Link building is a crucial aspect of SEO because it helps search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.) discover new pages. It’s one of the easiest and most dependable ways to boost your SERP ranking. When reputable sources cite your website as their go-to source for information, search engines notice that and index your page accordingly. Algorithms are complex and continuously evolving, but backlinks remain an essential factor in how search engines rank web pages.
It’s easy to produce links in large numbers, but they don’t have any impact on organic ranking. If you invest time, energy, and money in the wrong kinds of link building practices, you won’t generate the ROI that your company needs. Nonetheless, if done correctly, backlinks will allow a favorable light to shine on you. Quality backlinks are everything for SEO. If you ask any link building agency, they’ll tell you the same. Avoid the following practices at all costs.
Not Personalizing Your Outreach Email
Many turn to email marketing to obtain links. Off-page SEO can be realized through other communication channels, but email trumps in comparison. It’s still the preferred method of communication, particularly among business professionals. Cold email should be an integral part of your link building campaign. You can bring in quality backlinks. Personalized emails boost click-through rates and conversion rates. Using templates denotes a lack of effort on your part. Make your emails stand out among the crowd and ensure readers engage with them.
People get emails in their inboxes every day. If you don’t want your emails to go to spam, be willing to make an effort. Find the right balance between quality and quantity. To increase conversions and sales, keep these tips in mind:
- Address recipients by their names. The subject line is the first thing that your prospects see. Address people by their names, and make them feel special. Include at least the first name or the last name. Test your emails to avoid awkward mistakes.
- Schedule emails based on your recipients’ time zones. If your company is based in London, but you’re sending emails to clients in New York, schedule your emails. It takes about a day to schedule an email across all time zones, so don’t schedule more than one day in advance.
- Use dynamic content. Add variables to the mailing list based on location, gender, age, lifestyle, interests, and so on. Treat your recipients as individuals with one-of-a-kind personalities. Take into account the content length when developing your email template.
- Link to personalized URLs. Connect your email campaigns to personalized landing pages. Personalizing URLs offers a much more compelling experience. So, use the data at your disposal for optimum results. Make sure your email subscribers arrive on landing pages that are tailored to their needs.
Buying (Or Selling) Links
Strategies like paid links don’t work. Buying (or selling) links will hurt your ranking. Exchanging money for links to manipulate the system is considered a violation of best practices. If you’ve been caught buying links, and lots of them, your website will be penalized. The consequences can be extremely severe. As a rule, penalized websites never make a full recovery. Temporary gains aren’t worth the risk. Under no circumstances should you consider paying for links.
Obsessing Over Domain Authority
Not all links are created equally, so make sure to get the best ones for your website. Consider the Domain Authority (DA) of backlinks. It’s representative of how well a site ranks in the SERPs. You can use DA to evaluate potential backlinks, but don’t let it become an obsession. If you focus on domain authority alone, you’ll get backlinks from a limited number of sites. DA isn’t used by Google or any other search engine, so it’s not a ranking factor for SEO. You’d better focus on website relevance.
At present, we know a little bit more about how search engines work. Backlinks to your website should be from relevant sites, irrespective of their domain authority. More exactly, the connections should be made to specific, relevant content. A backlink is relevant if it comes from a website that covers subjects like yours. It’s the natural choice to link to. Convincing website owners and content managers to link to your material can be difficult. But what else can you do? If you feel it’s too tough to handle, you might want to hire link building services.
Not Optimizing Anchor Texts
When other websites agree to create a backlink for you, have them create a suitable anchor text. The backlink anchor text should use descriptive keywords to accurately describe your web page or idea. The words should help search engines understand your site and increase your rankings. Equally, you can increase the bottom line of your business. Search engines differentiate between several types of anchors, such as branded, naked link, and long tail, to name a few. Be careful naming your anchors.
Failing To Create Content That’s on Trend
There’s a lot of stuff on the Internet. Not all content out there falls into the cool category. No matter what piece of writing you produce, make sure it’s different. When you compose a post, do it in a way that’s authentic. If you stick to relevant topics, this won’t be a problem. Even when creating how-to guides, try to discuss topics that haven’t been discussed before or are less common. Certain topics (trending or not) are better to avoid completely. Always have the target audience in mind.
Experiment with content types like infographics, lists, case studies, personal stories, and resources. Imagery can help text-centric content be more digestible (and memorable). Most importantly, images attract links. Creating a nice graph with some information isn’t enough to generate links. You must create something that will take people by surprise. When it’s ready, build a list of outreach targets and get the infographic in front of them.
Having Only One Link Building Strategy
You need more than one link building strategy. Even if you experience success with one particular method, it’s important to diversify. It doesn’t matter if you do all the work yourself or outsource it to a link building agency. With a diversified plan, you’ll see better results. Look for alternative strategies that can work for your business. Improve the efficiency of your marketing plan and strengthen the relevancy of your brand.
