If you’ve ever checked your website’s spam score and wondered why it’s higher than expected—especially when your backlink profile is clean—you’re not alone. Many website owners face this issue and struggle to understand the root cause.
While backlinks play a major role in determining your website’s spam score, internal factors can also contribute to an increased score. Here’s what you should check and how to fix these issues to improve your website’s credibility.
1. 404 Pages Still Indexed
One of the common reasons for a high spam score is having too many 404 (not found) pages still indexed in search engines. If your website has pages that no longer exist but are still appearing in search results, search engines may consider this a sign of poor site maintenance.
How to Fix It:
- Use Google Search Console to identify and remove indexed 404 pages.
- Redirect old pages to relevant new ones using 301 redirects.
- Regularly audit your website to find and fix broken links.
2. Poor Internal Link Structure
Internal links are crucial for SEO, but a poor structure can make your site appear spammy. Common mistakes include:
- Linking to irrelevant or low-value pages.
- Having broken internal links that lead to errors.
- Excessive linking within content without a clear purpose.
How to Fix It:
- Perform an internal link audit to ensure all links are working and relevant.
- Maintain a logical linking structure that enhances user experience.
- Use anchor text naturally and avoid stuffing keywords.
3. Thin or Duplicate Content
Search engines prioritize high-quality content, and having thin or duplicate content can negatively impact your website’s credibility. Even if you don’t have spammy backlinks, poor content quality can contribute to a high spam score.
How to Fix It:
- Use tools like Copyscape or Siteliner to detect duplicate content.
- Remove or consolidate thin content pages by adding valuable, in-depth information.
- Focus on creating original, informative, and engaging content that provides real value to users.
4. Unoptimized Meta Tags
Duplicate or irrelevant meta tags across multiple pages can send spammy signals to search engines. If any of your pages have similar meta titles and descriptions, they might be flagged as low-quality or duplicate content.
How to Fix It:
- Ensure that every page has a unique and well-optimized meta title and description.
- Avoid keyword stuffing in meta tags.
- Use relevant keywords while keeping meta tags concise and compelling.
5. Excessive Redirect Chains
Too many redirects can confuse search engines and indicate poor website management. If your website has long redirect chains, search engines may struggle to crawl and index your pages properly, which can increase your spam score.
How to Fix It:
- Use tools like Screaming Frog to identify unnecessary redirects.
- Reduce redirect chains by linking directly to the final URL instead of going through multiple redirects.
- Remove old or unnecessary redirects that do not serve any purpose.
My Solution to Reducing Spam Score
To lower your website’s spam score and maintain a healthy site, follow these steps:
- Audit Your Website – Use tools like Moz, Ahrefs, or Screaming Frog to identify and fix on-page SEO issues.
- Fix Broken Links and Remove Old URLs – Redirect outdated pages or remove them from Google’s index.
- Improve Content Quality – Revamp thin or duplicate content with valuable insights and in-depth details.
- Monitor Internal Linking – Keep internal links relevant, useful, and simple.
- Optimize Meta Tags – Ensure every page has a unique, keyword-optimized meta title and description.
- Reduce Redirect Chains – Simplify your website’s redirection structure for better SEO performance.
Final Thoughts
Your website’s spam score isn’t the only factor that impacts your SEO performance, but it’s important to keep it in check. By addressing internal issues, you can improve your website’s credibility, gain better rankings, and maintain trust with search engines.
If your website still has a high spam score despite these fixes, consider consulting an SEO expert to conduct a deep audit and resolve hidden issues.
By following these best practices, you’ll ensure your website stays clean, authoritative, and optimized for search engines.