Link building mistakes are quite common, but if they continue to happen they can turn into lost opportunities.
Link building plays a pivotal role in search engine optimization – particularly in off-page optimization.
Some of the common backlink building blunders include linking to sites that have a bad reputation. We see this a lot when companies buy low cost links from resources in places like Fiverr.
Bad quality sites include spam sites, porn sites, illegal sites, auto-blogging site, and sites with duplicate content or under another Google penalty.
If the site is bad enough, Search engines could blacklist you if you receive links from them.
Avoid the following link building mistakes to achieve higher ranking and ongoing SEO success.
Resources:
- https://www.fannit.com/seo/on-page-seo-checklist/
- https://www.fannit.com/seo/ultimate-google-penalty-recovery-guide/
Mistake 1: Assuming That More Content Is Better
As seen on sites sites like Searchenginejournal, creating high-quality content for powering your entire link building success is one of the best things you can do.
Quality content on your site is key and that it should be given top priority – this applies just as much to long-form content.
With Google’s algorithm update, it doesn’t work to just keep adding content for the sake of adding length. It has to be engaging and high quality.
If you include studies or even visualized data, it is important to choose data that’s relevant and engaging for your audience.
Practical Application: Consider auditing your campaign content and don’t hesitate to eliminate anything that isn’t interesting, useful, or relevant.
While going through a particular item or section, ask yourself this question: Are we losing anything by eliminating this?
If you are losing usefulness or relevance by eliminating content, then let it stay.
Recommended Article: Common SEO Mistakes
Mistake 2: Not Breaking Up Content Chunks
Huge chunks of content can end up overwhelming readers.
Your readers may get bored or lost and ultimately leave your site.
A long-form guide could often look like a block block of text – which lowers your chance of others linking to your content. In a similar way, a huge infographic that keeps on going endlessly could quickly lose readers.
Things to Do:
- Your long-form or purely text-oriented content should be easily digestible. You may consider:
- Incorporating some short graphics or a video.
- Investing in adding captivating design features on the page.
- Building customized navigation.
- For infographics, you may consider:
- Breaking it up simply into some smaller designed assets. Consider weaving all the graphics seamlessly into a story.
- Coming up with a special section dedicated to a somewhat different niche audience.
Mistake 3: Buying or Selling Links
Google frowns on purchasing links from sites and you could find yourself banned from Search Engines if you are caught. Search engines look for natural links, particularly.
Google’s official stance is that buying and selling links is regarded as spam and must be avoided at all costs. Instead focus on employing the services of a marketing agency that sets up relevant guest post opportunities with a backlink in the content that points specifically to your page.
Mistake 4: Focusing on Nofollow Links
Nofollow links have their place in your link profile to make it look more natural, but they don’t provide a whole lot of value for SEO. You’ll want to dedicate your time to acquiring a dofollow links instead.
Mistake 5: Getting Backlinks from Exclusively High PR Domains
It is not a bad idea to get backlinks primarily from high PR sites; however, it’s better to keep a combination of both low PR and high PR links to get a more natural looking link profile – thus getting better outcomes. If you are building high PR links, but ignoring low PR links, it wouldn’t look genuine. Natural link variation is important.
Mistake 6: Getting Backlinks from Irrelevant Niche Sites
High-quality backlinks are good, but it’s important to focus on getting ones related to your industry. A lower PR niche site that’s niche relevant can do just as much, or even more, for your rankings as a high PR site that’s not relevant to your niche.
Mistake 7: Getting Links with Anchor Text That Don’t Include Target Keywords
Anchor text plays a pivotal role in your ability to rank for specific keywords. Your target keywords need to be utilized as anchor text for incoming links as well instead of just your site name or your company name. Again, brand or site anchor is an important aspect of having a healthy, natural link profile, but don’t forget to use your target keywords.
Mistake 8: Building Lots of Links in a Short Timeframe
The search engines may mistake you as a link farm if you build a lot of links in one go and it doesn’t look natural. The process of link building should be a consistent process, continuing over time to achieve your target. Nothing can be achieved overnight. Be patient and follow best practices. It will be worth it in the end.
Conclusion
Backlink building can be difficult, but it’s quite effective for getting impressive rankings in search engines like Bing, Google, etc. Come up with a comprehensive list of sites that are relevant to you and make a plan to reach out to them with an offer to guest post.
Fannit can help you with your link building process. To learn more, contact us here.
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