Linkjacking is when someone submits content to an aggregator site with only links to their own or other sites. Aggregators like Digg and Google News have measures to prevent it, but smaller sites can use comment moderation and user registration to reduce the risk.
Linkjacking occurs when an individual submits content to an aggregation service like Digg.com that contains only links to other sites and no actual content. These sites, often called aggregators, collect content from the Internet. For example, Google News aggregates news headlines from different magazines and newspapers to present news information in one convenient place.
Another example of an aggregator is Digg.com. Digg accepts user submissions to aggregate stories found on the Internet. When you submit a story to Digg, the reader simply clicks a link on the page to rate the content on Digg. Those with more votes will be closer to the first page.
What does all of this have to do with linkjacking or even links in general? Aggregation sites pull content from other sites. When someone interested in linkjacking a site posts content, the items they submit are nothing more than a list of hyperlinks to sites they own or sites they want to promote. This content will be read by the aggregator and displayed, but when a visitor sees the page that has been linked to, he will see links that redirect him to other sites with no content. Linkjacking is a way of directing content to a designated site.
Comments in a blog can also be linkjacked. Any website that receives comments or content from its user community can experience linkjacking. This is not a recommended practice and the content will likely be removed from the publishing site.
Sites like Digg and Google News have computer programs and staff of people that help ensure that if linkjacking occurs, it can be fixed quickly. Smaller sites like blogs are usually less susceptible because posting is restricted to a select group. However, linkjacking can occur in blog comments. To reduce the potential for linkjacking in a blog, a comment spam application that requires the blog administrator to moderate the comments is a good idea. Additionally, requiring users to register to post comments can reduce the amount of comments posted overall, further reducing the likelihood that a blog’s comments will be linked.
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