SEO and Link Building: Good and Bad Plans - Strategy One: Build a high number of inbound links
(Page 3 of 4 )
This a double-edged sword. Of course we want to build inbound links to your site, but some methods will cost you in ranking.
The bad plans
Hire a link building service. At first glance this seems like it would be a great idea; after all, you are guaranteed links to your site. The thing is that most search engines have a mechanism in place to recognize when a site is link spamming, which is what these services are actually offering you. When you turn the work over to a third party, you lose control of the situation, and that is a problem because it leaves you unable to control the quality and relevance of the links to your site.
Build hundreds or thousands of links yourself. Build links with every site you can get to agree or make a comment on. Well, this idea is getting warmer. You have the ability to exercise control, but you just aren’t doing it. Before you go off half-cocked you should think about why we practice SCO in the first place. We do it because higher rankings draw in readers, which brings in advertisers and revenue. Linking to or from an irrelevant site will not help you in the long run, and may cause search engines to mark you off as surely as if you had paid a service.
The good plan
Build your links judiciously; worry about the long term and not flash-in-the-pan results. The path to doing this is surprisingly straightforward.
First I want you to make two lists. The first list should be of sites that you can build links to by yourself. The first list will include blogs in which you can post comments (and links), and the second will be populated with sites with which you want to build a linking relationship in the content that the site publishes. Now choose your top 10 from each list.
On your self link building list, be sure that your comments or postings are not spam-like in nature; be relevant and thoughtful. For you second list, get the contact information and send polite and professional emails suggesting a shared linking arrangement. You have to be able to give as well as take here.
Build your self posted links slowly, focusing on one or two comments a day over a few weeks or months. For the second list, once you have sent out the emails, all you can do is wait. After a few weeks have gone by you can move on down your list to the next 10. Just be sure to honor your prior agreements or you may find yourself with angry link partners on your hands.
Next: Strategy Two: Build a high number of outbound links >>
More Link Trading Articles
More By Katie Gatto
