Link Building Failure: 5 kinds that could hurt your blog

To be or not to be in inbound linking is a question that many people are asking today. Are you one of them?

Google changed algorithm to curb blackhat backlining. Search engine even denounced few top of the rank sites and their PageRank , indeed, nosedived.

But this doesn’t mean back links lost value. In fact inbound links still carry value to your site. But they can earn Google’s wrath also.

If you are not a veteran webmaster, it will be difficult to swim through the link-world. However, you can take note of 5 specific inbound links you should avoid at any cost.

1. Spam links on comment and forums

As a webmaster, you must have come across posts and comments outright irrelevant but impregnated with links. These are spam trying to carjack juice out of your site at your cost. Search engines can even misread your site if you have too many of them and downgrade your site.

However, for a site or forum of considerable size it’s not easy to track every single link minutely. Use available tracking tools. And alert moderators on the risk.

2. Paid links

There are people and companies who claim to boost up PageRank overnight with bulk inbound links from authority and high PR sites. Don’t trust them.

First of all, no honored authority site would like renting out their web space for couple of dollars. So, you will end up getting trash links from gambling and eeee sites. Links also come from sites with no specific past or futures. Nobody can rely on links from these sites. Besides, search engines will, for sure, downgrade your site, if found involved in link trading.

3. Link exchange

Often you will see people asking you to link to their site. In exchange they will link back to your site. These are reciprocal links. You may think them agreeable when you should avoid them.

In reciprocal links, weaker site makes the most out of the pact. Logic is simple. You optimize search engine and develop good content. People come to your site and you link them out to your partner site. But, in exchange you won’t get much as your partner is weak and doesn’t gather much traffic.

Your partner can even dupe with a ‘nofollow’ links to your site, which earn no PageRank any way. Search engines also disgrace such practice.

4. Link farming

Link farms are open secret of high-end expensive SEO strategy. It has both of ‘blackhat’ and ‘whitehat’ sides. It means building hundreds of sites with intention of forwarding links to other sites. Reputed search engines dislike its ‘blackhat’ side of course. Besides, spending money on so much delicate strategy hardly makes sense. You should put money in better uses like content development and analytics.

5. Footer links

They are junk today. Almost no search engine values them for PR purpose. Few people use them for keyword staffing but that is not very ingenious strategy to follow. So, you should avoid footer links as far as possible.

So, invest money and time on organic links instead. They will never lose shine.

Alyssa Clarke (5 Posts)

Alyssa is a writer/blogger. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes to James Mann Stag Energy

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