My Link Building Strategy Good or Bad?
-
Okay I am new to SEO and I have read a few SEO beginner guides and have been practicing SEO over time now. I am trying to do SEO for a new clients site that is a completely new site with no MR and MT and here is my current link building strategy. Can you please review my link building plan and help me out with suggestions and corrections
1. Directory Submissions- From what I understand since the new google penguin updates this isn't as effective of a method but I am trying get high PR directory list, but a lot of them require paid standard submission reviews, otherwise it takes 2-3 months
2. Local Directory Submissions- Such as yelp, angee's list, whitepages, and other local directories.
3. Social Bookmarking- submit links to social bookmarking sites with target keyword(s) as anchor
4. Article Writing & Submission: create articles and submit to high pr article directories with different article titles and also wanted to see different submissions I can make with each article
5. Press Releases- submit to high pagerank press release directories, also wanted to see how many submissions is generally the rule of thumb for press releases.
6. Blog Outreach for Product Reviews: Submit products to blogs with PR 2+ to get review and backlinks
7. Forum Profile Creation- create forum profiles and engage in topics with signature with a link, I understand that since the penguin update this isn't something I should emphasis on
8. Blog Commenting- comment on relevant blogs that have dofollow links and nofollow links for link diversity
9. Guest Blogging- Write unique content and outreach to related blogs for guest posting opportunities
10. .edu & .gov links- How do I gain .edu & .gov links I have read several articles and I am having a hard time understanding this concept, would commenting on .edu & .gov blogs and profiles be an effective method or the correct method for gaining these types of links?
-
Jeepster, that I can't say for sure. As an editor, I go for what is trusted by my readers.
-
Hi Keri & Chris
Thanks for the replies.
What I'm trying to ascertain is: is a link in the body of a post more trusted by search engines than one in an author bio at the bottom of it? -
Yes, you're right, there are very few legitimate opportunities to get a link back to your site from within the body a guest blog post. However, if a resource existed on the author's site that supported the blog post and there were no other appropriate resources, would that be a case where such a link would be acceptable?
-
It can make a difference to to a picky editor who is reviewing your guest post. I can't tell you how many YouMoz submissions start out with "I was talking with my coworkers at my seo company [link drop] about xyz". Both SEOmoz and the author would get called out if we published the YouMoz post like that. Those types of links get removed and the author is invited to put them in their bio.
-
Jeepster, these days, forget the back link and go for the authorship markup from your bio or author page to your G+ account--especially if it's not a high quality blog your guest post is on, 'cause they're going to get dinged eventually and those back links will be worthless. If they don't do authorship, you may think about getting the post published elsewhere. If they're a quality blog (all posts are on-topic and they've got an active readership) it could go either way as to which is better--authorship or back link.
If you have to go with the link, go with a branded term from your bio.
-
Quick Q Chris, given that I found your answer at the top of this thread one of the most informative I've read in a while:
Guest blogging: does it make a difference whether the link back to my site is embedded in the article itself as opposed to in an author bio at the bottom?
Thanks -
I know you said "at least 500 words", but make sure all of your articles don't have the same (or very close) word count.
This is a pattern that's likely pretty obvious to Google as there's a countless number of "SEO companies" selling 500 word articles.
In other words, a blog naturally is going to have posts with varying word counts.
-
Yep.
-
Okay so stay away from any directories that other sites are using targeted keyword anchor text, So when posting links on the directories I should avoid using keyword anchors instead use the client's site or brand name correct?
-
Getting there. Stay away from directories where others are using targeted anchor text.
-
thank you so much for your input and the clarification on my whole link building plan. I revised my link building strategy, so can you please take a look at it and let me know if it is better or worse
-
Okay based on some more reading and your guys inputs here is my revised plan for the link building campaign, the client is in the cell phone accessories field and most of the keywords are high competition
Directory Submissions (Budget=$300/ 1st mo)- Directory submissions using target anchor texts including paid directory submissions including highly authoritative directories such as yahoo and BOTW
Local Directory Submissions- Submit site with targeted anchor texts to local directories such as angee’s list, yelp, yahoo, whitepages, etc.
Blog Outreach for reviews- Contact niche blogs and relevant blogs with at least PR 2+ to do product reviews
Blog Giveaways- Create and promote a giveaway on various different related blogs and websites
Article writing/ Submission- Create 4-5 unique articles with 1-2 keyword’s target in each article of at least 500 words. High quality articles that can be used on high quality sites instead of article directories
Guest Posting- create 2-3 guest posts that can be used to distribute to high quality blogs and sites that offer guest posting
1 Press Release- Create a press release and distribute to high quality press release sites
-
It's hard to give specific input without knowing the client. A link building strategy, like all SEO, is something that needs to be tailored to the client. On the whole, however, with articles it's really is about quality and legitimacy.
If you write quality articles that have meaningful and useful content, then you have a better chance of getting them published on sites that will provide high link value. If you're just gaming the system and writing solely for the sake of links, then you're going to be limited to low-quality sites, which won't do a whole lot for the client.
-
Thank you for the input I really appreciate it, also what are your opinions on Article writing and methods of distributions
-
Arash,
Go to this really cool site that organizes every Matt Cutts video according the questions they answer it's called The Short Cutts, and match your 10 points above against the video topics in the link building catergory. Then watch this video, and then read through these posts. Then you'll want to work on revisions to your list. It's hard work but you can do it.
-
That's quite a lengthy plan. I have no idea what the budget is, but if it isn't large I think it would be best to narrow this down to one or two methods and build from there.
Despite all the negative attention directories have been getting lately, there is still value in them. Your idea of only targeting high quality ones is good, but also make sure they are relevant (either in their total focus or at least have a very relevant category). Having to pay is a given and should be part of your budget. This can be a good, (relatively) quick-result first step if done properly.
Comments on any site, including .edu & .gov, aren't the best first line of attack. Their SEO value is very limited and it takes many to amount to anything. I'm not convinced they every really do amount to anything from a strictly SEO point of view.
Press releases also get a lot of guff, but if there's something legit to announce, then that should definitely be explored. It's all about how much real value the PR brings to readers.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How would you build links to this page?
Hi i have ecommerce store and currently we are looking to build links to category pages like: http://www.theiconic.com.au/womens-clothing-dresses-party-dresses/ What are some natural ways to build links to a page like this? Our SEO agency has done guest posting and forums but these are not natural link building methods and against Google policy. Any suggestions on how to build natural links to these pages? Cheers.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | wozniak651 -
Link Types For Link Building
Hi i have a SEO agency we work with who are building quality guest post links for us, however they are also building forum, profile, blog comments
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | spyaccounts14
and directory based links. 60% of their links they are building are high quality, relevant guest posts while the other 40% are the other link types. The 40% seem to be relevant directories, forums, blog comments, etc. They said they build other link types because it diversifies the link building and profile rather then just building high quality guest posts. As just building one link type can leave a footprint. What are your thoughts on this? Cheers.0 -
What is the best strategy for linking to sub category pages?
My site is set up like this (i have x6 categories and all are similar) Home Page - Category - sub category - X4 detail pages My category page provides a summary/introduction of the subject, my sub category page is the "money page" with ability to quote & buy - my detail pages provide supporting material. What is the best internal linking strategy between these pages? (in addition, in one category i have x6 sub categories but only one of them is a "money page", should i be linking all of these pages back to the money page?) Thanks Ash
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | AshShep10 -
Best to Spend Marketing Budget on High Quality Articles OR Link Building Services?
Greeting MOZ Community: My site has 400 domains linking to it of which about 180 are toxic and 180 are suspicious according to a site audit from a reputable SEO firm. The SEO firm is offering link removal and link building services to remedy the situation. My question is this: if I can create and post high quality blog articles on a very regular basis, will this in and of itself create high quality links to my site? If the articles are of exceptional quality can I post them elsewhere to earn quality links? Does it make more sense to use my budget on paying a PR agency to create high quality articles and posting them on my blog or elsewhere rather than spending on an SEO link building campaign? Should I do both? I plan on having the SEO firm remove toxic links and optimize content using Yoast. But I want to be careful about not wasting my budget if the links will develop naturally if I post the content online myself. I am more inclined to have an SEO pro work on creating links but why pay if I can do it myself. Any thoughts?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Kingalan1
Alan0 -
Advice on Link Building?
I know webmasters shouldn't focus on link building but unfortunately there are some types of content that doesn't get shared as much as other. And for content to go viral, it ain't that easy and it's almost impossible in some smaller niches where you don't have the volume to go "viral". That said I know about the common link building techniques. I know I can submit guest posts but when you're competing with websites that have over 10,000 backlinks, there is no way I'm going to get close to this with guest posting and commenting on other blogs. One way I found for getting backlinks is to publish interviews. Most of the time, people/businesses you interview like to link to this type of content. Publishing value-added content about other businesses' products or services may get some backlinks in return but not that often. So other than that, can some of you share some "out-of-the-box" link building strategies? Thank you in advance!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | sbrault740 -
Sitemap contains Meta NOINDEX pages - Good or bad?
Hi, Our sitemap is created by our e-commerce software - Magento - We are probably going to make a lot of products Meta No Index for the moment, until all the content has been corrected on them - but by default, as they are enabled, they will appear in Sitemap. So, the question is: "Should pages that are Meta NOINDEX be listed in a sitemap"? Does it matter? thanks!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | bjs20100 -
Does having multiple links to the same page influence the Link juice this page is able to pass
Say you have a page and it has 4 outgoing links to the same internal page. In the original Pagerank algo if these links were links to an page outside your own domain, this would mean that the linkjuice this page is able to pass would be devided by 4. The thing is i'm not sure if this is also the case when the outgoing link, is linking to a page on your own domain. I would say that outgoing links (whatever the destination) will use some of your link juice, so it would be better to have 1 outgoing link instead of 4 to the same destination, the the destination will profit more form that link. What are you're thoughts?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | TjeerdvZ0 -
Links from tumblr
I have two links from hosted tumblr blogs which are not on tumblr.com. So, website1 has a tumblr blog: tumblr.website1.com And another site website2.com also uses the a record/custom domains option from tumblr but not on a subdomain, which is decribed below: http://www.tumblr.com/docs/en/custom_domains Does this mean that all links from such sites count as coming from the same IP in google's eyes? Or is there value in getting links from multiple sites because the a-record doesn't affect SEO in a negative way? Many thanks, Mike.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | team740