What Are Those Spammy SEO Links Everyone Seems to Be Getting Constantly? - Episode 108 - Grumpy SEO Guy

Summary

Podcast Summary: Grumpy SEO Guy – Episode 108: What Are Those Spammy SEO Links Everyone Seems to Be Getting Constantly?

Release Date: May 14, 2025
Host: Grumpy SEO Guy
Podcast Title: Grumpy SEO Guy

Introduction

In Episode 108 of "Grumpy SEO Guy," the host delves into the pervasive issue of spammy SEO backlinks that have become increasingly common across websites. Drawing from his 14 years of experience running an SEO agency, Grumpy SEO Guy aims to demystify these questionable links and provide actionable insights for SEO professionals and website owners.

Understanding Spammy SEO Backlinks

Defining the Issue

Grumpy SEO Guy begins by addressing the surge in spammy backlinks that many website owners are encountering. These links often appear in SEO analysis tools like Ahrefs and are characterized by phrases such as "find the best DA backlinks for your website here." They are typically no-follow links and are designed to appear as legitimate backlinks at first glance.

Grumpy SEO Guy [00:45]: "They say things like, high DA backlinks to your website. Find the best high DA backlink and high authority domains for your website here."

Prevalence and Evolution

A year prior, only a handful of companies engaged in creating such backlinks. However, the landscape has changed dramatically, with numerous entities now employing this strategy. This proliferation suggests that these spammy backlinks have become a standard marketing tactic within the SEO industry.

Grumpy SEO Guy [03:15]: "A year ago there was one company, maybe two companies doing this, and now there are a lot of companies doing this."

The Purpose Behind Spammy Backlinks

Marketing Strategy

The primary motive for generating these backlinks is to market SEO services, specifically backlink sales. When SEO professionals or website owners review their backlink profiles using tools like Ahrefs, they are likely to encounter these spammy links. Recognizing the potential for genuine backlink opportunities, these marketers exploit the scenario by embedding promotional content within the backlinks.

Grumpy SEO Guy [05:50]: "If somebody is using Ahrefs or that kind of tool, they understand the importance of backlinks. So they probably are more likely to be interested in buying backlinks."

Targeting SEO-Savvy Individuals

The creation of these backlinks is a targeted approach aimed at individuals who are already invested in SEO practices. By placing their promotional links within the backlink profiles, marketers increase the likelihood of attracting clicks from those seeking to enhance their website's SEO through legitimate backlink acquisition.

Grumpy SEO Guy [07:30]: "They are making these backlinks because the people that are looking at their own websites and Ahrefs are probably going to see these backlinks click on them, and they're trying to sell those people backlinks."

Impact on Websites and SEO Strategies

Potential Harm to Websites

A common concern among website owners is whether these spammy backlinks negatively impact their site's SEO. Grumpy SEO Guy alleviates these fears by explaining that since these links are typically no-follow, they do not directly harm the website's ranking. Moreover, as these backlinks proliferate across the internet, any negative impact would be widespread rather than isolated.

Grumpy SEO Guy [12:10]: "If they're hurting you, they're also hurting all the other websites on the Internet."

Ubiquity of Spammy Backlinks

Nearly every website scrutinized by Grumpy SEO Guy's agency shows the presence of these spammy backlinks. This ubiquity underscores the widespread adoption of this marketing technique and highlights the importance of website owners being vigilant about their backlink profiles.

Grumpy SEO Guy [13:50]: "Most websites that we look at have these kinds of backlinks now."

Recommendations for Handling Spammy Backlinks

Ignoring the Spam

Grumpy SEO Guy advises website owners to ignore these spammy backlinks as they are primarily marketing tools with no substantial SEO benefits. Since these links are widespread, dealing with them individually would be inefficient and likely unnecessary.

Grumpy SEO Guy [09:15]: "My suggestion is that you ignore them because it's just marketing, okay? They will probably vanish eventually."

Focus on Quality Backlinks

Instead of getting distracted by these spammy links, website owners should concentrate on cultivating genuine, high-quality backlinks that offer real SEO value. This strategic focus ensures sustained and meaningful improvements in search engine rankings.

Conclusion

In this episode, Grumpy SEO Guy provides a clear and concise exploration of the rise of spammy SEO backlinks, elucidating their purpose as marketing tools designed to sell backlink services. By explaining the nature and intent behind these links, he offers reassurance that they pose minimal threat to a website's SEO health. His advice to ignore these links and prioritize authentic backlink strategies serves as a pragmatic approach for maintaining and enhancing website authority in an increasingly cluttered SEO landscape.

Notable Quotes

Grumpy SEO Guy [00:45]: "They say things like, high DA backlinks to your website. Find the best high DA backlink and high authority domains for your website here."
Grumpy SEO Guy [03:15]: "A year ago there was one company, maybe two companies doing this, and now there are a lot of companies doing this."
Grumpy SEO Guy [05:50]: "If somebody is using Ahrefs or that kind of tool, they understand the importance of backlinks. So they probably are more likely to be interested in buying backlinks."
Grumpy SEO Guy [07:30]: "They are making these backlinks because the people that are looking at their own websites and Ahrefs are probably going to see these backlinks click on them, and they're trying to sell those people backlinks."
Grumpy SEO Guy [09:15]: "My suggestion is that you ignore them because it's just marketing, okay? They will probably vanish eventually."
Grumpy SEO Guy [12:10]: "If they're hurting you, they're also hurting all the other websites on the Internet."
Grumpy SEO Guy [13:50]: "Most websites that we look at have these kinds of backlinks now."

Final Thoughts

Grumpy SEO Guy continues to be a valuable resource for demystifying complex SEO topics, offering practical advice grounded in extensive industry experience. Episode 108 serves as a testament to his commitment to cutting through SEO jargon and delivering actionable insights that empower listeners to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization.

Transcript

Grumpy SEO Guy (0:00)

This is Grumpy SEO Guy, episode 108. Those weird SEO backlinks everyone is getting constantly. You're listening to Grumpy SEO Guy, the SEO podcast that doesn't waste your time with nonsense that doesn't work. I'm the Grumpy SEO Guy, and I'm sharing with you the strategies that have helped me successfully run my SEO agency for the last 14 years. In this podcast, I'll be sharing my knowledge and experience, discussing tips and strategies and. And trying to help you cut through the confusion that permeates this industry. If you listen to this podcast, you will know more about SEO than 99% of people on the planet. Ready? Let's get started. I'm the Grumpy SEO Guy. Let me tell you why I'm grumpy today. I'm grumpy today because everybody is emailing me and everybody is asking me the same question. Hey, what's up with these weird SEO backlinks I keep seeing in ahrefs? Now. Now, specifically, they are referring to these links that everybody is getting that say things like, find the best DA backlinks for your website here. Like, that's what the link says. Okay, that's what we're gonna talk about in this episode. But before we do that, my lawyer tells me that I have to say this right now. A quick disclaimer before we get started. Everything I say here is based on my experience and opinion from 14 years in the industry. I don't officially know how Google or any other search engines work. Everything I say here is hypothetical and based on my experience, this podcast does not constitute advice or services. What worked for me may or may not work for you. Okay, back to the show. So you have probably seen these, because I have seen them a lot and people are emailing me about them. And every time we look into a client's website or their competition's website, or literally anything, almost anything, we see these backlinks. So in this episode, I'm going to tell you why they are being built and what their purpose is. You might know the answer already. Let me. Let me tell you a little bit more about it first, because you might not actually know what I'm talking about. So what happens is you go into Ahrefs or whatever tool you like, and you look at your own backlinks, okay? Meaning backlinks to your website, and you see all of these backlinks, and there's usually many of them. Okay? There's usually a bunch of these. And they say things like, high doctor backlinks to your website. Find the best high DA backlink and high authority domains for your website. Website here. Sometimes they have your domain name in it. It will say something like, the best doctor backlinks for your domain, like it'll save the name of your domain are available, right? And it's weird. You're like, what is this nonsense? And they're all like, usually no follow. Okay? So anyway, you've probably seen these, we have seen recently where more than half of the backlinks going to a website are. Are those kinds of backlinks, okay? It's really weird. Like a year ago there was one company, maybe two companies doing this, and now there are a lot of companies doing this. If you follow any of those links, they take you either to some like sales page where they're trying to sell you backlinks or domains, or they take you to a marketplace where a person is trying to sell things, okay? It's literally just marketing, okay? Like, that's all it is. So let me explain why, okay? There is a specific kind of person who checks their own website with tools like Ahrefs, okay? By the way, like, it's probably a good idea. You need to look at your own website in ahrefs, right? But anyway, so people look. And here's the thing. If somebody is using Ahrefs or, you know, that kind of tool, they understand the importance of backlinks. So they probably are more likely to be interested in buying backlinks, okay? So anyway, they see these backlinks and they're like, hmm, that looks different. And then they click on it and then they get to this like sales page or marketing page or whatever. And it's always the same. I've seen multiple links that all take you to the same page trying to sell you backlinks. I'm not gonna say anything about them, but so anyway, the reason they are making these backlinks is because the people that are looking at their own websites and Ahrefs are probably going to see these backlinks click on them, and they're trying to sell those people backlinks, okay? It's literally marketing. Okay? That's all it is. And they put like a distinct phrasing in it. So to make you like more likely to click on it, like the best DA backlinks are available for you here or something. It's guys, it's marketing. It's only marketing, okay? It must be working. Cause a lot of people are doing it now, but I don't know. Anyways, okay, so a question I get is, what is up with all of these? So I just explained that. So, okay. Hopefully you know that the other question I get is, are these hurting my website? Look, probably not. There are no follows. And, like, everybody has these backlinks now. So, like, probably not. Like, if they're hurting you, they're also hurting all the other websites on the Internet, okay? Like, we recently were looking into a website for a client and it had 50 referring domains, and like, 47 of them were this kind of spam for SEO marketing, okay? Like, there were three actual backlinks and 47 marketing backlinks. Anyways, so you know how anytime there's like, a thing on the Internet, it becomes ruined with marketing, right? Like, remember when the Internet was great back in the day, before everything was like, trying to get you to buy some nonsense? The same thing is happening with SEO. You can't even get backlinks now without people trying to, like, sell you stuff. Anyway, my suggestion is that you ignore them because it's just marketing, okay? They will probably vanish eventually. Nobody's going to keep. Well, they might keep them. I don't. I don't know. It's whatever. Anyways, you probably have, like, multiple of them because most websites do. Most websites that we look at have these kinds of backlinks now. Like, not I. Not some websites. Not a couple websites. Most websites that we look at have these now, okay? They. They're marketing. Anyways, I hope you get it now. Anyway, it's. It's. It's not. It's not like a big deal, but I just. I just wanted to explain this really quickly because everybody. Everybody has the same question these days, and possibly now, you know. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe. And if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a review. It would really help the show out. I hope this episode was helpful. If you have any questions or want to suggest a subject for a future episode, you can contact me on Reddit. My username is Grumpy SEO Guy. You can visit the Grumpy SEO Guy subreddit or. Or you can email me@hellorumpyseoguy.com if you email me, please either whitelist my email address or check your junk folders because I've been told that my replies are going into the junk folder. And it's probably because we're talking about things like SEO and backlinks, and I think those words will classify an email as spam. And if you want to support the podcast, because it's the best source of SEO information on the planet and it's free. You can do so@patreon.com Grumpy SEO Guy and I will talk to you later. You're listening to Grumpy SEO Guy, the SEO podcast that doesn't waste your time with nonsense that doesn't work. Join us next Wednesday for another episode.