link building Archives - The Content Marketing Blog

Link building is still the mainstay of how major search engines rank websites but the interpretation of link data has changed ever since the Penguin update was launched. Bad link building is one of the easiest ways to get penalized, but good link building can be the hardest part of your job (even more so in certain niches). So, what can be considered definitely as a bad link or a link that should be “disavowed”?

Site wide footer links / multiple links from same domain
Blogroll link
Forum posting / profile link
Free directory links
Links from same class C IPs
Links from spun content
Links to different industry websites from the same article / content
Links from link-farm directories / pages
Links from non-English sites (for example – .ru, .jp, .cn, etc.)

If you have fallen prey to this techniques earlier by some unethical vendors who claim to be experts, it is always advisable to get rid of such links either manually or disavowing the links via Google Webmaster Tools. From our end, we have adopted the below techniques as far as building links is concerned.

Backlink Analysis – Balancing of followed links to nofollow to have a natural profile. Check backlinks and traffic of sites from which we are getting links to find and weed out sites which are themselves hit by this update.

Link Velocity – The first and most significant observation that stood out among sites which were affected by Penguin update was link velocity. We have reduced our link velocity since the update. Getting too many links quickly will be flagged easily by Google.

Anchor Text Diversity – Continue to vary anchor text and lower the % of specific key terms focus. We have been doing this since 2012 and will continue to work the %’s.

Link Diversity – Sites performing well have good link diversity including links from Guest Blog Posts, info-graphics, videos, local business directories, presentations, coupons submissions etc. Since Google prefers a diversified link profile. We recommend getting links from these sources. Most of these sources are also now part of new deliverables.

Apart from this, to get quality links you can also consider link reclaiming. Link reclaiming is the act of finding sites that mention you, your brand or a related story and simply asking for a link.

There are a number of ways to find opportunities for link reclamation:

Web Mentions – Google Alerts is the most popular tool for monitoring mentions on the web, but Moz has also just released an alert function for their Fresh Web Explorer. Set up an alert for your brand name and when a site mentions you without linking send them an email.

Images – Use Google’s Search by Image tool to find out where people are using your images and ask for a link credit, this works almost 100% of the time.
Videos – If you are hosting video on YouTube you can use their analytics platform to see where your videos are being watched on external sites. Visit those sites and ask for a link to your website to supplement the video.

If you incorporate these rules to your online strategy you’re more likely to rank higher while also providing a good user experience which is ultimately what Google wants for its users.

Matt Cutts speaks out about links

As the head of Google’s Web Spam team, Matt Cutts knows a thing or two about links. He knows quite a bit about a lot of things actually, but today we’re going to focus on his insights on how Google views and values links, and how this information can be used to strengthen your current SEO strategies.

Video: What is Google’s thinking about links from article marketing, widgets, etc?

Links aren’t so bad after all

For quite some time now there has been a rather intense debate within the SEO community regarding links. Exactly what is their value? What does Google think about link building?
The list of questions goes on, and there are always multiple views on every issue.
Perhaps in an effort to set the record straight (as much as Google can or will) or for some reason unknown to us, Mr. Cutts has shed a little more light on the subject of links and their relativity to web rankings.
According to Mr. Cutts, links are still a viable ranking factor. He did not comment on exactly how much links influenced rankings, but getting this level of information from anyone of his influence in the search field is definitely a big deal.

Link building is okay!

As if this wasn’t exciting enough, Matt Cutts goes on to talk about Google’s stance on link building. As it turns out, link building itself is not the problem, but rather the way many people approach the concept is flawed. The idea is not to focus on getting people to link to you or building links simply for the sake of doing so. Instead, the focus should be on creating the kind of content that people want to link to all on their own. Sure you can include social sharing buttons and other elements to make sharing easier, but the content should be able to stand alone and be awesome with or without incentives or opportunities for easy sharing.
He also spoke about a few content marketing / link building practices that could use a different approach as well:

Press releases – Press releases shouldn’t be thought of as link building vehicles first, and information sources last. Instead the focus should be on attracting the attention of media outlets and journalists who might be interested in promoting your story. Though press releases often allow for a link to be included, make sure that any links you make a part of the release are relevant to the information in the release and on the page of your website you’re linking to. Make your press release more about information than purely about SEO.

Guest posting – Because it has been identified as a way to build links, guest posting has gotten off track and has promoted the creation of blogs and websites that aren’t all that dissimilar to the bloated low-quality article directories that were hit hard by the Panda algorithm update. Essentially a trend of submitting less than amazing content to blogs of less than stellar reputation just for the sake of gaining a link or two has become common practice, and that isn’t the way things should be. Instead guest posting should be about generating more awareness and exposure for your brand, and reaching out to new audiences while networking with other bloggers and businesses in your industry. There needs to be more focus on quality content and building relationships, leaving link building as a pleasant side benefit, not the main event.

Guest Blogger – Kris Dietz

I love creating something amazing then spreading the word about it! My mission is to develop and mold SEO into an amazing outlet of sharing valuable resources. I enjoy networking and meeting like minded individuals.