#1. Understand the Problem
The first necessity in removing low quality back links from your website is understanding what’s really going on. This is an issue in an emerging field that is largely unknown to many people. Search engine optimization, or SEO, involves improving your website’s rank in search engines so that it comes up more quickly in the results. This generates more traffic for your website. However, when illegitimate or spam-related websites are linking to you, your rankings go down.
#2. Use the Right Tools
As a website owner, you need to use the right tools to keep your pages safe, healthy, and popular. Google Webmaster Tools is one of the most popular platforms for keeping track of your website not only because of its robust capabilities and user-friendly interface, but because it is tied to the most popular search engine on the web. Using Google’s tools to optimize your website is the best way to boost your page rank with Google itself.
#3. Identify the Bad Links
It’s only possible to remove the low quality back links that are hurting your page rank if you can identify them. Spend some time every week examining your website’s statistics. You will be able to see where your traffic is coming from and soon you should start to notice trends in your traffic. When you spot something that seems unusual, investigate the source to make sure. These back links will lower your page rank and can even get your site blacklisted from Google. Keep track of these low quality back links and make note of them so that you can take care of them all at once.
#4. Learn to Disavow
Google Webmaster Tools has a feature called “Disavow” which allows you to remove these shady back links so that they don’t hurt your page rank anymore. When you notify Google that these back links are out of your control, they will no longer be used in assessing your site for page rank. This feature needs to be used with caution, however, because a few wrong clicks can lead you to disavow valuable links that actually help your site increase its page rank. Don’t hurt your website by trying to help too much.
#5. Rebuild Defenses
An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure in this case. Consider enlisting the help of a link removal service to clean up your site’s traffic and keep it secure. Setting up your website with strong defenses is the best way to avoid getting low quality back links in the first place. Work within your webmaster tools system or get outside help to keep your site healthy and free of unwanted attention.