What to expect after removing external and sitewide links?

[mbulox]

Hello,

I've been working on removing some sitewide links and some directory links and I would like to know what to expect to see on my rankings based on your own experience if you've dealt with this before.

Cheers

[FedeEinhorn]

Were those links removed as a consequence of a penalty? Or just to maintain a clean profile?

[mbulox]

To maintain a clean profile.

Cheers

[FedeEinhorn]

Well, then you could even get a decrease in rankings, or no change at all. If, for some reason those links were not passing juice (as Google could consider the source a spammed site) then you will keep the same rankings. If those sites were actually passing juice, it will depend on how much (the more they passed the more you'll lose)... (lets hope for the first option!).

[mbulox]

Hopefully it is the first option ...thanks for your input!

Cheers

[SEO-Buzz]

Also, the anchor text of those links will determine the effects. For example, if you eliminate many URL-only links and you had too high a percentage of those (>40%) in your anchor text portfolio, it could benefit your overall ranking. However, if you eliminate keyworded anchor text, you might lose ranking. This is another dimension of the possible outcomes to analyze in addition to link juice. In general, if a link is from a non-relevant or low authority domain and does not have useful anchor text, it is easy to remove with confidence. But if it the linking domain has relevance, authority, or links with anchor text, it is worth holding off while you clean up others.