This article describes the types of backlinks on the internet today – both good and bad backlinks.
As we’ve mentioned in previous articles, when it comes to backlinks, quality is key. Google has begun penalizing websites that build low-quality or spammy links.
Link-building techniques have typically included such things as article submissions and directory listings. They worked well and they posed little risk, if done correctly.
But we’re here to tell you that times with Google have changed. It’s now more important than ever to ensure you’re creating high-quality links. With the introduction of the Penguin update from Google, sites with low-quality backlinks are now being penalized.
In this article, we’ll focus on which kinds of links that you should be building, and which ones to avoid.
NATURAL EDITORIAL LINKS!!!
(rays of sunshine, happiness and a general feeling of well-being abounds)
Natural editorial links are the absolute backlink holy grail. These are editorial links given to you from some other site. They are links that you didn’t have to ask for. And apparently, you did such a good job, that someone decided to link back to your site.
The more of these kinds of links that you can get, the better.
For example, you may have created a great piece of content and someone decided to link back to you. These kinds of links are very highly valued, they are hard to get and they take time. But they are achievable.
And these are the gold standard for Google when it comes to backlinks. These kinds of links stand the test of time – and coincidentally – these are the exact kinds of links that OutReach Frog specializes in.
Manual Link Building or “OutReach” Link Building
As an SEO, this is probably one of the most common types of link building that you’ll engage in.
Manual link building involves manually contacting website owners and bloggers asking them to link to you. In many instances, this also involves creating content for the website owner (to their specifications, of course) and then asking the site owner to publish the content.
Of course, you’ll want to contact site owners with blogs that are relevant to your site. For example, if you have a specialty automotive parts store, posting an article on a blog about classic cars is a no-brainer.
If you try to contact people with no connection to your industry, they will be confused when you ask for a link. So make sure to look for blogs with content that’s relevant to your niche.
Creating your own links
It’s not ok to create your own links anymore. This is considered black hat marketing and search engines frown upon this practice. If you do this, Google and other search engines have begun devaluing or even penalizing this type of link.
Here is a list of black-hat link building techniques to AVOID:
- Blog comments that are not moderated
- Article directories
- Guest post signatures
- Advertorials
- User profile pages
- Guest books
- Forum signatures
Just don’t do it. Period.
In conclusion, strive for natural editorial links. And if you do manual link building, make sure you do it correctly. If you don’t know how to do it correctly, call the professionals at OutReach Frog.