What are “footprints” in link building?

In the context of link building, "footprints" refer to patterns or signals that can be identified in the backlink profile of a website. These patterns can help search engines and other tools determine if the links pointing to a website are natural or the result of manipulative link building tactics.


Footprints can be both positive and negative. Positive footprints indicate natural and organic link building, while negative footprints suggest artificial or spammy link building practices.

Here are a few examples of footprints:

  1. Anchor text footprint: If a website has an unusually high percentage of exact match anchor text (anchor text that exactly matches the targeted keyword), it can be seen as a potential footprint of manipulative link building. Natural backlink profiles tend to have a diverse range of anchor texts.

  2. Sitewide link footprint: Sitewide links are links that appear on every page of a website, such as in the sidebar or footer. If a website has a large number of sitewide links, it can indicate that the links were obtained through artificial means, potentially violating search engine guidelines.

It's important to note that search engines constantly update their algorithms to identify and penalize websites that engage in manipulative link building practices. Therefore, it's crucial to focus on building high-quality, relevant, and natural links that provide value to users rather than trying to manipulate search engine rankings through artificial means.

Here are some backlinks examples:

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