The internet is very frequently compared to the real world, and given streets and suburbs as its imagery. This is the source of the term ‘bad neighbourhood’, although that label can be a little confusing.

A bad neighbourhood is generally something that you avoid in any circumstances. In the world of the internet, however, hanging out in a bad neighbourhood can have far more far-reaching consequences that can affect you for a long time.

The term grew in use around 2004. Rather than meaning a physical area of sites, ‘bad neighbourhood’ means a number of sites linked together in an unscrupulous way. A less confusing term would probably be ‘bad network’, as that is just what a bad neighbourhood is.

Bad neighbourhoods can get you into trouble in a number of ways. The way sites get into trouble is usually with over-eagerness to get backlinks. Sometimes sites become entangled in a bad neighbourhood due to the malevolent actions of hackers. Worse still, some sites are the victim of black-hat SEO techniques practised by companies out to make a quick buck off your SEO budget, usually by those promising first page listings in an unrealistic timescale.

As most people know, links are an important factor when it comes to a good PageRank. A careful link campaign can support your site, and it’s always a good idea to talk to our professionals at SEO Consult about this. It can be difficult to obtain good quality links, and sometimes links are not all that they seem.

There are plenty of black hat companies out there who will knowingly link a site to a bad neighbourhood.

Another way your site can become associated with a bad neighbourhood is if it is hacked. Spammers need links from reputable sites to enable their spam site to move under a search engine’s radar. Sometimes, these links are forced by hackers placing code within a reputable site. If you suspect your site has been hacked, any code the hackers have placed needs to be removed.

What is the effect of being associated with a bad neighbourhood? The first sign you will probably see is your ranking going down. Google often copes with bad neighbourhoods by sandboxing, or removing all associated sites from the index. Although Google reports that they do their best to avoid penalising innocent parties when it comes to links to bad neighbourhoods, it often takes a lot of work on a site’s behalf to get back into Google’s good books.

It is always best to talk to your SEO consultant about links as part of your search engine optimisation campaign. If you do pursue links yourself, check the credentials of the sites thoroughly, particularly their own ranking. Anyone who has a bad ranking will be of little benefit to you.

‘Bad neighbourhood’ is mainly an SEO term and it can get confusing reading all the blogs out there on the subject. The main thing to keep in mind is to check the credentials of your online associates as thoroughly as you would in real life. This means doing a basic background check on any site you are linking to or from. Contact the experts at SEO Consult for professional advice.

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