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Are Any Link Building Techniques Really Outdated?

Link building is one of many ways that you can optimise your website in order to increase its ranking in search engine results and boost traffic and conversions. But because SEO policies are regularly changing, you need to keep up with the latest rules, especially when it comes to what link buildingLink building is a…
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Link building is one of many ways that you can optimise your website in order to increase its ranking in search engine results and boost traffic and conversions. But because SEO policies are regularly changing, you need to keep up with the latest rules, especially when it comes to what link building techniques you choose to use. So if you are still using the same old techniques that you have been using for years, they may very well be outdated, and they could be doing more harm than good to your website.

Are you still using the following outdated link building techniques? If so, it is time to update your SEO strategy.

Posting a Lot of Blog Comments

The majority of blogs will contain a section for comments at the bottom, and website owners have been using these comment boxes as an opportunity to leave a link back to their websites on relevant blogs.

But because Google now monitors the anchor text that contains a hyperlink in a comment, you have to be cautious. Commenting on blogs could end up distorting the anchor text and forcing you to leave behind a backlink with identical anchors, and this could alert Google.

Submitting to a Bunch of Directories

A directory is basically a list of websites that are categorised by their subject matter, topic, or industry. There are still many directories that you can find in just about every niche that you can come up with, and most of them will let you submit your website to them for free. This provides you with a totally free and easy backlink to your site and potentially a good boost in traffic.

So what’s the problem with submitting your site to one or more directories? Well, consider how often people use directories today. Just like the phonebook, online directories provide redundant information that can easily be found elsewhere, and with search engines providing better, more accurate results in seconds, most people simply do a search and leave it at that. Plus, because Google no longer recognises directory sites as having any value for SEO, you could be penalised for submitting your site to too many directories.

Using Content Farms

By submitting articles to content farm websites like Squidoo and Hubpages, you could potentially get a lot of backlinks to your website. And this worked for a while, but not anymore.

Panda is Google’s new algorithm that identifies and gets rid of the SEO value of content farms, which tend to be filled with a lot of low-value articles filled with spammy content. Google now drops these content farms from its rankings, thereby devaluing the backlinks found on their pages.

To improve your website’s SEO, make sure you always stay on top of the latest rules, especially when it comes to link building strategies, as many of them are now outdated. This will ensure that the strategies you implement actually help your site, rather than hinder it, when it comes to where it ranks in search engine results.

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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