Nicolas SacotteDefinition of Bad Neighbourhood
A Bad Neighbourhood is a cluster of websites that violate Google's spam policies. This includes link farms, Private Blog Networks (PBNs), sites hosting malware or phishing content, spam directories, and websites in areas such as illegal gambling, pharmaceutical spam, or adult content with no discernible quality.
The term was coined by Google itself: older versions of the Webmaster Guidelines explicitly warned against linking to web spammers or "Bad Neighbourhoods". Today, Google tends to speak of link spam and unnatural links, but the principle remains the same: connecting with spam sites sends negative signals.
Practical Examples
Typical situations in which a website ends up in a Bad Neighbourhood:
Outbound links: A blog sells links to casino or loan spam sites without applying rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow".
Inbound links: A website has previously purchased links from link farms, article directories, or PBNs.
Hacked sites: Attackers inject hidden links to spam sites into footers, comments, or old subpages.
Used domains: A purchased expired domain was previously part of a spam network and carries a tainted link profile.
Hosting environment: A website is hosted on an IP address or within an IP range used almost exclusively by spam or malware sites.
Key Considerations
Several factors determine whether a neighbourhood is problematic for SEO:
Outbound links: Links you place yourself are your responsibility. Links to spam sites can diminish your own credibility and, in the case of paid links, may trigger a manual action.
Inbound links: Google now ignores most spam links automatically (partly through its SpamBrain system). The situation becomes critical primarily when links are clearly purchased or built in a manipulative way.
Shared hosting and IP neighbourhood: Having many other websites on the same server is normal and, according to Google, generally not a problem. It only becomes relevant in extreme cases — for example, when an entire IP range hosts almost nothing but spam, or appears on blocklists, which can also affect email deliverability.
Security: Malware or hacked content can trigger warnings in search results and browsers, and is often the fastest route into a Bad Neighbourhood.
Common Mistakes and Best Practices
When assessing your own environment, avoid these mistakes:
Panicking over every spam link: Almost every website receives links from dubious sources. This is no reason for hasty disavow actions.
Premature disavowing: The Disavow Tool is intended for cases where you have built unnatural links yourself or a manual action is in place. Used incorrectly, it can also devalue good links.
Failing to audit outbound links: Regularly check old articles, guest posts, and user comments for broken or redirected links that now point to spam sites.
Not labelling paid links: Always mark sponsored links with rel="sponsored" and user-generated links with rel="ugc".
Buying domains without due diligence: Before purchasing a used domain, check its link profile and history (e.g. via the Wayback Machine archive).
FAQ
What is a Bad Neighbourhood in SEO?
An environment of spam, malware, or manipulative websites. A website belongs to one if it is closely connected to such sites through links, networks, or a tainted hosting environment.
Can a Bad Neighbourhood harm my rankings?
Yes, particularly through your own outbound links to spam sites, purchased links, or hacked content. In the worst case, Google may impose a manual action for unnatural links.
How do I find out whether my website is affected?
Check the manual actions report and security issues report in Google Search Console, as well as the overview of linking websites. Backlink tools such as SISTRIX, Ahrefs, or Semrush can also help, as can checking your server IP against common blocklists.
Is shared hosting a risk?
Generally not. Google does not evaluate websites based on who else is hosted on the same server. Only if an IP range hosts almost exclusively spam does it become worth switching to a more reputable hosting provider.
How do I get out of a Bad Neighbourhood?
Remove or properly label problematic outbound links, clean up hacked content, request removal of spam links you built yourself, and use the Disavow Tool only in targeted cases. If a manual action has been applied, submit a reconsideration request via Search Console once the issues have been resolved.
