What is spam score?
Spam score is a metric provided by our backlink data provider that estimates how likely a domain is to be considered spammy by search engines. It is displayed as a percentage from 0% to 100% in your backlink report.
The score is calculated by analyzing 18 signals related to a domain's quality and trustworthiness. These signals look at technical factors, domain characteristics, and content patterns.
Spam score is split into three ranges:
- Low (0% to 30%): The domain shows few or no spam signals. No action needed.
- Medium (31% to 60%): Some spam signals are present. Worth reviewing, but not necessarily a problem.
- High (61% to 100%): Multiple spam signals detected. The domain may be low quality or spammy.
What causes a high spam score?
A high spam score does not mean a domain is definitely spam. It means the domain exhibits patterns that are common among spammy sites. The main factors that contribute to a higher score include:
Domain-level signals
- Unusual or very long domain names
- Domain names with excessive numbers or hyphens
- Suspicious top-level domains (such as .xyz, .pw, .ga, .surf, or .cn)
Technical signals
- Using HTTP instead of HTTPS
- Missing or improperly formatted title tags
- Issues with canonical tags
- No links to or from trusted sources like Google, Facebook, or other major platforms
Content signals
- No contact information on the site
- An unusually high number of external links (over 100 per page)
- A very high ratio of external links compared to internal links
- Excessive internal links (over 500 per page)
Should you worry about a high spam score?
In most cases, no. A high spam score on a domain that links to you does not mean your site will be penalized. Here is why:
- Google is good at ignoring bad links. Google's algorithms have become very effective at identifying and ignoring spammy or low-quality links. In most cases, these links simply have no effect on your rankings, rather than a negative one.
- You cannot control who links to you. Any website can link to yours at any time. Google understands this and does not penalize sites for receiving unsolicited links from low-quality domains.
- Spam score is an estimate, not a verdict. The score is based on patterns and heuristics. A legitimate site can have a higher spam score if it happens to match some of the signals (for example, using a less common top-level domain or missing HTTPS).
That said, if a large portion of your backlink profile consists of high spam score domains, it is worth investigating. This could indicate that your site has been the target of a negative SEO attack, or that past link-building efforts used low-quality sources.
What to do about it
For most sites, the answer is: nothing. Here is how to decide:
When no action is needed
- You see a few backlinks from high spam score domains. This is normal. Nearly every site has some.
- Your site's rankings and traffic are stable. The links are not causing any harm.
- You have not received a manual action in Google Search Console.
When to investigate further
- A very large number of your backlinks come from high spam score domains.
- You have received a manual action notification in Google Search Console specifically about unnatural links pointing to your site.
- You see a sudden spike in backlinks from domains you do not recognize.
When to disavow links
Google provides a disavow tool that lets you tell Google to ignore specific links. However, Google's own guidance is clear: you should only use this tool if you have received a manual action for unnatural links in Google Search Console.
Do not disavow links preemptively. Google's John Mueller has repeatedly stated that for most sites, the disavow tool is unnecessary. Google's systems already handle the vast majority of spammy links automatically.
If you do need to disavow (because of a manual action), focus on the domains that are clearly spammy or that you know were part of paid link schemes. Do not disavow every domain with a high spam score, as this could accidentally remove legitimate backlinks.
Key takeaways
- Spam score is an estimate of how likely a domain is to be spammy, based on 18 quality signals.
- A high spam score on domains linking to you is usually not a problem.
- Google is effective at ignoring low-quality links automatically.
- Only use Google's disavow tool if you have received a manual action in Google Search Console.
- Focus on building high-quality backlinks rather than worrying about removing low-quality ones.
