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9 Signs You’re in Love with Link Building

From keyword researchKeyword research helps websites unearth the best keywords to drive traffic and visibility. This research is supported by a number of powerful web-based tools, the best of which we’ve listed here. to local searches and link buildingLink building is a process of acquiring links pointing to your website. These links are obtained by…
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From keyword research to local searches and link building, search engine optimisation is not for those without passion for the industry. In fact, a link building addiction is often a natural by-product from a love of SEO and will determine every decision a person’s makes and the action they take online.

If you believe you might be living with an SEO obsession, you will be happy to know there are nine tell-tale signs that can prove you are head over heels in love with link building.

  1. You Read About Link Building in Your Spare Time

As any marketer will know, link building is an integral aspect of a solid online strategy. If you are a professional SEO expert, the chances are link-building, and link-baiting has become almost a hobby, as well as a career. So, you probably read about it during your commute, at work, or on your day off.

  1. Panda and Penguins Aren’t Cute Animals to You Anymore

Most people will smile widely when hearing the words “panda” or “penguin,” but you might now immediately think of the troublesome Google updates that can destroy many SEO campaigns.

It is impossible to look at the zoo animals the same way again, as you will think about the annoying mechanisms that penalise sites for keyword stuffing, link farming, and many more black-hat techniques. You probably wonder what much-loved animal Google will ruin for you next. Will it be a zebra, a tiger, or a monkey? You will have to wait to find out, unfortunately.

 

  1. You Love Great Content (But You Also Love to Joke About It)

Let’s face it; content is king. However, this phrase is almost redundant as it has been used so many times by SEO experts and marketers throughout the decades. It is always the butt of a joke, and it is mostly funny because it is true. You just wish people would use a different saying for it! You probably have, however, said the phrase yourself. If you have said it, you might be happy to learn you are a true link building fanatic. Congratulations!

 

  1. Writing Meta-Descriptions is Now Easy

Most avid link builders now know exactly how to summarise a webpage in exactly 156 characters. It might now be as easy as breathing to you. You will know the keywords to use and the language that will make people click on a site. If you can do this without even counting the words, you are officially a link building addict.

  1. You Feel Annoyed by People’s Lack of SEO Knowledge

As many SEO experts will know all too well, increasing a website’s rank can take a great deal of time, hard work, and patience. You will need to learn the best techniques, monitor your competitors, and track your backlink profile regularly.

That is why it can be incredibly frustrating when you hear the following phrases:

  • How come my website isn’t #1 on Google yet?
  • That sounds easy. I could probably do that by myself.
  • Can’t I just pay Google to rank my site at the top of the search engines?
  • Can’t I just buy my links from a private blog network?
  • I want my site to rank on page one by tomorrow.

SEO addicts can become truly annoyed by other people’s lack of knowledge, as they understand the complexities of creating a powerful campaign. It is, however, important to remember that not everyone is as knowledgeable as you when it comes to link building methods or results, which is why you must have a little patience.

 

  1. You Adore Everything About Web Traffic

While website traffic might be the biggest concern or annoyance for many business owners or webmasters, you might absolutely love it. To you, it is probably the best part of your job, as it means your hard work and efforts are now paying off. You love embarking on keyword research, implementing a strategy and watching a site reap the rewards.

Not only might you love to watch the numbers increase, but you may also enjoy logging in to Google Analytics to spot your chosen keywords appearing, watch your bounce rate decline, or to discover your highest performing pages. Even low-performing pages might give you a buzz, as it will give you another challenge to complete. A flurry of traffic will also mean a client or employer is happy, and you have earned your salary for the month, so it can provide a little bit of extra job satisfaction.

 

  1. You Have Excellent HTML and Coding Knowledge

Only true link builders can consider themselves multi-lingual in both HTML and coding. You will know all there is to know about Meta, H1, H2 and Alt Tags. You will also understand the importance of anchor texts, 404 redirects, no-follow links, and indexing. It will become a part of your day-to-day language, which will prove you are an expert while leaving many other people scratching their heads.

 

  1. You Always Have the Urge to Add a Relevant Anchor Text

As keywords will become a major aspect of your daily life, you might have a sudden urge to use them everywhere. You will hear a topic and will immediately think of 10 similar keywords that could help it to rank online, even if the topic has nothing to do with your job! You might also need to regularly fight the urge to add a relevant anchor text into every link… even the links you add into an email to a colleague, client or boss.

 

  1. You Know an Article’s Keyword Density After One Read

Link builders will never look at an article online the same way again. After a quick read of an article, and estimating the word count, you will more than likely know its keyword density. Rather than thinking about what you have learned from the article and how it can help you, you will look for flaws in the anchor text or backlink and will immediately know where a site is going wrong. It is a gift as much as it is a curse.
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James Owen, Co-Founder & Head Of Search

James has been involved in SEO and digital marketing projects since 2007. James has led many SEO projects for well-known brands in Travel, Gaming and Retail such as Jackpotjoy, Marriott, Intercontinental Hotels, Hotels.com, Expedia, Betway, Gumtree, 888, Ax Paris, Ebyuer, Ebay, Hotels combined, Smyths toys, love honey and Pearson to name a few. James has also been a speaker at SEO and digital marketing conferences and events such as Brighton SEO.

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