A lot of people seem confused with the rel nofollow tag. In simple terms this is a clear indication to the search engines that the site owner does not want to pass on any link value (or link juice) via anchor text links or URL’s to other (external) websites. Continue reading
Tag Archives: link building
10 Types of link and how to obtain them
Reply
Any link building campaign should include various sources. Here are 10 that I’ve been known to use in the past.
Recommendation
A recommendation from a different website about some of your content. This is definitely the most difficult kind of link, but it’s also the best. People who have their own site or blog want to give their readers reason to come back. If they’re recommending really good content constantly, the chances are, their readers will come back. The best way to obtain these links is to constantly come up with good, original content. Content can be anything from an excellent blog post to a video. The more original and interesting it is, the better chance you have of obtaining a fantastic link.
Guest Blog
Similar to recommendation, as the blogger has to endorse your content before they accept your post. There are hundreds of thousands of blogs out there, all differing in readership and authority. The trick is to get a guest post on a blog in your industry with lots of readers. The best way to obtain these would be to try and contact the blogger through email or social media, and try starting a conversation or adding to one that they’re currently in. Nowadays, an email asking for a link usually gets binned, so you have to be a little bit more tactful. Another way would be to contribute to their blog by making good comments on the posts. Alternatively, there are some blogs who openly allow guest posts, which is probably an easier idea to begin with.
Blogroll
Most blogs have a sidebar with a few of their personal links on there. Guest blogs are more effective, but it’s still good for getting some extra targeted traffic. If your on the blogroll of a really popular blogger, it can only be a good thing. Same as above, the best way to achieve this is to offer constant good content and join in with blogger conversations.
Article Distribution
Used to carry a lot more weight in the past, but still useful if you use the good article distribution sites (http://www.ezinearticles.com http://www.ezinemark.com). Make sure you use original content as Google can penalise for duplicate content.
Blog Commenting
Make a comment on a blog post in your industry, and the blogger usually lets you include a link back to your site. These are now mostly nofollow (wont improve search engine rankings) but it will make people more aware of your site, especially if you’re making good contributions. This can lead to blogroll or guest posting opportunities, as well as recommendations.
Forum Signature
Join an industry specific forum and start joining conversations with the regulars. Some forums allow you to include a link in your signature (content automatically included in each post). If you become well respective on the forum for your contribution, you’re likely to get an increase in traffic.
Social Networking (Twitter/Facebook/Linkedin)
Becoming more and more effective in recent times. If you build up a good following on a social network, submitting links on them can be really effective. As always, make sure you’re contributing well and not using spammy techniques, and you’ll see your following increase. The more followers you have, the more chance you have of traffic when you submit a link.
Social Bookmarking
There are lots of social bookmarking sites available, but the top three are Digg, Stumbleupon and Reddit. This is where you go to submit links that become available to all users on the sites. Once again, if you take the time to contribute to the sites well, the chances are, when you submit a link, you’ll get traffic.
Directories
There are lots of directories out there (paid and free). When I start an SEO campaign, I always start with the free directories, as they’re a quick and easy way to start being noticed by the search engines.
Blogging
There are a few free blogging services available, such as Hubpages, Squidoo, WordPress and Blogger. Signing up is free, and you’re able to write articles and blogs, linking to your site. You’re also able to comment on other people’s blogs, which in turn makes them aware of yours.
There are many other types of links, but using these ten will help in your SEO campaign over the next few months.
Just a word of warning – try to make the sites that link to you are as relevant as possible. You don’t want Google to think you’re trying to cheat the system.
5 Guarantees an SEO professional shouldn’t make
As businesses are spending more and more time on the internet, there are a lot of SEO companies offering you their services. Here’s a little list of 5 things any reputable SEO shouldn’t be guaranteeing you.
Guaranteed top spot on Google – The Google algorithm (the system it uses to rank websites for certain keywords) is extremely complicated. Add the fact that it’s constantly changing, and it’s very difficult to know the exact ranking factors. Also, there might be another company starting SEO at exactly the same time with a bigger budget or more authoritative domain name. If someone claims that they can achieve top spot for a certain keyword, make sure you’re very careful about agreeing to anything.
On site is more important than off site/visa versa – In any SEO campaign, it’s important to make sure your on site and off site factors are both optimised. I like to compare it to training programme. If you go to the gym and workout every night but then go home and eat junk food, it wont be as effective as if you eat a healthy diet. SEO is the same. Both on site and off site can be effective, but their effectiveness is maximised if both are being worked on.
How long will it take to see results? – This is a difficult one, as, obviously, any business owner wants to know they’re getting something for their money. If you have a new site, it can take anything up to 6 months to see any visible results with the search engines. This is why it’s important to use effective link building methods as, although search rankings aren’t necessarily improving, the site’s traffic will be.
The best type of link – Once again, Google doesn’t tell us whether a directorial link is better than a forum signature, or the difference between a link at the top of the page and a link in the middle. However, if we try to cover all possible link building options, we’re bound to see some improvement.
What will change tomorrow? – Absolutely vital to any SEO campaign – make sure you constantly check and read industry news. Google recently changed their algorithm dramatically (panda update), and anyone not reading their stuff could have been left far behind by the change.