Is it worth pursing PR and guest posting just for links?
-
I'm still new to SEO, but I have a decent foundation on it.
To me, it seems like guest posting and earning PR on quality sites is good for the coverage, but will those one-off links really make a difference?
I'd have to assume that SEOs earn their worth when they build scalable links (i.e. tools that people link to, guides, etc)
So, while PR is nice, I feel as if I shouldn't focus my time there, but spending time on building a product such as QuickSprout.com's SEO audit tool, Cappex's college match tool, CNN's budget calculator, Moz's google weather report, etc.
-
Pursuing any avenue just for links is the wrong way to go about it. Press Release links have gotten hit bad lately because of their misuse and overuse... but if you have some news on your business that is actually PR worthy then shopping it around to respectable sites and getting your news out there to the right people can increase your qualified traffic. Same goes for guest posting. Its been hit bad lately but its not about the links per se. Getting your name out there, branding, sharing useful information or something humorous or poignant can help people learn who you are, increase your qualified traffic, etc. etc. and you don't need a followed link to reap the benefits. It also wouldn't hurt to look into social for branding and community purposes. And a product/tool/widget/infographic can also be a great way to gain links and/or spread via word of mouth/social mentions. But be sure not to go embedding any hidden links in sharable widgets or you'll get bitch slapped by Google as well. As Andy put it, creativity is the key here. There are so many ways of earning links, getting shared and being seen online that there practically is no limit to what is possible.
-
First, I'd forget about doing guest blogging for the sole purpose of gaining links. Matt Cutts, Google's head of web spam, told us in clear terms that online marketers should stop doing this. (I'd add that people should not have been doing this in the first place.)
Rather, I'd focus on contributing to online publications for the purpose of increasing awareness and coverage of your company, website, product, and/or service among a specific, targeted audience. Don't worry about the links. They'll come naturally themselves as long as you do online PR in the right way.
For more, I'd suggest looking at my Moz post on the topic: http://moz.com/blog/an-introduction-to-pr-strategy-for-seos
In short, I'd focus on the websites from whom you would want links even if Google did not exist. If you sell widgets, then you want a mention -- with or without a link! -- on a website that is read by people who are interested in widgets. Think about this issue like this and don't worry too much about getting links directly.
-
I honestly wouldn't look at PR services to build links Brandon. Google is well on to this one and it could do you more harm than good.
For links, there are hundreds of available tactics that can all help you, without penalty, and like you say, if you build something that people want, you will build links more naturally. Everyone likes a good tool, but the same is also said for great articles, studies and research that might have been done, but perhaps that you can improve on.
The only limitations here, are how creative you can get
-Andy
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
-
When conducting a link building strategy does it matter the country the link is from?
We are a UK business and if we have links mostly from US based blogs and websites does this penalise us. The links are from relevant websites and topics. Should we be focusing on .co.uk sites
Link Building | | Caffeine_Marketing1 -
Will short linking to my site affect SERPs attribution of inbound link?
Some brand partners are using their short links to link back to our site (like bit.ly but they have their own). They have a high domain authority and trust so we want that link back to be read by Google. When I downloaded all inbound links from Moz, this brand's site was not listed, making me worried that the inbound link isn't being seen or considered! Haven't been able to find any info on this...
Link Building | | PAC31350 -
Link Relevance vs Link Authority ?
Hi guys, I have a quick question regarding some low quality links my site is getting. From the information in Open Site Explorer, the website Im talking about has a page authority of 16 while the domain authority is 11\. These are very low quality scores in my oppinion and Im thinking of removing them with Google Disavow Tool. The thing is that, although the domain is low quality, the links have relevance as they're in the same business sector as us. More exactly, the name of the domain is taxisavona and the company I work for is also a taxi company. So, now I`m thinking, should I disavow the link because of it's low scores or should I leave it because it is relevant to our business ? Thank you in advance! Best regards, Tiberiu Iavorenciuc
Link Building | | Tiberiu0 -
Link building during link removal
We were advised by out outsourced link removal vendor not to build any links while they are removing links pointing to our site. I am worried that our site will lose significant traffic if we dont build any new links while waiting for them to remove links that caused our site to be penalized. What are your thoughts?
Link Building | | WizardOfMoz0 -
SEO and PR
In the home improvement industry (windows, doors and conservatories) what is the best approach with regard to PR in order to build quality links. It's a lot easier if you are selling a computer, mirror, widget etc as you have an actual product that you can send magazines,bloggers, journalists to review/feature for inclusion in their publications. It's a lot more difficult if you are a builder, double glazing installer etc to get this PR coverage as you have nothing to send them to review, feature etc. What approach do the experts on the forum think that would work best in the double glazing industry to secure coverage across publications both online and offline?
Link Building | | ocelot0 -
For a new site, does it matter which sites I get back links from first? I.e., are the first back links more important than later ones?
I've heard that when a site is new, the sources from which it gets its first back links are very important -- that the early links are more important for ranking than later links. Is this true. If so, what would be some good places to get these very first links? Thanks.
Link Building | | sigma3x0 -
Internal Linking - 100 plus links
Hi Everyone, I have a question of how the on-page links are being counted. Say you have a page with a warning of having too many on page links (100+). How are all of these links counted? Let's say there are only 5 links on that page. Do the links on each of those pages count too and so on and so forth? I just want to make sure I have wrapped my head around this correctly. Thanks!
Link Building | | dirigodev0 -
Free link on a Paid Link Blog
Hi there, I have been doing some outreaching, and managed to have a blog post accepted on a authority blog. They included links to my website, and I was very pleased with the placement. However, having browsed through the site, I was worried to see that they openly admit they allow 'reviews' of websites, with backlinks included, for $50 per review. I am worried I might be penalised without actually doing anything wrong. I did not pay for my link, but the link has been placed on a site which openly admits they accept payment for links. Should I be worried? Should I ask them to take it down? To date I have been told countless times by bloggers I am outreaching that if I pay $10, $50, $100 etc I can write a blog post. I have never accepted because of the risk of penalization. Now, unwittingly, I am linked to from a paid link site with a blog post that would look like I have paid for it because of the placement and style of back link. What do you think? Thanks,
Link Building | | giveacar0