What is spam score? Spam score is best described as a metric that measures how likely a website or email is to be flagged as spam by search engines or email providers. The spam score is often calculated based on factors like low-quality backlinks, keyword stuffing, suspicious linking patterns or duplicate content. This article is here to teach you everything you need to know about spam score, how it lowers your ranking, and how to efficiently improve it.
Contents:
SPAM Score Illustrative
Understanding Spam Score
Definition and Purpose of Spam Score
If you don’t want to give Google any reason to penalize you, you need to start paying attention to your spam score. What is spam score? This is a metric that indicates how likely it is that your website will be flagged for spammy practices. Everything, from overall website behavior to content originality and domain authority matters when calculating the spam score of your site. The main purpose of the spam score is to help website owners identify issues before they are picked up by search engines. You keep the spam score of your site low, and search engines don’t penalize you. This will lead to improved visibility and more organic traffic. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that increase a spam score:
- Poor-quality backlinks
- Keyword stuffing
- Suspicious linking patterns
- Duplicate content
- Hidden text
Video Guide to the Moz Metric
Who Created Spam Score (Moz) and Why It Matters
The well-known software company known as Moz is the creator of the spam score. They noticed that websites were being flagged by search engines, and they decided to create a tool that could tell you if you are at risk of being flagged. Moz started by identifying the elements that the websites being penalized had in common. By trial and error, they managed to identify all of the factors that increase the likelihood of being flagged by search engines. Now, all you need to do is to put in the URL of your website, and you will receive a spam score. The score can fit into one of the following categories:
- Low Spam Score – Between 1% and 30%
- Medium Spam Score – Between 31% and 60%
- High Spam Score – Between 61% and 100%
| Spam Score | Range | Meaning | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Low
|
1%–30%
|
Safe & trustworthy
|
Minimal
|
|
Medium
|
31%–60%
|
Needs optimization
|
Moderate
|
|
High
|
61%–100%
|
Likely spam / penalized
|
Critical
|
Table with Spam Score Levels
Having this tool available means that you don’t have to wait to be penalized to fix a problem, you can fix it beforehand. For more information you can check out the Moz Help Hub.
How to Check Your Spam Score
Using Moz Spam Score Checker (Step-by-Step)
MOZ Spam Checker Image
If you want to check your spam score using the Moz tool, you need to start by creating an account. You need Moz Pro to have access to their best tools. Don’t worry, they have a free trial, so you have the chance to see if you like their services or not. You open Link Explorer and the Moz spam score checker allows you to see your spam score just by typing in your domain name. You will be given a spam score, which we explained how to read in a previous section. The spam score can be either low, medium or high.
If your spam score is low, you are good to go as this is the best score! But do not forget to check it again from time to time. If your spam score is medium, you need to change a few things. If your score is high, you need to take action immediately. Review every element of your website, and find the ones that are problematic. Go through the list of factors that increase spam score and see which one you can find on your website.
Alternative Tools to Analyze Spam Score (Ahrefs, SEMrush)
| Tool | Key Function | Free Plan | Specialization |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Moz
|
Original spam score checker
|
Limited
|
Spam signals and link authority
|
|
Ahrefs
|
Website authority & backlink quality analysis
|
No
|
Backlink profile and toxicity metrics
|
|
SEMrush
|
Toxic backlink detection & site audit
|
Yes (trial)
|
Comprehensive SEO and link auditing
|
Table with Alternative Tool Comparison
Ahrefs is another spam score tool that you can use. Check out their “Website authority checker” tool to see your spam score. You will receive the authority score of a website, but it gives you similar information as a spam score. It signals factors that would get you flagged by search engines. SEMrush also offers a tool that can check what we can call a spam score. Of course, it’s not called a spam score because that is a concept that Moz introduced. But SEMrush can flag poor-quality backlinks and other toxic markers. What’s important is not the exact tool that you use, but rather the fact that you are using one.
10 Key Factors That Affect Spam Score
Key Factors that Affect Spam Score
Website Size & Crawlability Issues
Website size and crawlability play a significant role when it comes to search engines finding your website. A site that is poorly structured is unpleasant to browse for both Google and users, and will increase your score. Broken links, duplicate pages and slow-loading content are just some of the common issues that affect crawlability. Efficient crawlability ensures better visibility and better ranking, which every business owner should desire for their website. These problems signal to search engines that the website is poorly managed. The neglect that a bad structure shows is usually found on spammy sites, which will lead search engines to flag your site.
Backlink Diversity & Domain Sources
Spam scores are also affected by backlink diversity and domain sources. Why? Because it showcases your website’s ability to earn valuable backlinks. If most, or all, of the links to your website are from sites with a high spam score, it will seem suspicious to search engines. You don’t want to be associated with a spammy or irrelevant website in your industry. And if you want more high-quality backlinks, you need to look into our guest posting services. Guest posting is an ethical SEO method to gain backlinks.
Ratio of Dofollow vs. Nofollow Links
There needs to be a balance between the dofollow and nofollow links. But what are these? Dofollow links are the standard type of hyperlink on the web. They do not have any attributes attached to them, and pass link equity to the linked page. On the other hand, nofollow links have an attribute attached to them, and that is ‘rel= nofollow’. This attribute tells search engines not to pass link equity to the page, and therefore not index it. You can use professional SEO services to create a perfect balance between the two. If you want to learn more about this, check out this article by SEMrush.
Anchor Text Optimization
An anchor text is a text that you can click on. Search engines use anchor text to understand what the linked page is about. So, if you put a link on the words “wet cat food”, search engines are going to believe that the link has something to do with wet cat food. This is an extremely important thing to do, but you do not want to over-optimize it. You do not want all of your backlinks to use the exact keyword, as it increases the score immediately. So instead of putting the link of the “wet cat food” phrase, it’s best to put it on something like “cats like wet and dry food”. This diversity creates a natural feel to your backlinks, automatically validating the authority of your website. WebFX talks more about anchor text.
Content Quality and E-E-A-T Principles
E-E-A-T principles
Content quality and E-E-A-T influence spam scores like nothing else! If you have low-quality content on your website, search engines will just assume that the website is spam, and you’ll go from ranking first to last. If your website is not built on the E-E-A-T principles that Google loves so much, it will result in being considered spam again. You want the best content, which means it has to check these boxes:
- Human-written
- Original
- Researched
- Accurate information
- Relevant
- Follows E-E-A-T principles
The last few Google algorithm updates all pointed towards Google focusing more on E-E-A-T, and the August spam update confirmed it. If you want to build a website that is considered trustworthy and has a low spam score, you need to follow the E-E-A-T principles. For those who don’t know, the acronym stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. This framework is essential if you want to create high-quality content, or so Google says. The basics of it are in the name. Your content needs to showcase the four qualities that make up the name.
Technical SEO Factors (HTTPS, Indexation, Load Speed)
Technical SEO might sound like some made-up SEO thing, but it’s actually an influential factor in determining if your website is spam or not. Technical SEO influences the organic traffic on your site, while also being able to lower your spam score. Here’s the way search engines think of it: If a website doesn’t have optimized technical SEO, it’s spam. You need an SEO strategy that’s created and implemented by a team of experts. Why? Because they will make sure to take care of the technical SEO of your website. And, you guessed it right, GAMIT can help. No need to worry that your site is not safe, has poor indexation or loads slowly.
Over-Optimized Domains and Spammy Extensions (.info, .xyz)
Certain domain names and extensions are considered spam by search engines. Typically, we are talking about over-optimized domains. If your domain is “wetcatfood.com” search engines might flag it as spam. It seems unnatural and tricky. If this domain is paired with poor backlinks and thin content, the spam score that Moz will show you won’t be to your liking.
As for the spammy extensions like .info or .xyz, they are considered spam because they have been, historically, used for spam. Your website might not be spam, but search engines won’t take a risk with you. Which is why it’s better to avoid them altogether.
Lack of Contact or About Information
You yourself would consider a website that doesn’t have contact info spam, so why wouldn’t search engines? Contact information is not part of some SEO trends; it is essential for a low spam score. You might think that it’s just a silly detail that you can skip, but your spam score wouldn’t agree. With clear contact and about information you build user trust. You show that you have a real desire to be able to assist your customers. This is a great green flag for search engines.
Thin Content and Duplicate Pages
Spam indicators go through the roof when they identify thin content or duplicate pages. To put it simply, thin content includes duplicate content, auto-generated content, content that’s copy pasted from another website, or simply content that doesn’t answer the user’s intent. This article by Search Engine Journal gives a better explanation as to what thin content is.
As the name says, the duplicate pages concept refers to content that is the same on multiple pages. It can be internal, when it happens with pages from your own website. And it can be external, which is when it happens across different websites. To understand why this is bad for SEO think of it like this, you have two very similar pages on your site. You get two valuable sites linking back to you, but each of them is for a different page. You just diluted your overall authority score.
Hidden Links or JavaScript Spam
The last element with a high influence on the spam score of your website is hidden links and JavaScript spam. These two closely mimic manipulative SEO tactics that search engines despise. Do not try to hide links by making them the same color as the background or zero pixel size. Also, an excessive use of JavaScript to inject links can trigger the spam detectors. Staying away from these kinds of methods is doing your site a favor.
| Factor | Impact | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Backlink Quality
|
High
|
Toxic or irrelevant links increase the score.
|
|
Content E-E-A-T
|
High
|
Low-quality content triggers penalties from search engines.
|
|
Domain Extension
|
Medium
|
Spammy extensions (.info, .xyz) raise the perceived spam risk.
|
|
Crawlability
|
Medium
|
Poor website structure and broken links affect credibility.
|
|
Hidden Links
|
High
|
Hidden or manipulative links are flagged by Google algorithms.
|
Table with Factors that Affect Spam Score
Effects of a High Spam Score
The direct result of a low spam score is that the visibility and credibility of a website will be significantly harmed. The worst result is that your website will keep dropping in ranking. If search engines lower your website in results, the traffic you get will be lower. After this happens, it all comes crashing down. If you want a high ranking for your business, know that everything is connected. You need users and search engines to trust your website, so that you can rank high and get traffic. If you do anything to mess this cycle up, it’s hard to get back on track. Which is exactly why prevention is the secret.
By using the many tools that we already discussed, you can prevent getting to a place of no return, which is the last place in the ranking. A high spam score will result in Google losing trust in your website and you can even get penalties. Once your website is seen as spam, no valuable backlinks will come your way, and users will avoid it. But there must be a way to lower your spam score, right?
Proven Strategies to Lower Spam Score
Audit and Remove Toxic Backlinks
Backlink Audit Process Illustrative
Auditing and removing toxic backlinks is the best thing you can do if you want to lower the spam score of your website and get a higher ranking. You start by doing an analysis to identify the elements that make search engines believe your website is spam. Here’s when you get to use all of the great tools we presented earlier. After you identify the harmful backlinks, contact the website owner and kindly ask for their removal. Remember that any unnatural anchor text or backlinks from irrelevant sites can be considered spam.
Improve On-Page SEO, Meta Optimization & Internal Linking
If you want the best result when it comes to your score, you need to optimize headings. You want to keep titles under 60 characters, and meta descriptions under 160 characters. Always naturally include keywords, and ensure uniqueness across pages. For On-Page SEO you want high-quality content and internal linking. There is a little joke in the marketing world. If a drunk grandma wouldn’t understand it, you need to simplify it. Follow this principle and your content will be accessible and easy to understand by a broader audience.
Maintain a Natural Link Velocity
The speed with which a website gains backlinks is referred to as link velocity, and you want to maintain it naturally. If you gain a lot of backlinks all of a sudden, search engines will consider it spam. Aim for a steady and organic increase, and prioritize being recognized by reputable sites. Track link velocity with tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs and Moz.
Key Takeaways
This article on what is spam score covers many new concepts, and presents some dos and don’ts when it comes to the spam score of your website. But what are the main thoughts to remember?
- A high spam score can have terrible effects on your website. From a lower ranking to losing organic traffic to penalties.
- You can check your spam score by using tools like Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs.
- Some of the factors that increase the spam score are: suspicious backlinks, low-quality content, over-optimized and unsafe domains, duplicate or thin content, and hidden links. Anything that is usually used by spammy websites is flagged (e.g., extensions).
- The best methods you can use to lower the spam score are: auditing and removing all of the toxic backlinks and making sure that you maintain a natural link velocity. You also need to improve the quality of your content, by following the E-E-A-T principle and by using internal linking. This will get you the best result.
If all of this makes sense to you, and you want a free audit of your website, contact GAMIT!
About Author
Mihai C. Tudorache
I am the president and co-founder of GAMIT. My business administration background is important in understanding our client’s necessities, so my expertise includes building comprehensive and all-inclusive SEO strategies for lead results. Our advanced SEO solutions are developed through extensive analysis and complete SEO improvement audits.
