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LinkscopePersonal notes on backlinks, outreach, and judgment — from Amsterdam.
Sophie de Vries
Sophie de VriesAmsterdam · sophie@linkscope.net
Risk & hats · Topic hub

Risk & hats

Sophie de VriesBy Sophie de VriesIndependent SEO consultant · Amsterdam

I’ve been doing link building for years, and I’ve seen the full spectrum — from pristine white hat to the kind of black hat that makes you check your email every morning for a manual action notice. This cluster is my honest take on the grey zones, the black hats, the disavow, and the bad links. I don’t believe in being reckless, but I also don’t believe in being paralyzed by fear. The key is understanding where the risk actually lies — and knowing when to walk away.

In these guides, I break down each category: what makes a link toxic, how to disavow properly, what a PBN actually is (and why I don’t use them), and the difference between grey hat and outright black hat. I also explain why some white hat tactics can be a waste of time if you don’t understand the underlying mechanism. This isn’t a moral judgment — it’s a practical risk assessment based on what I’ve seen work and what I’ve seen get sites penalized.

At a glance

Guides in this cluster
9
Core principle
Risk assessment over fear
Typical risk level
Low to moderate (with clear boundaries)
Main focus
When to walk away

In this topic

Medium riskBad BacklinksBad backlinks can weaken SEO or trigger manual actions. Learn how to detect, assess, and clean them up — without falling for toxic-link myths.Read →High riskBlack Hat Link BuildingBlack hat link building manipulates rankings with PBNs, link farms, and spam. High risk of Google penalties. Learn why it's unstable and what to do instead.Read →High riskDisavow BacklinksGoogle's disavow tool tells it to ignore harmful backlinks. But misuse can wreck rankings. I explain when disavow backlinks actually helps, the real risks, and a careful step-by-step process.Read →Medium riskGrey Hat SEOGrey hat SEO exploits guideline loopholes to manipulate rankings. I explain the risks, common tactics including buying links and expired domains, and how to mitigate penalties. Read my honest take.Read →High riskLink FarmLink farms are artificial link networks that manipulate search rankings. Learn how they operate, why Google penalizes them, and safe alternatives for building real backlinks.Read →High riskPbn BacklinksPBN backlinks can move rankings short-term but violate Google's spam policies. I explain how detection works, the real risks, and safer alternatives.Read →Low riskToxic BacklinksToxic backlinks are low-quality or spammy links. I explain how to identify them, when to disavow, and when to ignore them. Includes a manual review checklist.Read →High riskUnnatural LinksUnnatural links violate Google's guidelines and can trigger penalties. Learn how to identify, clean up, and recover from unnatural link schemes step by step.Read →Low riskWhite Hat Link BuildingWhite hat link building earns backlinks through value-driven methods that follow Google's guidelines. Learn safe, sustainable strategies that build durable authority.Read →

How I use these guides

When I’m evaluating a new link opportunity or cleaning up an existing backlink profile, I start with the guides that directly address the risk type. Here are the ones I turn to most often:

I don’t always use all nine; I pick the ones that match the current situation. The cluster is designed as a reference library, not a linear read.

Start with these three

If you’re new to this cluster, I recommend starting with these three guides. They cover the foundational concepts and help you build a risk framework:

Read them in order, then dive into the specific risk types that apply to your site.

What I skip or push back on

I don’t use PBNs, link farms, or automated black hat tactics. I’ve seen too many sites get deindexed or suffer manual actions from those strategies. I also push back on the idea that every “bad” link needs to be disavowed immediately — context matters. A link from a low-quality directory that has no traffic and no relevance is often better left alone than stirred up in a disavow file. I also skip fear‑mongering posts that claim any link with a low DR is toxic. That’s nonsense. My approach is to evaluate each link based on relevance, traffic, pattern, and anchor text — not just a metric.

Another thing I push back on: the myth that white hat is always slow and black hat is always fast. I’ve built white hat links that brought results in weeks, and I’ve seen black hat campaigns that took months to get any traction. The speed depends on the opportunity, not the hat color.

Related clusters

This cluster works best when combined with other parts of Linkscope. Here are the hubs I recommend exploring next:

  • Methods I Use – the practical techniques I apply after assessing risk.
  • How I Judge Links – my criteria for evaluating any link, including risk factors.
  • Tools I Rely On – the apps I use to detect toxic links and monitor backlink health.

These clusters give you the full picture: from risk identification to execution and monitoring.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between grey hat and black hat link building?

Grey hat tactics sit in the middle — they aren’t explicitly forbidden by Google’s guidelines but can be risky. For example, buying links on a site that doesn’t disclose them is grey hat. Black hat is explicitly against the guidelines and carries a high penalty risk, like using automated link farms or PBNs. I’m willing to test some grey hat approaches cautiously, but I draw the line at black hat.

When should I disavow backlinks?

I disavow only when I have clear evidence that a link is causing a manual action or a significant algorithmic penalty. You can check for manual actions in Google Search Console. If you see a pattern of unnatural links, disavow the domain. For random low-quality links that don’t seem to be part of a pattern, I usually ignore them — disavowing can sometimes draw attention to harmless links.

Are PBNs ever safe to use?

In my experience, no. Private Blog Networks are a black hat tactic that Google aggressively targets. Even if you build a PBN that works for a while, the risk of discovery and deindexation is high. I’ve seen sites lose years of work because of a single PBN link. I don’t use them, and I advise against them.

How do I know if a link is toxic?

Look for these signs: the page has no relevance to your site, the anchor text is overly optimized, the referring domain has a history of spam, or the link comes from a site that exists solely to host outbound links. Tools like Ahrefs or Majestic can help flag these, but I always verify manually. A toxic link is one that hurts your site’s reputation or signals spam to Google — not just a low metric.