As your affiliate brand grows, you’ll probably notice that spammers start targeting your website. This is common in every niche, but even more so if you’re in the iGaming sector. Google has clamped down significantly on spam in recent years, and it shows no signs of slowing down in its quest.
Not dealing with spam on your website can have significant consequences but knowing how to take the right approach is often quite tricky. In this article, we will talk you through what you should do and you’ll also discover the main ways that Google is trying to tackle spam.
SpamBrain
Google has used artificial intelligence (AI) in several areas of its business, and one of the most creative ways it’s doing so is to tackle spam. Perhaps surprisingly, the company released this tool in 2018 – but it’s very much gone under the radar since.
SpamBrain helps Google identify spam websites, and attacks against legitimate sites using spam tactics, and combat them accordingly. Since introducing it, the Silicon Valley giant says that it has managed to significantly cut down on the amount of spam across millions of sites.
Link Spam
Link building has evolved in recent years, and many old practices don’t work anymore. Simply put, search engines have gotten much better at identifying disingenuous practices. In July 2021, Google announced that it was bringing in an update designed to target link spam.
Google published an in-depth page outlining link use and the reasons it was introducing this update, but the general gist is that any links you receive (and add yourself) should be genuine.
Ranking Manipulation
Ranking manipulation is one of the oldest SEO practices, and it involves trying to deceive the Google algorithm in different ways. You’re probably familiar with keyword stuffing, and Google has clamped down on that significantly in recent years.
In essence, the aim of ranking manipulation is to try and get yourself higher than you currently are – and, in most cases, higher than you probably deserve to be. But unfortunately for those still participating in this practice, you cannot outsmart a robot and Google has become much better at identifying disingenuous practices.
Indeed, some casino affiliates have watched their rankings plummet because of penalizations from Google.
Are You Concerned About Spam on Your Affiliate Website?
While you should certainly keep spam on your affiliate site in mind, you aren’t hopeless when it comes to dealing with it. The sections below will show you three different things you can do to stay on top of potential spam attacks.
Check Google Search Console for Alerts
If your affiliate site has spam targeted to it, the good news is that Google will probably already have identified it for what it is. Google Search Console is very in-depth, and the platform often provides alerts for issues that could compromise your SEO if you don’t deal with them.
You should make it a habit to check Google Search Console at least once per week. If you notice anything that rings alarm bells, make sure that you deal with them as soon as possible.
Check the Links You’re Getting
One problem with improper link building is that you will often find external sites linking to your content, even if you don’t want to associate with them. However, you can always find out who’s linking to your content by going through your backend on a regular basis.
Look at the websites linking to your content and address anything that looks suspicious to you. That way, Google is less likely to want to derank your website for ill practices.
Use the Disavow Tool
If you notice that a spam website has linked to your content, you can use various Google features to help you out. Disavow is one of the most powerful, and we recommend using it whenever you suspect that something isn’t right.
If you notice spam comments on your articles, you can choose to delete them from your content management system. Similarly, you can decide against approving them.
Make Sure You’re On Top of Spam on Your Website
So, there you have it – now you’ve got a better idea of what Google is doing to fight spam. In years to come, you can expect the company to ramp things up – and you need to ensure that you’re on top of any potential spam attacks being launched against your website.
Luckily, you can tackle spam in several ways. This article has shown you some of the most effective actions you can take.
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