With the arrival of new Google algorithms, webmasters now have to pay more attention to their off-page SEO efforts to build a strong link profile. One of the most important practices is backlinking, which requires regular monitoring to steer clear of harmful links. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at bad links to help you create a successful link profile.
Beware Low-Quality Directory Submissions
You have complete control over where your website is listed. It’s fine to include your site in relevant directories, but make sure to check them first. A directory filled with ads and lacking moderation can be risky. You don’t want a link to your site from a questionable source. The chance of low-quality directory submission is too high to overlook, so it’s better to avoid them.
Avoid Link Networks
Google actively seeks out and penalizes link networks. These networks usually own several websites, which can provide backlinks to your website for a price. You need to keep in mind that eventually such websites will be tracked down by Google and banned. If your link profile includes this site and your URL is found in the network, you might face repercussions. Google maintains a strict policy that backlinks must come naturally and not through such manipulative off-page SEO practices.
Use Paid Links Only in Small Numbers
Let’s understand this with an example. Suppose you come out with an app and want it to be reviewed. You can always approach a website for a “sponsored” review with a full disclosure. This will certainly generate more downloads for your app and increase traffic to your website. However, ensure that you mark this paid link as “no follow.” This makes certain that the search engine ranking of your website is not affected by the traffic through the paid link. Google considers this an ethical practice in building a link profile.
Evaluate Old Backlinks
Over time, your backlinks can be broken for a number of different reasons. When you have a large number of broken links though, your website’s ranking can drop dramatically. Along with the external links, make sure that your internal links to separate web pages aren’t broken. If you’re changing the URL of your website or changing the web host, make the transition as meticulously as possible to avoid a huge number of broken links.
Keep Backlinks Relevant
There’s something extremely fishy about a website that deals with automobiles having backlinks to a health/fitness website. If your audience is based in Sydney, Australia, it’d also be weird to earn backlinks from somewhere in Nigeria. You’ll need to analyze your backlinks and disavow them if they’re too outlandish in your niche. Lack of relevance in such instances can be a red flag for the search engines. In fact, a video by Matt Cutts of Google specifically touches upon this topic.
Overall, remember that Google has started taking manual action against spam websites. It’s a clear indication that you must be vigilant in your off-page SEO tactics to earn quality backlinks. All of these directly impact your website’s link profile. The following infographic will explain in more detail on how you can earn backlinks and develop a natural link profile that boosts rankings with full detail about Off-Page SEO.
