The first step to successful link building specialist is understanding the basics of SEO and how it affects your site. Poorly executed link building could be detrimental to your SEO and taint your reputation as a quality site, leading to future issues like penalties, damage control, and weakening rankings. Here are the most common mistakes that can impact the effectiveness and availability of your backlinks.
1. Not Using a Keyword-inclusive Anchor Text Profile
Many site owners attempt to base their anchor text profile off keyword research, which may be useful for determining onsite optimization tactics, but is not always adequate for building backlinks. Many times, when building a link using a keyword in the anchor text, it will appear unnatural or manipulative to search engines and be identified as spam.
A successful link-building campaign requires that you use natural anchor texts; this means including your keyword in the anchor text but also keeping it relevant to the site that is linking to you.
2. Not Using a Keyword Tool to Create Anchor and Internal Links on Your Site
Perhaps the most effective way to build your backlink profile is to use a keyword tool, such as Wordtracker, ScreamingFrog, or WordTracker. These tools are invaluable when creating anchor and internal links, as they allow you to input the keywords that you want included in anchor texts and internal linking schemes. This will ensure that you have optimized the keywords on a page so that they appear natural and not spammy.
3. Not Linking Directly to Your Internal Pages Instead of External Websites
Many site owners create hundreds of links to external websites in hopes of increasing their SEO rank. While these links can help you achieve high rankings, they also can quickly get you penalized by search engines. To avoid penalties, make sure that you are creating links to your internal pages and not external sites. When using link-building services, you should be sure that the choices are authentic and relevant to your niche market and content.
4. Not Using Text Links for Internal Links
Many site owners focus solely on outgoing links when it comes to their link-building campaign. However, text links can be valuable for internal linking strategies and help to improve the appearance of your site to search engines as well as create a better user experience with your readers. Text links also increase visitor engagement and bounce rate on your site.
5. Not Using Backlinks for Content Promotion Instead of Link Building
Many site owners find link building to be the most important aspect of their website. However, backlinks should not be your only method for content promotion. Your SEO efforts should focus on establishing authority through content creation and on social media platforms, as well as generating traffic with quality blog content and press releases.
Then you can add more backlinks to your site in the future to improve search engine rankings and enhance your site’s overall brand recognition.
6. Not Using a Site Audit Tool
Site audits are an essential part of any link-building campaign. These tools allow you to track links and backlinks to your site on an ongoing basis, which can help you determine if you’re on track to achieve your goals.
It will also help you identify how much backlink juice is left in your pool when it’s time for a refresh in the future. You should also keep track of anchor text profiles, date of creation, and page authority, as these metrics can all be used to determine link quality.
7. Not Using a Link-Building Tool
Businesses don’t typically have the time to monitor and evaluate their link profile or manage hundreds of links themselves. This is where tool services can help you automate your link-building efforts. Many tools are free to use, while others charge a small fee for premium tools that provide detailed analytics.
There are many tools on the market, many of which are limited in scope and focus. So it is important to choose one that provides all the essential backlink building insights that you need.
8. Not Using an Authority Link-Building Service
Using a link-building service requires that you find one that can provide your business with the authority links you need to improve your SEO. Most businesses don’t have the time or skill set it takes to build backlinks on their own, and this is why hiring a professional service is such an attractive option.
There are different types of link-building services available, from those that create only text links to those that offer both text and image backlinks. There are also many online companies that provide low-quality services for a low price, and some link building companies are even scams, so be sure to use only the most reputable sources.
