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
-
Viewing search results for 'We possibly have internal links that link to 404 pages. What is the most efficient way to check our sites internal links?
We possibly have internal links on our site that point to 404 pages as well as links that point to old pages. I need to tidy this up as efficiently as possible and would like some advice on the best way to go about this.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | andyheath0 -
ECommerce website with link to manufactures site for ordering - Should these links be follow or no follow?
Dear Mozzers, I have a couple of questions regarding link juice and whether I should have do follow or no follow links ? We have an affiliate eCommerce website and on our product pages we have a "Order online " button which will go our subdomain on the manufactures site in order for the user to complete the online ordering process So it's - www.ourcompany.co.uk - "Order Online Button" - www.manufactuer.ourcompany.co.uk Should this " Order online Button" be a Follow or No Follow link ? I ask this as currently from looking at Majestic seo , these "order online " buttons on my product pages seems to be Follow links so am I losing potential link juice by sending it externally ? Am I correct in assuming by changing it to be no follows, I would increase the link juice going elsewhere internally? thanks Pete
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | PeteC120 -
Linking to own homepage with keywords as link text
I recently discovered, that previous SEO work on a client's website apparently included setting links from subpages to the homepage using keywords as link text that the whole website should rank for. i.e. (fictional example) a subpage about chocolate would link to the homepage via "Visit the best sweet shop in Dallas and get a free sample." I am dubious about the influence this might have - anybody with any tests? I also think that it is quite weird when considering user friendliness - at least I would not expect such a link to take me to the homepage of the very site I was just on, probably browsing in a relevant page. So, what about such links: actually helpful, mostly don't matter or even potentially harmful? Looking forward to your opinions! Nico
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | netzkern_AG0 -
Linking to URLs With Hash (#) in Them
How does link juice flow when linking to URLs with the hash tag in them? If I link to this page, which generates a pop-over on my homepage that gives info about my special offer, where will the link juice go to? homepage.com/#specialoffer Will the link juice go to the homepage? Will it go nowhere? Will it go to the hash URL above? I'd like to publish an annual/evergreen sort of offer that will generate lots of links. And instead of driving those links to homepage.com/offer, I was hoping to get that link juice to flow to the homepage, or maybe even a product page, instead. And just updating the pop over information each year as the offer changes. I've seen competitors do it this way but wanted to see what the community here things in terms of linking to URLs with the hash tag in them. Can also be a use case for using hash tags in URLs for tracking purposes maybe?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | MiguelSalcido0 -
Daily Link Building tactics to move the needle
I know most of you may frown upon this question, but to those of you who are still going after blog commenting, forum posting, Q&A sites (even if that means you're getting nofollow links), do you have any recommendations on a guide/blog post that describes how to create a daily "low level" link building program to supplement the higher level, relationship dependent link building that you're already doing? Thanks in advance!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | pbhatt0 -
Footer link - Created by
Hi everyone We created a website for our customer, and we wanted to have a footer link: "Created by WebPerfection.biz" Some Marketing company advised our customer, that it will hurt their SEO if they have that link for us in footer Would you guys advice on this please? Thank you P.S. site for our customer: www.azsedans.com
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | DavidIRC0 -
C Block IP Links Strategy
Hi guys i run a web design company and have around 50 sites that i have designed most dont have links but to us i was considering adding a footer link that will link to a blog page within that site, each post on each site will have unique content about the project and about us as a design company. As you can see most of my ip address are c blocks, any advice here please, thanks in advance Example Ip list
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Will_Craig
abc.32.230.1
def.20.252.37
ghi.48.68.82
zz.32.229.131
zz.32.231.208
zz.32.253.87
xx.170.40.170
xx.170.40.172
xx.170.40.232
xx.170.40.247
xx.170.40.32
xx.170.43.200
xx.170.44.103
xx.170.44.105
xx.170.44.108
xx.170.44.111
xx.170.44.127
xx.170.44.137
xx.170.44.146
xx.170.44.157
xx.170.44.77
xx.170.44.81
xx.170.44.86
xx.170.44.95
xx.170.44.96 [question edited by staff to remove full IP addresses]0 -
Creating 100,000's of pages, good or bad idea
Hi Folks, Over the last 10 months we have focused on quality pages but have been frustrated with competition websites out ranking us because they have bigger sites. Should we focus on the long tail again? One option for us is to take every town across the UK and create pages using our activities. e.g. Stirling
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | PottyScotty
Stirling paintball
Stirling Go Karting
Stirling Clay shooting We are not going to link to these pages directly from our main menus but from the site map. These pages would then show activities that were in a 50 mile radius of the towns. At the moment we have have focused our efforts on Regions, e.g. Paintball Scotland, Paintball Yorkshire focusing all the internal link juice to these regional pages, but we don't rank high for towns that the activity sites are close to. With 45,000 towns and 250 activities we could create over a million pages which seems very excessive! Would creating 500,000 of these types of pages damage our site? This is my main worry, or would it make our site rank even higher for the tougher keywords and also get lots of traffic from the long tail like we used to get. Is there a limit to how big a site should be? edit0