Link-building is arguably the most important element of the search engine optimisation (SEO) process. The reason for this is that search engines believe that a domain with plenty of websites linking to it is popular and therefore must be of good value to users.However, SEO agencies must remain ethical when building links to a certain domain. This is highly important that because search engines like Google will punish websites that gain links unethically by reducing their visibility within results pages. Unethical link-building was one of the main practices that Google clamped down on via its Panda update earlier this year.
This article lists some important tips which are crucial to follow when building links for a website.
DO ask for links from highly-regarded relevant websites
According to the Google Algorithm, links from high-traffic websites are worth a lot more not just in terms of web traffic but also in terms of search engine authority. For example, a steel company is better off asking for a link from a big name manufacturer then they are from some obscure local steel news blog.
DON’T pay for links
As explained before, Google believes that websites should only gain links because they feature high-quality content which website owners believe will be of use to their audience. For this reason, it will punish any website found guilty of paying for links.
DO ask for links within anchor text
A link within anchor text gives search engines more idea of what the page in question is about. This makes it more likely to rank highly for that keyword in search engine results pages.
DON’T spam
Spamming message boards, blogs and news articles with links to your own website is definitely another unethical link building technique which both annoys others and can get you punished by search engines.
Building links is crucial to any SEO campaign, but it’s crucial for anyone building links to follow these rules or risk the wrath of search engine providers.