Recently when managing a link outreach for a client, I got an email back “Sorry, your site’s spam score is too high”. So I went to the Moz tool to check it out and indeed, my client’s spam score was…. completely fine. 10%, in the green… but… this other site only links to single-digit spam score sites.
That means… they would not link to Amazon. Or the Waybackmachine. Or many many other completely fine, top-ranking sites that for one reason or another, did poorly according to Moz Spam Score.
The thing is, it’s a tool that seeks to objectively analyse sites for spam using markers… and whilst it’s useful as a general guide, it’s not nearly accurate enough to be treated as an infallible, reliable tool.
What do I do instead?
a. I check out the site I am seeking to link to or to gain a link from and see how well that site ranks for its own content.
b. I check out their backlinks, to see if they have a mountain of Blogspot spam to bulk up their Domain Rank.
c. I see if they are anchor spamming; if their text is poorly written etc.
This works, and it’s reliable
The Moz Spam Score tool? Well… it’s better than nothing, but it’s just not very accurate or useful.
