On the 26th of July,2021 Google rolled out a new broad core update which is a link spam update and the update was rolled out worldwide and completed on 24th August,2021. This broad core update of Google which is a link spam update will take effect in all languages. Also, It will impact both inbound and outbound links. At first, in 2005 Google announced the “No-Follow” attribute that Google will not pass page rank on that links after that in 2019 Google announced rel=“UGC” (user-generated Content) relation also announced rel=” sponsored” status.
Example: Sponsored Link
<a rel=”sponsored” href=”https://cheese.example.com/Appenzeller_cheese”>Appenzeller</a>
According to Google’s broad core update If you connect a website’s external link with your site then you have to declare relationship status. To ensure that your links will not be penalized by Google, use the following tagging conventions when applicable:
- Affiliate links: “rel=sponsored”
- Sponsored links: “rel=sponsored”
- Guest posting: “rel=nofollow”
What to do:
For certain links on your site, You have to tell Google your relationship with the link page. In order to do that, use one of the following rel attribute values in the <a> tag.
For regular links that you expect Google to follow without any qualifications, you don’t need to add a rel attribute.
For example:
<p>My favorite food is <a href="https://horses.example.com/chicken">chicken</a>.</p>
For other links, use one or more of the following values:
rel="sponsored"
rel="ugc"
rel="nofollow"
rel="ugc nofollow"
rel="ugc,nofollow"
What to Ignore:
If any link does not contain any relationship status then Google will add a manual penalty to the site.
To avoid being hurt by this latest algorithm update, Follow the below mention points:
- Do not pay for links, especially if the link lacks relevancy to your page.
- Avoid participating in link exchanges (i.e. “You link to my site; I link to yours”). A relevant link exchange here and there may not hurt, but you don’t want this to be your primary approach to link building.
- Do not require links as part of a contractual agreement or business arrangement.
- Do not use tools like link generators or content spinners.
