Google has updated its latest wave of link warnings following confusion and outrage from anxious webmasters. In an attempt to clarify the situation, Google’s head of web spam team, Matt Cutts addressed concerns online that publishers could be at risk of penalties and drops in traffic. Promising to relieve any confusion, Google have since reworded their link warnings in Google Webmaster Tools. However, the separate unnatural link warning messages appear to be creating even more questions than before, as webmasters puzzle over whether or not they can be ignored.
Which Warning Have You Received?
Going forward, Google will now word their link warnings differently.
Link Advisory
Link Advisory messages will not contain a warning symbol and are said to inform webmasters that untrusted links are pointing to their site rather than requiring publishers to take specific action.
Link Warning
Link Warning messages will remain as a notice of detected unnatural links but will contain a warning symbol to indicate action needs to be taken in order to avoid a penalty.
What Action Should You Take?
Regardless of which message you have received, we strongly recommend taking a look at your site in detail to encourage legitimate links and prevent penalties from an abundance of bad links that Google will discount.
• Analyse Backlink Profile
• Remove Unnatural Links
• Build Relevant Quality Links
• Submit Site for Reconsideration
The subtle differences in the link warning messages has left publishers wondering whether they can indeed ignore link advisory messages. In these advisory messages, Google still recommends removing unnatural links but establishes that this is not always within the webmaster’s control. Search engine specialists are recommending that webmasters remain cautious in their approach to ignoring any link warnings and suggest monitoring sites closely to see if there has been a recent drop in traffic.
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