Busting Link Building Myths To Maximize Your Website’s Impact
Busting these link building myths can liberate you from self imposed restrictions
Google’s link building rules and guidelines have to be interpreted in the right way to reap its benefits. Not doing it rightly can be very frustrating as it can ruin your SEO prospects. The rules that have been laid down by Google are not always easy to interpret. In fact, there arises some ambiguity in its understanding that actually confuses users. This gives rise to wrong beliefs about rules that are supposed to exist but actually does not exist. As a result, a lot of myths have generated around link building.
A few selected high impacting myths have been chosen for discussion in this post. The purpose is to debunk the myths and reach to the core of good link building practices. This would help to make better use of opportunities that might often be over looked for the sake of playing by the rules. Read on to know more about how to get the maximum benefit from your link building initiatives without bending the rules.
Speedy link gathering can be penalized
There is truth in the belief that getting too many links too fast attracts Google’s wrath. However, when you look at the specific cases that support this claim a different picture will emerge. Spammy link building measures that resulted in fast link collection is actually what caused Google’s ire and have been penalized. The rules have been framed to encourage fair and honest link building practices. As long as you stick to it, there is no reason to worry how fast you get the links. The speed is of no consequence to Google as long as the methods are fair.
Do not accept links from sites with lower Domain Authority
If you gather good links from a website, the quality of website has no relation to the Domain Authority. Domain Authority is determined by building a co-relation with Google’s rankings and several other metrics of the website. It simply does not indicate the quality of website. What actually matters is the quality of links and not the quality of websites from where it has been sourced. Since Domain Authority is in no way related to quality of links or quality of websites it should be side stepped in link building. The links say it all and not the websites.
Avoid linking out to other sites
There is the word doing the rounds on the web – avoid reaching out to other sites to get linked to it. Many would like to do it for higher rankings but are held back by the myth. Using a “no follow link” to reach out to other sites does not harm in any way. There is enough proof that web pages that were linked out have better performance than those without links. It used to be detrimental when PageRank was the only ranking algorithm of Google. Now since it is not the lone member to determine rankings, go ahead with confidence.
It’s a taboo to get links from directories
Any SEO company NYC will tell you that there is no reason to avoid directories to source links. As long as you get the links from good quality directories and resources lists, there is nothing wrong in it. Google has penalized the act when the sourcing is done from low quality directories, paid link directories or SEO focused directories. Exercise with caution to judge the quality of directories. If you are sure that it lists authentic sites then you can take in your fold to get quality links. It depends on your wisdom and judgment in selecting directories.
Asking directly for links should be avoided
What Google actually discourages is trading in links. It does not prevent asking some websites for links provided there is no intention of buying it. Getting links should be a voluntary act and not linked to any kind of trading in cash or kind. The focus is on curbing manipulative practices. As long as you are honest in your approach, you can always ask for links. If you find any authentic directory listing resources that could include your business, you can jolly well ask them for inclusion by requesting for links. It’s a fair deal without any trading and that’s fine.
Get links from sites that belong to your niche only
This is not the right thing to do as you are imposing self restriction by misinterpreting what Google wants. Even if you get links from sites that are not relevant to you or do not belong to your niche, it can turn out to be very useful. When you get links from sites not related to your field, it is an indication about the genuine quality of your website that has attracted others. This type of editorial links, as most of it is, add more value to your website as it is not easy for others to get it.
Do not get more than one link from a website
Once again you are tying up yourself in knots. How does it matter if you gather several links from a site that helps to attract more traffic and usher visitors who mean business? Do not be misled by the idea that the more diverse is the link portfolio, the better rank it earns. Even if it is true, if multiple links from a website augurs good business for you, refraining from it can be foolish. After all, ranks or business, what is your ultimate goal has to be understood first.
Stick to correct proportions of anchor text variations
If there is a large proportion of anchor text that matches more with keywords than your brand then Google might get suspicious about it. It is true, but if it happens organically there is no reason to worry at all. It all depends on the color of hat that you wear during link acquisition. Grey and black hat techniques that throw up such results can land you in problems.
As long as you follow ethical link building methods, there should not be any inhibition whatsoever about Google’s clampdown.
