If you are into SEO then it is important to know all the terms related to it and one such underrated term is SEO Footprints which not many SEO experts are not aware of. So if you are curious to know about the same then you are in the right place as we have covered the important details like what are SEO Footprints, how to avoid them, type of footprints and are they still relevant or not.
What are SEO Footprints?
Before getting into the science of SEO footprints it is first important to know what are SEO footprints.
SEO Footprints are the definite signs of manipulating search engines that can be used by Google or other search engines to tear apart your network. Hence it is very important to play safe when performing SEO and avoid using footprints.
How SEO Footprints are created?
While there are many signs of SEO Footprints which are accessible to search engines but here are some of the important indicators that tell search engines about the SEO manipulations.
- You are using the same themes on various sites that you own
- You have the same link footer on every site
- Using the same anchor text again and again on all the sites
- All the links on your website are coming from the same places
- All your sites are hosted on the same server
- All sites have open WHOIS
In case if you are wondering how to find the SEO Footprints of your competitors then you can follow these steps to check the footprints.
- Firstly go to Google.com or any other search engine
- Linkdomain: site.com – site:site.com
- Find backlinks for the given word
- Link domain: site.com “ Keyword “-site: site.com
- Then find the backlinks from the footprinted software
- Link domain : site.com + site:com -site:site.com
- Then find backlinks from .info with keywords
So you can use either of the above methods that can be used to track and locate the SEO Footprints of your competitors.
How To Avoid Footprints
It is important to avoid leaving footprints for search engines to safeguard yourself from any penalties. Here are some tips that you can follow to avoid leaving SEO footprints.
1. Change the browsers frequently
One of the biggest blunders that we all do is using the same browser over time. Adhering to one browser and making different sites using the same one is obviously a sign of SEO footprint so always use other browsers.
As there are a number of browsers available on the internet like Firefox, Opera, Safari or some anonymous browsers like Tor.
In case if you want to know about the information that browsers can see about you then you use more advanced browsers.
2. Avoid using Gmails for creating accounts
As we all know that privacy is becoming more and more transparent on Gmail and now it traces and report all the illegal activities to the authorities.
It is advisable to use Cpanel personal domain email for added security as unlike Gmail the content is not scanned 24/7 and it is always better to use some precautions in advance rather than getting penalised later on.
3. Stop using Google Account for everything
Many people commit the mistake of using the same Google account for everything. We have seen many people mixing up the client’s account with the personal accounts which are blatantly not a good practice.
Moreover do not forget to remove old websites from Google Search Console and Google Webmaster.
If you are using some tools for experimenting and testing purposes then always create the new accounts and do not mess with the older ones.
4. Domain Names and Domain Registrar
In case if you do not know Google is a registrar and all the data regarding your Domain is stored om Google. Not only this but anyone can see the Domain data using whois data.
If your aim is to build a private blogging network without letting the search engines know then registering all the domains under one name is a very risky thing. Hence it is advisable to use the 3rd party or proxy to avoid leaving the footprints for the sake of SEO. Suppose if you are registering one domain on Godaddy then use another platform like Namecheap for registering another domain.
5. Use other alternatives for Google Analytics
Do not connect to only one Google Analytics account for all the information rather use some third party analytics tools like Jetpack and others which are easily compatible with WordPress but make sure to use these tools safely to avoid using SEO footprints.
6. Money Site Hosting
This is the most and important and basic point which needs to be avoided in any case if you do not want to leave any footprints. As the sites can be easily linked if they are located on the same servers and if you are practising this then you are putting your site and yourself in the danger zone.
So always host your sites on the different server especially the money-making site to avoid leaving any signs of SEO on the site.
Types Of Footprints
Footprints can be majorly divided into two parts based on their nature which are good footprints and bad footprints. Let’s see each one of them in detail.
1. Good Footprints
We can call these footprints as great Footprints, and basically it is a regular string of content that you can see and pull from the site page to search for similar website pages. SEOs those website pages
You can use an imprint to search for, who will not have the option to search through general inquiries
So if you have to search for fashion-identified WordPress web magazines, you would take a line of content that is found on most WordPress websites,
For example, “managed by WordPress”. At the point when different site pages share an attribute such as this is known as an impression. You can then search for identified locations with your watchman.
Will be able to toss a changing word like “Fashion” at the end of that impression and that will coordinate your impression
As a rule, the impressions are helpful for finding comparative locations. This is useful for third party references when you search for a website
Others can get a simple connection, like the blog stage for which you are new, you should make a search worthy of the search you can do.
2. Bad Footprints
Firstly starting with the bad footprints, these links can also be called as “leaving impressions” and Google can easily figure out from such traces that you are manipulating the SERP to improve the rankings.
As we all know that link building is an important part of SEO and cannot be ignored, however, according to search engines the links should not be built it should be naturally earned.
If you are pointing a link from other domains to your money site that is hosted on the same server and has same IP address then search engines can easily trace that IP address, in that case, your IP address a Bad Footprint that indicates you are manually trying to manipulate the rankings of your website.
Are SEO Footprints Still Relevant?
Now the final question which is asked by many people is about the relevancy of the SEO Footprints and the answer is clearly Yes. As SEO footprints were relevant and obviously it will be relevant in the coming years.
Search Engines are becoming more smarter and gone are the days where you can easily fool them to manipulate the rankings but now if a search engine can find a footprint which is used against their guidelines then definitely you have to pay the bear a heavy price for the same.
