In Episode #347, Eric and Neil discuss why big brands get away with spammy link building. Tune in to learn how Google has changed their algorithms, making businesses think twice about using shady link tactics. And even if these tactics work, find out why it’s still not recommended for you to use them.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:27 – Today’s topic: Why Do Big Brands Get Away With Spammy Link Building?
- 00:44 – Big companies like Google and Amazon make hundreds of millions of links
- 00:50 – The over-optimization cup
- 01:01 – Once it overflows, you’ll get hit with penalties and adjustments
- 01:08 – A new site or brand has a smaller margin of error
- 02:06 – One of hardest indicators to manipulate is brand craze
- 02:10 – This is when more and more people are searching for your brand
- 02:30 – When Google knows that you’re a big brand, it’s harder for them to remove you
- 02:38 – Google just penalizes a big brand for shady link building
- 03:05 – Google notices that people will turn to other search engines when they don’t see the big brands from the search result
- 03:08 – Google now does not penalize big brands as easily
- 03:23 – A lot of industries are using shady link tactics
- 03:58 – Google has adapted different algorithms to determine if a brand should be penalized
- 04:30 – Google now tries to showcase the best sites first
- 04:27 – Viper Chill’s How 16 Companies Are Dominating the World’s Google Search Result
- 05:08 – Hearst Media started BestProducts
- 05:24 – The total number of visits skyrocketed in just a few months
- 06:05 – SEO out-playing still happens
- 06:29 – If you’re creating too much possibility by doing something wrong, it will look bad
- 06:46 – Shady tactics still work but is NOT recommended
- 07:00 – Top keywords from SEMrush
- 07:31 – That’s it for today’s episode!
3 Key Points:
- People tend to use a different search engines when they don’t see the brands that they want from the search results.
- Shady tactics are still being used today and while they work, they aren’t recommended.
- Google now shows the best sites first.
Leave some feedback:
- What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below.
- Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.
Connect with us:
Discover Latest Episodes
Neil and Eric break down why revenue per employee is exploding and what AI means for the future of work, education, and careers. They unpack ARR per FTE trends, why top companies need fewer people, an...
Neil and Eric break down how AI is reshaping sales, hiring, and enterprise growth, from AI agents booking demos to why AI-driven outreach is making it harder to stand out. They dive into AI fluency, h...
Neil and Eric break down the true economics and ROI of Super Bowl ads, explaining why they rarely make sense from a profit standpoint. They unpack real costs beyond the $7–10M media buy, debate shor...