Backlink inconsistency

[EileenCleary]

Hello!

We were ranked on page 1 in Google for the past 10 years for a specific key phase until this February when we were pushed to page 2.

When analyzing backlinks via majestic.com we found that our backlinks haven't been consistent, we typically have around 1,000 or less, but in February they dropped, then began spiking inconsistently (from 3000+ to a few hundred, then back up). Not sure how accurate Majestic's reporting is but we've also noticed some sites which are spamming our site with links on their low-quality and porn content websites.

Is this type of backlink inconsistency normal, or is this something that could be negatively impacting our rankings?

UttesqA

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi Marcy

When these fluctuations happen, what types of links are you seeing? Are they only porn / low quality sites? Are they the same ones over and over?

I still think you should look into the help section for Google regarding spam and I would also look into the two resources that Moz has regarding link removals:
Ultimate Guide to Google Penalty Removal
Link Audit Guide for Effective Link Removals & Risk Mitigation
Your Start to Finish Guide for Google's Disavow Tool

At least from these you can look into spam reporting and also removing/disavowing these potentially dangerous backlinks. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

[gazzerman1]

See if the changes correspond to the Feb 4th update

http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change

Its possible that the algorithm update was the reason for your drop and will give you a starting place to investigate.

Also it would be worth disavowing any undesirable links such as porn just to be on the safe side.

[PatrickDelehanty]

Hi Eileen

I just noticed you didn't respond to my questions here - are you all good? Would love to help in any way that I can!

Also, can you provide a URL so I can review? Thank you!