Backlink Building - is it worth it?
-
I've got a UK-based site with about 10,000 backlinks, according to majestic, and just 4 according to Open Site Explorer? Confusing! Rivals tend to have more - 28,000 in the case of our nearest competitors.
So I'm not sure the best way to go about building backlinks? Or if it's worth actively seeking to build them?
The index page of the site has a Moz PA of 45 (DA = 35) and I'm looking for any ways to increase these - need to get the DA up to 73 to compete with largest rivals.
One of our main rivals has about 60 .edu links - would be great to emulate that, but I'm also not sure how you go about this? i.e. when you spot a good backlink someone else has, how would you begin the process of also getting that link?
-
Some people write content that explains how to select the product, how to maintain it, demonstrations of how to use it. These are great for attracting links. DIY sites are the best examples of this type of content. These article pages, if done well, can attract links, pull traffic, and ads on those pages send visitors to your sales pages. Or, you can offer items for sale on these pages and those sales will come after your content has inspired the person to buy.
-
Thank you, that makes perfect sense.
-
It depends, I would take a look at your rivals backlinks and see what types of content people are linking to on their website. Then I would consider recreating it or developing something better. If that seems feasible I would go for it.
However, I think it would take a lot of effort to move the needle in terms of your current domain authority. If you have the resources I would say go for it. If not then I would target less competitive terms etc.
-
Thanks EGOL, that makes sense. I'm looking for backlinks to products essentially, so not a great deal of content but perhaps some "newsability" (we won't be beaten on price in the UK, for instance).
-
Many thanks Jordan - I've read that guide and it's really useful.
What I'm still unsure about is whether it's worth me getting someone to do, timewise. The guide seems aimed at getting backlinks from bloggers - can that make a big difference on higher competition search terms? My rivals have many backlinks from Govt. & national media sites, for instance.
-
After you are finished reading the Moz Guide to Linkbuilding that Jordan suggests, I would do a content audit to determine if you have valuable content assets that can be marketed as "important things for other webmasters to link to". If you have these kinds of assets then you have a chance at attracting good, editorially-given links. If you don't have these kinds of assets then you are entering an area of simply "building links" that are not supported by valuable assets on your website. That type of linkbuilding is very different because it will either be paid links, traded links, dropped links or other types of links that Google will classify as linkspam and slap you with a Penguin problem or an unnatural link penalty.
-
I would begin by reading Moz's guide to linkbuilding to get started. They will provide some insight into how to get a solid linkbuilding campaign started. You will also want to conduct some research and build content that will earn links as well. For example, if you find a backlink you would want from your competitor look at the content piece or page that earned the backlink. Decide if you can build a more compelling content piece or elaborate on a specific topic. Then reach out to the webmaster and start that relationship and pitch your content piece.
That is one example to get you started.
Hope that helps some.
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
-
Link building strategies
Hello, I read lots of blogs and websites. None of them clearly tell that where and how to build links. How to get back links quickly to boost the website rank. Would you help me to build quality links? give me specific answer where to build links like 1. Press release 2. Directory submission 3. Web 2 submissions etc
Link Building | | NancyThomass0 -
Link Building Paralysis
I have been hesitant to build links with all these penalties and need a few good tips for building good quality links. I have a wedding and photography business and we produce tons of photo content which we: blog - 1-5 times per week Facebook Social bookmark Get our work featured on other sites 1-2 times per month Any other ideas I'm missing? I know their is a ton. Just need some fresh, clean link building ideas.
Link Building | | photoseo10 -
What do you use to gather and build Links?
I was just wondering what do most people use for gathering and building links? Is OpenSiteExplorer enough? When I am analysing competitors, there are literally thousands of links, how do you scan them and select the ones you want to use? Any other tools?
Link Building | | moneywise_test0 -
Out-of-season link building
Hi all, We have a couple of seasonal websites (Artificial Christmas trees). Now, its fairly easy to develop good content that people are interested in when the season is approaching, and even easier mid season. However, this somewhat stalls when everyone has had their fill of Christmas, between Jan and Sept. So, my question is, how would you suggest an approach to link building for a seasonal ecommerce site such as this? Obviously my aim is to develop links now, so when September comes, the site is up there. Thank you 🙂
Link Building | | Webrevolve0 -
Notification of backlink creation
Hi I was wondering if any one knows of an automatic updating service that notifies you when a back link to a site becomes live? Could this be achieved in google alerts perhaps?
Link Building | | Hardley0 -
SEO value to Reddit backlinks?
Can someone point me to an authoritative article on the value of Reddit links? I'm trying to determine if it's something we want to put effort into doing on a regular basis. Are reddit links followed? It seems like some are and some are not.
Link Building | | BostonWright0 -
Outsourcing Link Building
I have searched through various freelance sites for link building services, and it looks like there are plenty of people who can get links on PR4+ sites at a pretty cheap rate. You know how they always say when it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true? People are charging around $250 for 50 links on sites with good page rank, do follow, etc... Do you think it could help or hurt my SEO campaign, considering I have a good site with solid content and other good content posted on the web?
Link Building | | ianblair441 -
Backlinks from HTTPS adresses
I did a search of the Q&A and didn't see a direct answer to this, so here it goes! Is a backlink from an HTTPS address valued the same as an HTTP? Thanks!
Link Building | | endlesspools0