July 2021 Link Spam Update
Anti-spam update targeting artificial links, including those from poorly disclosed sponsored or affiliate articles.
Key points
- An anti-spam update targeting artificial links.
- Aims notably at links from sponsored or affiliate articles that are poorly disclosed.
- Manipulative links are neutralized more effectively.
- The importance of correctly marking up sponsored and affiliate links with rel attributes.
Analysis
The July 2021 Link Spam Update strengthens Google's ability to identify and neutralize unnatural links, in particular those coming from sponsored content, partnerships or undisclosed affiliation. Rather than penalizing heavily, Google mainly indicates that it ignores these links, which deprives the sites concerned of the expected benefit.
For publishers, the challenge is twofold: avoid depending on fragile links and correctly mark up commercial links with the rel sponsored or nofollow attributes. A clean and transparent link profile protects the site's credibility, an important signal also for the evaluation of authority by engines and AI.
What to do
- Mark up sponsored and affiliate links with rel=sponsored or nofollow.
- Audit the inbound link profile and identify artificial or risky sources.
- Favor the acquisition of natural editorial links rather than undisclosed paid schemes.
Manipulative links are neutralized more effectively. Importance of correctly tagging sponsored and affiliate links (rel).