last resort for manual actions or legitimate webspam errors from your past.

Sources): John Mueller via SER

Negative OffPage Factor #38: Links from penalized sites

Google has long used the term "bad neighborhoods" to describe the interaction of websites that are illegal.

If another website links to yours that Google has already penalized for any reason, you have to bet that this will result in an additional review of your website and that such activity will also result in penalties for your website.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #39: Chrome blocked websites

In 2011, Google introduced a tool that allowed users to block websites in Google search via Chrome.

They stated, «While we are not currently using the Domains-People block as a ranking signal, we will look at the data and see if it is useful.«.

Therefore, we cannot guarantee that this is an automated factor in the rankings. However, we also don't believe that no one on the webspam team is looking at this data.

Sources): Amay Champaneria

Negative off-page factor #40: Negative rating

In 2010, Google informed us that the feeling conveyed towards a brand, for example in reviews or in the text accompanying links, is a ranking factor.

It was known that reviews make up a large part of local or "Google Maps SEO" rankings.

Sources): Amit Singhal, Patent US 7987188 B2

Negative OffPage Factor #41: Change in Crawl Rate

With Google Webmaster Tools, you can change the rate at which Google crawls your website.

It is not really possible to speed up the Googlebot, but it is quite possible to slow it down to zero.

This can lead to problems with indexing, which in turn leads to ranking issues, particularly with regard to factors related to fresh content and editing.

Sources): Google

Negative OffPage Factor #42: International Targeting Tool

Google Webmaster Tools offers a tool for international targeting, which might otherwise be done incorrectly.

Theoretically, this tool can also cause harm if used to restrict the display of your website in search results to a specific region that does not encompass the entire desired market region.

Sources): Google

Negative Off-Page Factor #43: Creating Links

A myth that never seems to die is that building connections is bad.

Google's Matt Cutts gave us advice on link building from the very beginning, and in its purest form, link building is just traditional marketing adapted to the web.

Link building only contradicts Google's philosophies if the methods primarily focus on search engines.

Links are marketing. If you build links, always build them for people first.

Sources): Matt Cutts via SEL

Negative Off-Page Factor #44: Link Building Services

Paying for a service that tracks links is not the same as buying links.

Although there is an exception where, in reverse, this service is paid for by someone else for links that exceed the PageRank and are then published without editorial discretion.

Brand-safe link building must be comparable to the services of a publisher – where placement cannot be guaranteed, but everything is at stake.

Matt Cutts defines "editorial discretion" halfway through his video featuring paid directories.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative OffPage Factor #45: No editorial context

Matt Cutts tells us that all links should be published with editorial discretion.

However, it is not necessary to place all links in an editorial context, i.e., in the middle of a story or article.

It is very unexperimenting to find that higher quality links outside the editorial context, such as a local Chamber of Commerce members' page, are very helpful in terms of authority.

It is also clear that this would be an unnatural pattern.

Sources): Julie Joyce

Negative OffPage Factor #46: Micropages

A penalty is provided for microsites: Websites with an extremely narrow scope and not many pages.

Matt Cutts gives us Google's point of view: Google doesn't penalize or hunt down microsites; they're just generally not a very effective tactic as part of a long-term strategy, since global ranking factors remain weak..

They are also no longer very effective at exploiting Exact Match Domain bonuses with keyword-related domains.

Sources): Matt Cutts

Negative Off-Page Factor #47: Click Manipulation

If you agree that the click-through rate (CTR) is a positive factor, it makes sense to suggest that webspam controls should also be included here.

Rand Fishkin's Twitter CTR experiments show that a page that the masses clicked on rose from 6th to 1st to 12th place in his experiment before regaining its position within a few days.

Sources): Rand Fishkin

Negative OffPage Factor #48: Manipulation of Brand Search

Another theory suggests that if brand searches are a ranking factor, as patents suggest, then web spam controls must also exist here to prevent abuse.

Otherwise, this factor would be far too easy to manipulate.

Source(s): Patent US 9031929 B1

Negative OffPage Factor #49: Report of illegal activities

Google has a form that asks users to report illegal activity within their content.

This page implies that Google will remove such content from all Google products, including Google Search.

We have no reason to doubt it.

We also don't expect anyone to conduct an experiment on this factor anytime soon.

Sources): Google

Negative OffPage Factor #50: DMCA Report

In addition to automated checks to detect stolen content, unnamed sources, and potential copyright infringements, Google recommends that users send DMCA requests directly to Google.

This will almost certainly trigger the DMCA process in the US, during which Google will have no choice but to remove the offensive context available in its domains.

Sources): Webmaster Tools, DMCA Process