Original data
This site had no backlinks. Six days later it had 130 of them, all junk.
Nobody was contacted and nothing was bought. Between 26 and 31 July 130 referring domains appeared, roughly 22 a day. Every single one measured zero organic traffic. 20 of them carried a Domain Rating of 50 or higher anyway, which is the most useful thing in the whole dataset. Full list, method and the disavow decision below, free to reuse with a link.
Headline
Four findings, and one of them should change how you read a pitch.
130
Domains in 6 days
From a standing start of zero. The peak was 40 in a single day on 29 Jul.
0
With any organic traffic
Not one. Every domain in the table measured zero organic traffic, including the one rated 74.
20
Rated DR 50 or above
A score built purely from links, with no traffic term in it, which is exactly why it can be manufactured.
93
On .shop alone
72% of the sample sits on one cheap TLD. The registration pattern is not subtle.
The finding
Domain Rating with no traffic behind it is a number about nothing.
This is the part worth taking away. Domain Rating is calculated from links and only from links. There is no traffic term in the formula, so a group of sites that link densely to one another can push each other up the scale without ever being visited.
74
Highest rated domain
rankyour.website measures DR 74 and zero organic traffic, and links out to 998 domains.
5,323
Most outbound domains
rglinks.org links out to 5,323 distinct domains. A page linking to thousands of unrelated sites is not a citation, it is a directory of customers.
40
Linking out to 300 plus
40 of 130 sit above that line. Outbound domain count is the cheapest tell there is, and almost nobody checks it.
If a vendor sends you a DR number and no traffic number, they have sent you the metric that is easiest to fake and withheld the one that is not. Ask for organic traffic and outbound domain count. The pitch usually stops there.
The data
Every domain, oldest first.
Ahrefs Site Explorer, referring domains, pulled 31 July 2026. DR is Domain Rating. Out is the number of distinct domains that site links out to. Organic traffic is not a column because every row measured zero. None of these names is linked, deliberately.
| Referring domain | DR | Out | First seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| toprankservice.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| webrankresults.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| searchrankpipeline.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| domainrankacademy.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| seolinktoolkit.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| linkly.agency | 58 | 2 | 26 Jul |
| siterankacademy.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| toprankacademy.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| toprankcompany.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| link-juice-crawl-budget-and-page-rank-solutions.store | 30 | 337 | 26 Jul |
| siteranksolutions.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| serpcollective.shop | 0 | 0 | 26 Jul |
| authority-services-for-link-juice-and-contextual-link.store | 30 | 337 | 26 Jul |
| seodaro.com | 53 | 0 | 27 Jul |
| rankgrowthgroup.shop | 0 | 0 | 27 Jul |
| modern-authority-seoexpress.store | 32 | 337 | 27 Jul |
| siterankservice.shop | 0 | 0 | 27 Jul |
| shopbetreiber-blog.shop | 33 | 281 | 27 Jul |
| crawl-budget-and-page-rank-expert-partners.store | 30 | 327 | 27 Jul |
| high-quality-backlinks.site | 11 | 5,321 | 27 Jul |
| domainrankresults.shop | 0 | 0 | 27 Jul |
| seo-growth-optimization-hub.shop | 34 | 2 | 27 Jul |
| linkbooster.website | 13 | 5,319 | 27 Jul |
| rankyour.website | 74 | 998 | 27 Jul |
| seo-growth-authority-boost-hub.shop | 34 | 2 | 27 Jul |
| rankboostly.shop | 54 | 998 | 27 Jul |
| linkseoinsights.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| rankcrate.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seochest.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seobits.shop | 0.9 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| linkgrowthstudio.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| rankgrowthagency.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| rankrisebacklinks.shop | 54 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| linkseopro.shop | 53 | 998 | 28 Jul |
| rankseoalliance.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| backlinkbuilders.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seoboostresults.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seoboostcompany.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| siterankbuilders.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| nexabacklinks.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| click-through-link-equity-and-authority-link-services.store | 31 | 337 | 28 Jul |
| backlinkpartners.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seogrowthprovider.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seoedge.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| itxoft-seo-for-higher-rankings.site | 71 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seomart.shop | 0.8 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| best-seoexpress-off-page-network.store | 32 | 337 | 28 Jul |
| ranklinkpro.shop | 53 | 998 | 28 Jul |
| rankoutlet.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| backlinkinsights.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| nexusnext.agency | 1.1 | 997 | 28 Jul |
| itxoft-seo-for-modern-business.site | 69 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| rankcoreseo.shop | 54 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seotrove.shop | 0.8 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| backlinkshop.shop | 0.8 | 996 | 28 Jul |
| content-marketing-search-rank-and-search-rank-syndicate.store | 31 | 337 | 28 Jul |
| searchrankgroup.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| rankseocollective.shop | 0 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| rankdepot.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 28 Jul |
| seorankify.shop | 54 | 1 | 29 Jul |
| pageseoexpress.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seowares.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| do-follow-traffic-surge-and-link-velocity-syndicate.store | 31 | 331 | 29 Jul |
| seogear.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| rankseopartners.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| linkforgepro.shop | 0.8 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| fiverr-seo-for-small-businesses.site | 69 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| primebacklinks.shop | 0.8 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seolinkcentral.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| linkbarn.shop | 0.7 | 996 | 29 Jul |
| ranklinkx.shop | 53 | 998 | 29 Jul |
| searchrankbuilders.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| master-seoexpress-content-consultants.store | 32 | 337 | 29 Jul |
| rglinks.org | 32 | 5,323 | 29 Jul |
| rankwagon.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| organicrankdirect.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| organicranksystems.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seosupply.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| link-building-and-digital-pr-trusted-partners.store | 31 | 337 | 29 Jul |
| searchrankcentral.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| domainrankteam.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| pbnseolinks.shop | 53 | 998 | 29 Jul |
| backlinkvault.shop | 0.8 | 996 | 29 Jul |
| certified-seoexpress-organic-services.store | 32 | 337 | 29 Jul |
| seoloot.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seofinds.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| rankseomasters.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seopicks.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| linkseocollective.shop | 0 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| digital-pr-keyword-rank-and-crawl-budget-experts.store | 31 | 336 | 29 Jul |
| fiverr-cost-effective-seo.site | 66 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| proven-services-for-serp-boost-and-link-velocity.store | 31 | 306 | 29 Jul |
| seokart.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| rankwares.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seogo.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seostock.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| rankgear.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seopxl-ranking-boost-lab.shop | 34 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| rankfinds.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 29 Jul |
| seobundle.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| buybacklinks.agency | 71 | 998 | 30 Jul |
| seogrow.pro | 64 | 2 | 30 Jul |
| rankbazaar.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| rankgrowthmarket.shop | 0 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| rankdeals.shop | 0.8 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| rankstock.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| rankcart.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| siterankexpress.shop | 0 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| buyseobacklinks.shop | 54 | 998 | 30 Jul |
| seodepot.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| linkseoalliance.shop | 0 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| seopxl-traffic-growth-lab.shop | 34 | 1 | 30 Jul |
| rankgoods.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| flagship-hub-for-link-velocity-and-page-rank.store | 30 | 337 | 30 Jul |
| link-baron-agile-on-page-directory.store | 32 | 337 | 30 Jul |
| seoprime.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| seocrate.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| backlink-pro-click-through-and-link-building-depot.store | 31 | 337 | 30 Jul |
| backlinkmart.shop | 0.7 | 996 | 30 Jul |
| best-keyword-seoexpress-portal.store | 32 | 337 | 30 Jul |
| seowarez.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| linkrankpro.shop | 54 | 998 | 30 Jul |
| strategic-bureau-for-white-hat-and-outreach-pro.store | 30 | 337 | 30 Jul |
| itxoft-reliable-seo-services.site | 70 | 0 | 30 Jul |
| luxury-seoexpress-tier-1-house.store | 32 | 337 | 30 Jul |
| expert-organic-seoexpress.store | 32 | 337 | 31 Jul |
| link-baron-wiki-leading-system.store | 32 | 337 | 31 Jul |
| ranktrove.shop | 0.7 | 0 | 31 Jul |
| prime-depot-for-digital-pr-and-ranking-signal.store | 30 | 337 | 31 Jul |
| prime-white-hat-seoexpress-network.store | 32 | 337 | 31 Jul |
130 referring domains. 78 measure below DR 1 and 20 measure DR 50 or above, with nothing in between doing much. Figures picked out in gold are the two tells: a rating above 50 with no traffic behind it, and an outbound domain count above 300.
Method
Why this sample is unusually clean.
A domain with no prior links
This site had zero referring domains before 26 July. That is the whole reason the sample is worth publishing: there is no existing link profile for the spam to hide inside, so attribution is not a judgement call. Everything in the table arrived in the window.
One tool, one pull, one date
Every figure comes from a single Ahrefs Site Explorer pull on 31 July 2026. Spreading the pull over several days would let the counts drift and make the daily totals meaningless.
Nothing was solicited
No links were bought, no outreach was sent, no directories were submitted, and no guest posts were placed. The site was published, indexed, and left alone. The same domain is the worked example in our UK SEO difficulty index: it ranks for nothing, which is what makes the arrival of 130 referring domains so obviously unearned.
What the table is not
It is not the full historical count. Ahrefs also reports domains that have since dropped out of its live index. The table is every domain with a first seen date inside the window, which is the population the findings describe.
The decision
We did not disavow, and that was the harder call.
The instinct when you see 130 junk domains is to reach for the disavow file. It is the wrong instinct here, and explaining why is more useful than the list itself.
Google already ignores this
Discarding unsolicited link spam is a solved problem at Google's end and has been for years. The rankings here did not move, because there were none to move: the site's organic keyword count was zero before this arrived and zero after.
Disavow is not free
A disavow file is a live instruction to ignore links. Get the syntax wrong, or paste a domain you actually earned, and you have removed something you wanted. The risk of a careless file is larger than the risk of ignoring spam.
When we would disavow
A manual action in Search Console naming unnatural links, or a paid link programme someone actually ran and can point to. That is roughly the whole list. Absent either, the file stays empty.
If you have been sold a disavow as routine monthly maintenance, that is a service being billed for a file that should rarely change. Ask what specifically triggered it.
Citation
Free to reuse, with a link.
Copy this if you are quoting the figures.
Boatca, A. (31 July 2026). Link spam log: 130 unsolicited referring domains to a new domain in 6 days. alinboatca.com/link-spam-log/
FAQ
Questions clients actually ask
Is this a negative SEO attack?
Almost certainly not, and it is worth being careful with that phrase. Nothing here is aimed at this site specifically. These are link vendors auto generating sales pages that name a domain as an example, and they scrape newly indexed domains to do it. Every new site gets this. Most owners simply never look.
A real negative SEO campaign looks different: targeted anchor text stuffed with money terms, pointed at specific ranking URLs, usually against a site that already ranks. This is spray. The anchors here are the vendor's own advertising copy.
Should I disavow links like these?
No, not on this evidence. Google discards this class of link automatically and has said for years that most sites never need the disavow file. Uploading one is not a neutral act either: a careless file can remove links you actually wanted.
The case for disavowing is a manual action in Search Console, or a clear pattern of paid links that you or someone before you actually bought. Neither applies to spam that arrived unrequested at a site with no rankings to protect.
How can a domain have DR 74 and no traffic?
Because Domain Rating is calculated from links alone. It is a function of how many domains link to you and how strong those are. It has no traffic term in it at all, so a network of sites that link densely to each other can manufacture a high score without a single visitor.
That is the single most useful thing in this dataset. Every domain here measured zero organic traffic, and 20 of them still carried DR 50 or above. Any vendor quoting DR alone is quoting the number easiest to fake.
That finding, with the other headline figures from this log, is written up as a quotable statistic on the UK SEO statistics page.
Can I reuse this data?
Yes, with a link back to this page. There is a citation line below. The domain list is published as plain text and deliberately not linked, so citing it does not pass anything to the networks named.
If you are running the same observation on a new domain of your own, the figures will differ. The pattern, in our experience, will not.
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