June 18, 2024
The spam score ranges from 0 to 100, indicating how much your website is seen as unwanted. The higher the score, the worse your website is performing. The spam score is determined by the quality of backlinks you receive and is issued by Moz. A higher score increases the likelihood of your website receiving a penalty from Google. You do not want to receive backlinks from websites with a high spam score. The spam score is a well-known concept in the field of link building.
The image below provides a brief summary. A favorable or positive spam score ranges from 1% to 30%. A score between 31% and 60% indicates a relatively high score, but immediate action may not be necessary. A 61% to 100% score means you should take immediate action. We’ll discuss how to do that shortly.
How to check your spam score
You can easily check the Moz spam score using Moz’s paid tool. However, there are also other free methods to check the spam score. You can do this easily through the WebsiteSEOchecker website. This tool not only reveals the spam score but also the Domain Authority of the entered website. The downside of this tool is that it only provides a score and doesn’t offer more detailed information. So, you won’t know which sites are contributing to a high spam score for your own websites.
How to combat a high spam score
If you have a high spam score, you’ll want to address it. To do this, you need to be subscribed to Moz, which offers a 30-day PRO version trial. During the trial period, you can examine the spammy websites linking to your site.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Go to the Moz Spam Score Checker.
- Enter your website’s name in the input field.
- Export the list of sites to Excel, which includes a column indicating the spam score.
- Contact the webmasters of websites with high spam scores (if possible) and ask them to remove the backlinks. In practice, this often doesn’t happen.
- In such cases, it’s advisable to disavow the link. Google itself provides guidelines on how to do this.
Addressing a high spam score is essential for maintaining a healthy website and avoiding potential penalties from search engines like Google.
How is spam score measured?
The spam score is measured by Moz using a transparent set of 17 factors. Moz compiles these factors to calculate the spam score. Here are some important factors discussed below:
- Few pages on the domain/website: If a website has a limited number of pages, it may contribute to a higher spam score.
- The top-level domain (TLD) correlates with other spammy domains: If the TLD of a website is associated with other spammy domains, it can increase the spam score.
- The length of the domain or URL: Longer and complex domain names or URLs can contribute to a higher spam score.
- The domain name contains numbers and digits: The presence of numbers and digits in the domain name can be a spam indicator.
- Google Tag Manager is not installed on such websites: The absence of Google Tag Manager on a website can affect its spam score.
- In many cases, there is no email address or phone number listed on the website: Lack of contact information on a website can be a sign of spamminess.
- Only a few sites have an SSL certificate: Websites with a low percentage of SSL certificates can lead to a higher spam score.
These factors, among others, are considered by Moz when determining a website’s spam score. It’s important to address these issues to improve the credibility and trustworthiness of your website and reduce its spam score.
Our perspective on spam score
Within the field of SEO, we’ve observed that many people have varying opinions about the spam score. The spam score serves as a simple metric for assessing certain websites in bulk and with ease. It is primarily used to evaluate websites where you intend to obtain backlinks. In this regard, the spam score is quite useful. In practice, we have noticed that websites with a high spam score tend to receive irrelevant backlinks. These backlinks often come from sites with little to no content or those that primarily consist of external backlinks. Such practices don’t provide valuable assistance to search engine users.
SEO Specialist
Tiemen de Jonge is an experienced SEO Specialist at Seeders Zwolle. With a sharp attention to detail and a love for enhancing online visibility, Tiemen assists clients in elevating their search engine rankings and increasing organic traffic to their websites. With extensive experience in the digital marketing field, Tiemen is committed to keeping abreast of the latest SEO trends and strategies in order to provide excellent results for Seeders' clients.
