Is Forum Link Building a Waste of Time in 2018?
-
Hi there, this is a general question about link building strategies in 2018. It actually relates to reports derived from the link building audit tool on SEMrush, so forgive that. We use Moz as well, it's just that we happen to be working in SEMrush for link analysis.
Basically, the audit tool looks at our links and our competitors' links. It has come back with a number of 'opportunities' for link building and I'm questioning the value of many of them, in 2018. Many of the 'opportunities' the tool is suggesting we explore include answering forum questions on places like Reddit, Quora, etc. The tool has been good at identifying topical threads which might hold promise (a very specific branch of legal services) but most of the threads are 3 - 8 years old. To answer them, I would need to muster someone with expertise to post a relevant answer.
So, obviously, my question is does anyone think there is any value in this sort of link building in this day and age? I really think our greatest value will be in guiding their content strategy and looking for content creation opportunities on high authority sites.
Thoughts?
-
You might be able to get some highly relevant referral traffic from forums, so forum links aren't completely useless.
But as Logan and Martijn said, if you are doing this type of link building purely for SEO reasons, then your time is definitely better spent elsewhere.
Cheers,
David
-
Can only confirm this, are there even forums out there still where you can get links without a nofollow? Then I'll start spam... OK nevermind ;). It's dead.
-
Thanks, Logan.
I always wonder why tools like SEMrush tout themselves as DIY 'all in one' solutions and then mislead by providing these sorts of 'false opportunities.'
Thanks for confirming my instincts!
-
David,
This type of link building has been dead for a long time. I'd definitely recommend spending your time elsewhere. Your time will be better spent creating great content.
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
-
Best Methods - Link Building
We are having more and more "new" customers coming to us who have been hit by various algorithms imposed by google. After we have run a site health check and corrected everything, we plan and come up with a link development plan which suits the clients needs. Much of out link development work is safe comprising of; 1. Guest Blog Posts - where we develop creative content with the customer to publish. 2. Industry blog posts - where bloggers write about i.e. "the company" 3. Social media - posting pictures, commenting on forums, etc 4. Paid directories with authority We don't develop links in any other way and it brings results in the long term. Is anyone out there doing something else? Link building can sometimes be like walking on a tight rope. Thanks and happy holidays Gary - Elite Group Marketing London
Link Building | | GaryVictory0 -
Why does Open Site Explorer list SEOMOZ forum links so high ?
When I was checking my back links in Open Sight Explorer I was surprised to see that because I have asked three questions recently here on the forum about my business website www.endeavourcottage.co.uk and they are now listed near the position 3 to 5 Of course I was not putting my business website link on their with the motivation of gaining some SEO benefits but when you get these no follow links do they have any usefulness in that direction? I read that say no follow links have no link juice so is any beneficial aspects? I It wouldn't be the ideal situation to encourage that kind of activity, but if they have no value at all why does Open Site Explorer list them? seo.JPG
Link Building | | whitbycottages0 -
Link building for eCommerce
I have an engraving site where I am looking to increase traffic/ sales. We do local engraving services and sell engraved products via eCommerce. Perfectindesign.com It seems to me that locally I can't compete since most search terms are washed over with every local directory in and around the city that are selling there memberships. So I thought I could compete nationally via the 200 products we carry. I have used site explorer to go through my competitors links. My findings show that other then their twitter accounts and dmoz listing most everything else are paid links and lots of them. Keeping in mind I have 45 root domains with 411 links to my site. Three competitors links data. I probably shouldn't name them right? competitor #1 1k root with 13.9k links competitor # 2 147 root with 16k links competitor # 3 427 root with 28k Should I just start buying these links that range from $10-50 per link or is this a waste of time? Are these truly my competitors or am I comparing my tiny site to the major leagues?
Link Building | | YYV0 -
Link Building Template
Hi all, I am looking to find an actionable, easy to use, link building template to be used by myself as well as across office/clients. Key subject areas for link building have been defined but I am keen to apply a template to past and future link building opportunities as I build on the link building tactics I have a number of link building targets e.g. form competitor analysis, existing links from websites and looking to reach out to amend their anchor text, prospect websites Does anyone have a good insight into categorising the different link building targets by sector? Many thanks Simon
Link Building | | simonsw0 -
Link Building - Goals and Expectations
I'm trying to set concrete goals around link building and I'm wondering if anyone has any insight on what is reasonable to expect. If we are reaching out to 10 sites a day in a non-spammy, relevant way, is it reasonable to think that we'll get 5 links back, 2 links? I just don't know. Tips and tricks are welcome too!!
Link Building | | ehorndahl0 -
Outsourcing link building
Is anyone aware of any high quality link building services, preferably that guarentee a set number of high quality links for a montly fee. I'm familar with webuildpages. I was wondering if there are any other companies who provide a similar service.
Link Building | | PeterM220 -
Link building strategy - black hat or white hat?
I have a competitor who always ranks very on alot keywords relevant to our business and using Open Site Explorer I note they have a tremendous amount of links. I also noticed that it appears their web company has gone out and set up numerous websites with relevant content, and then have linked back to the competitors main site. Is this kosher? I ask because before I settled on my current domain name, I purchased several keyword rich domain names; should I be thinking of setting up websites with relevant (and original) content and link back to my main site?
Link Building | | leonenobleseate1