Link Incentives – Not the way to go with Google’s webmaster guidelines

More recently, a Google Webmaster help thread depicted a message from John Mueller clarifying your most pertinent doubt on Google’s webmaster guideline pertaining to linking your site. As such, Google’s John Mueller has clarified that linking your site through offering of an incentive, and in exchange for unlocking features will go against Google’s webmaster guidelines. When asked whether a site owner can provide its users an ‘upgraded listings’, which also meant rendering its users more features for free in exchange for linking the site, John Mueller negated such linking as a bad idea. In other words, rendering your users an upgraded listing is not much of a problem, but it transgresses Google’s webmaster Guidelines when the linking is done as a requirement or in exchange of a desired interaction for your website. Thus, such an idea of linking or PageRank passing links was strictly opposed by Mueller.

The topic of Ethical link building incentives was discussed in 2009, so as to make one reason out whether incentives could be looked upon as paid links. However, in 2009 the SEO’s were split, wherein some favored it as a paid link, whereas others thought of it otherwise. Since 2009, lot of clarity has dawned upon the world of SEO authentications on the internet, especially under Google Webmaster Guidelines. Today, Google is clearly in a position to differentiate the incentive types, one being in form of trade whereas the other being by way of payment. As of today, Google can oppose the idea of incentive linking on the grounds of unnatural link for manipulating PageRank and other potential rankings. Google’s John Mueller in his response stated that PageRank passing links incorporated in one’s site would be looked upon as an unnatural link, thus being against the Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. As such, the unnatural links are not the ones which Google’s algorithms would want to find or trace. However, he did make a distinction between recommending such links, and adding it as a requirement or an incentive fulfillment.

Seems like lot has been covered between 2009 to the current year, in terms of linking one’s sites and the grounds upon which such links are incorporated. Likewise, Google’s Webmaster Guidelines have seemingly firmed up their restrictions as to the linking of sites on one’s page. In other words, anyone who is traced linking by way of unnatural means shall or might face a site-ban!

About Robin Gupta

Myself Robin Gupta Director @ RobinGupta.Com, A leading seo services provider company. Robingupta.com was founded in 2007 with a vision of providing a comprehensive & well balanced Services, We have more than 350+ clients and still counting. We have helped thousands of websites into gaining their true potential. Our clients include many top companies from US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy and Many European Countries. Currently we owns more than 1500 Websites.