What are Unnatural Links?
Unnatural links are created to manipulate search engines and increase a site’s rankings in search results. These links are created using deceptive black hat SEO link-building techniques that violate search engine guidelines.
Unnatural links can be created using several methods, including:
- Paid links
- Link farms
- Forum spam
- Private blog networks
- Comment spam
- Hidden links
Links in low-quality content and anchor text stuffed with keywords are also considered unnatural links. Even white hat link building techniques like link exchanges can be considered unnatural links if done aggressively.
Unnatural links typically have short-term benefits and are disadvantageous to a site in the long run. They could cause Google to demote the rankings or deindex the site involved in the unnatural link scheme.