Increasing numbers of sites are affected by Penguin or Google Link penalties. Such sites require pruning of links that belong to Spam blog or “splog” type. Some of these splog blogs might apparently look alright during the first sight. However, you need to beware them. There are some easy ways to identify splog blogs. The first thing you need to notice in approaching splog blogs is this. While attempting link pruning on a site that has been affected by a Penguin update, you need to be really aggressive. For instance, the fact that you have some hesitation regarding how a link or post initially appears, then you must deem it as your prime pruning target. You can follow some useful guidelines while dealing with suspected splog posts. These guidelines are given by link pruning experts and can work on the majority of cases.

First have a closer look at the way a splog blog looks like. You may also quickly look at the recent blog posts. If you find them featuring anchor text rich links to different sites that are completely different niches, it is red signal number one asking you to prune it. If the posts do not have a graphic and seem to be written by non-native English speakers, then you might have an idea that they are to be pruned. In most of these posts, the comments might be turned off and they would not have generated any on-page social signals. If you are looking forward to clean up your backlink profile, then the above said indications must help you decide to take a firm stand on pruning the suspected links.

You may also consider reviewing the blogs. Blog posts that have one or two thin paragraphs and packed with anchor text outgoing links are prime targets for pruning. Check whether the blog has a detailed contact us page or it is broken or not filled out. You may also watch out for a disclosure page. If you can spot one in the blog, then it could be a sure sign that the concerned blog takes in paid posts. These indications are a sort of red flags warning you. You will notice that most of these blogs are of inferior quality.

You may also gain a fair idea about a blog by looking at its theme and template. Some blogs might have just a sponsored theme with links across the bottom. Check whether the copy right date is recent or outdated. Look at the top header to spot any unnatural anchor text rich links, which have no reasons to be posted there. You need to really stay away from blogs that feature embedded sponsor links from irrelevant providers a range of other keyword-rich footer links. Experts advise not to use these kinds of blogs and therefore, you need to prune them for sure.