Hey Newbie! Yahoo Answers Just Killed Your Link Building Efforts

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Thursday, July 2, 2009 Comments (6)

It’s all about spam. While some sites, like Twitter, nofollow all their links in an attempt to discourage spam (because it works so well on Twitter, huhn?), Yahoo! Answers has decided to go another route in controlling spam. They’re just not going to activate your links.

That’s right, according to the Yahoo! Answers Blog, URLs posted by Level 1 users, new users, will not be activated. In order to see your URLs activated, you’ll have to become a Level 2 user. In other words, you must first be initiated and accepted by the community leaders.

I’ve seen this type of thing happening more and more in the last couple of years and I think it will happen even more going forward. Web communities are becoming extremely sensitive to search engine spam. And if a website – like Yahoo! Answers, for instance – is a popular destination for people trying to game a quick, cheap link then it will be a haven for spammers. The reason sites become spam havens is because they have so much value to contribute to legitimate marketing efforts. It’s a classic take of you take the bad with the good.

Only now, the bad isn’t so good if you’re on the bad team. I say Yay Yahoo! Answers! Make them earn the right to be a linker.

Comments (6) Category: Link Building

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6 Comments

Made Sunday, 12 of July , 2009 at 11:57 am

I think its a brill idea but it will only take a week or less to get to level 2 and start spamming again so where is the logic ???

I have a better idea , why not only activate the link to the chosen best answer. If there is 1 . That would stop a lot of spammers

Comment by Nick Stamoulis

Made Sunday, 12 of July , 2009 at 3:27 pm

@Carp Fisherman – That is a great idea! It would be great if someone over at Yahoo! Answers took note of your suggestion and tested it…I too think that it would reduce spammers as well.

Comment by SEO Egghead

Made Saturday, 3 of October , 2009 at 4:00 pm

Funny @Carp Fisherman,

I was thinking exactly this when I posted something informative on Yahoo Answers for the first time in ages and wondered why the links wouldn’t work.

All this does is encourage the creation of spam accounts to get the links. If they only linked the best answers, or the best + runner up, it would make the spammers at least post good information, which, by some metrics, isn’t spam at all.

Fail for Yahoo on this one. They already have the collective intelligence in place. Total fail.

Comment by Nick Stamoulis

Made Sunday, 4 of October , 2009 at 10:11 am

Hi SEO Egghead – Agreed…fail for Yahoo! for sure…

Comment by Aurther

Made Saturday, 10 of October , 2009 at 4:12 pm

**Distinction ** for SEO Egghead FAIL for Yahoo PHDs. They should have thought about this.

I think this activation requirement if it earns respect from Google and others might actually give more weight and value to links from Yahoo Answers something similar to DMOZ links as compared to other directory links. Yahoo Answers was becoming a link farm

Comment by Nick Stamoulis

Made Saturday, 10 of October , 2009 at 6:44 pm

Hi Aurther,
Good point about Yahoo Answers becoming a link farm…