The other day Aaron Wall posted on Twitter a link to a new blog post on the Google Portuguese webmaster blog about unnatural links.
The post was written by Google's Diogo Botelho and he said that it is unnatural to even ask for links to your web site. The translated text reads:
Finally, let some simple advice to ensure that you are not violating Google's guidelines: do not buy, sell, exchange or ask for links. If you follow this advice, the vast majority of links that Google considers problematic not come to be created.
Google bolded that part.
At first I thought it was an issue with translation but I am being told by native Portuguese speakers that there is no issue with translation. Google is saying, do not ask for links and it is that simple. So Jennifer Slegg covered it right.
The truth is, it is not too far fetched from what Google has said in the past. John Mueller said that you should avoid link building in general. Which is another way of saying, do not ask for links.
Is it against Google's guidelines for me to say, "you should link to my site." I doubt it but it may come off as unnatural to Google these days.
That line of what is a natural link versus what is an unnatural link keeps creeping and creeping over that line.
Forum discussion at Twitter.
Update: Google has updated the blog post to read "not buy, sell or ask for links that may violate our linking webmaster guidelines." Google just informed me of this. So our new story how asking for links may not be against Google's guidelines.
