Google: Most Links SEOs Make To Gain Rankings & Manipulate Search Are Ignored

Apr 14, 2023 - 7:11 am 6 by

Man Selling Links Woman Google Logo

Google's John Mueller said that when it comes to links SEO make to manipulate search rankings and gain ranking position in Google, those links are mostly ignored by Google Search. This is a line Googlers have been saying since Penguin 4.0 came out in 2016 and continues to say.

John said on Twitter, "Of course -- most of those links do nothing; we've spent many years ignoring that kind of thing." This was when he was asked, "Most of the Seo practitioners make backlinks for just manipulating search results and gain positions. If private tools like Semrush and Ahrefs can detect those IPs which are building backlinks, doesn't google track them?"

Here are those tweets:

So there you have it again, Google says they are excellent at ignoring links that are links designed to try to manipulate Google Search rankings. But as a reminder, Google does not demote but rather devalues those links.

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
- YouTube
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 14, 2025

Jul 14, 2025 - 10:00 am
Google Updates

Google June 2025 Core Update Volatility Remains Heated Through Weekend

Jul 14, 2025 - 7:51 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google Updates Merchant Return Policies & Loyalty Programs

Jul 14, 2025 - 7:41 am
Google Ads

Google Local Service Ads Reviews Now Managed By Business Profiles

Jul 14, 2025 - 7:31 am
Google

Google AI Mode With Link Cards Only - A Bug?

Jul 14, 2025 - 7:21 am
Google

Google AI Overviews Now With Many Videos

Jul 14, 2025 - 7:11 am
Previous Story: Old 2009 Bing Decision Engine Poster