How to Strengthen Your Weak Links: Diverse Sources
Posted by krosenblatt in Affiliate Marketing, Link Building, SEO Monday, 24 May 2010 12:30 32 Comments
Strong links in the backlink chain
Backlinks are references for your site. The more you have, the more users and search engines can learn about your website.
But while multiple backlinks is good, multiple backlinks from a diversity of sources is best. Four links from the same site can be read as just one reference by users and search engines alike.
Think about it; if a potential employer asked to see three references, you couldn’t list the same person three times, you’d have to find three different people to vouch for you. Backlinks work roughly the same way.
Take a look at your links; is each backlink from a different website?
If it’s not, you’re not alone. SEO experts say that multiple links from the same sources makes up hefty percentage of backlink problems.
So how do you diversify?
Step 1: Judge
First, you need to evaluate the links from the same sources. The first links you should get rid of are any backlinks from any sort of link farm. Automated link building programs are also not a good idea. Usage can get you penalized or even banned by search engines.
If you have multiple sites and are creating multiple backlinks between them, it’s time to pare down. Linking to yourself is not a great search engine optimization (SEO) tactic, but one link won’t get you into trouble.
Finally, make a list of the sites that you know link to you and the number of times they do so. You don’t need to sever any linking relationships as long as the link is legitimate. The point of this list is so you can see how many sources you really have.
Step 2: Research
Now that you’ve faced facts, you need to hit the web and find new sources. Make a list of (or bookmark) the websites that you would like to link to you.
Keep in mind the following site types for sources:
• Directories
• Competitor sites
• Article Marketing
• Forums and Communities
• Blogs
• Widgets
• Press Releases
• Charities
Step 3: Create
These are all great sources for backlinks. Take a look at your list and see what website directories, article directories, forums or communities you are already a part of. Then hit the web and see what sites you can add to your list.
Check out your competitors’ sites and see who’s linking to them. You can use the search engines for help by entering specific search terms for the competitor site:
Yahoo – linkdomain:URL.com –site:URL.com
Google – “URL.com” –site:URL.com
MSN/Bing – link:URL.com –site:URL.com
Just replace URL with your competitor’s domain name and the SERP will show what sites link to the competition. Then you can approach those sites for backlinks.
Use the new Google search toolbar to see what blogs are in your niche and start following the good ones. Building a relationship with a good blogger is a great way to reach a new or wider audience, publicize your business and get backlinks.
Creating a widget is also a great way to get new backlinks. Adding widgets to your site can increase your site’s stickiness, but creating your own (which Widgetbox can help you with) can get a link to your site from hundreds or thousands of websites. That’s a ton of backlinks!
You may not have thought of charities as a backlink source before, but it’s a great idea for a number of reasons. Start with the charity or foundations you are currently involved with, you can reach out to those organizations as a donor. Talk with their site’s webmaster about posting a link on your site to their site, and perhaps they would like to do the same. Or, you can offer your services in exchange for a link to your site. Besides the new backlink, you’re helping out a charity and raising awareness.
These are just some of the ways to broaden your backlink sources and start to diversify. We’ll be back tomorrow with more ways to strengthen your links!
Thanks for the awesome tips.
So is it ok to have multiple links say from different marketing forums or should those be evaluated also.
Thanks
Craig
I’m afraid I must admit that I am pretty ignorant of the ins and outs of internet marketing. So, why you might ask, am I getting involved in it I ask myself the same question – but the fact is that I am interested in writing short self help books to niche markets. I am, therefore interested in what you are discussing here and am eager to learn more.
George Demetrulias
Really great info! Appreciate this kind as it can be so helpful!
This is really helpful information. Building backlinks through article marketing is a good way to obtain lasting quality links.
Thanks for the article. I didn’t know about that site where you can build your own widgetbox. Thanks again.
Thank you for the great, commonsense advice and tips.
Learning how to check on my competitors as well as creating “widgets” on my website will be invaluable. Like all things, it will take some time to get the hang of it but I appreciate your willingness to share this with everyone.
I look forward to reading more of your posts.
Whoa!
Nice suggestion, the charity organizations – never occurred to me, but you’re perfectly right!
Good tip,
Thank YOU!
Steve Lorenzo SEOVirtuoso
Thanks so much for the information. I am trying to work on some of which you have mentioned above. I am totally handling my website by myself and have become the webmaster of my elegant wedding website. I ask your assistance in passing along to all of those that you know, about my website. I am trying to do what is to the advantage from a business and financial perspective to see that my website has what customers want and need and to serve my customers. Thanks again. If any of you who read this wish to do a backlink with me, I would appreciate it very much. Every little bit helps. Thanks a lot. Have a great day and a prosperous business to all of you. Anita Stelling, CEO/Owner/Founder of http://www.shopbestweddingsite.com.
Thankyou for the great tips, I don’t have any back links yet, so will try these tips to get some traffic to my site http://buymyhairties.com and post a result here.
Thanks again
Robyn
Thanks for the info on backlinks. I hear different things about how to use them. I can be confusing determining what is the best strategy. My current challenge is getting traffic.
Thanks,
Dave
I think the widget idea is a good one. The hard part is finding something useful to turn into a widget.
I am in deed grateful to you all. The hints on the back-links strengthening and the need to diversify are helpful.
Once again, thank you and I am looking forward to more hints.
This is some great info about building links. Especially the charity source and the widgets. Two ideas I have never heard anywhere before. But I will be trying them out soon. Along with the traditional sources like article marketing, press releases, forums & blogs. Thanks for the tips on the most important things for marketers to focus on.
Greg
Great information. I was wondering what your feelings are concerning the use of social bookmarking websites to create backlinks to a website. Do you think that 3 or 4 is the most you need to the entire website? Or if it is a blog for example, do you feel that linking each blog post to as many social bookmarking sites as possible is more beneficial?
To Your Success!
“. Linking to yourself is not a great search engine optimization (SEO) tactic”
Is this an internal linking (same site, different pages/posts) or linking within the same IP (server)?
Hi Anik!
I cannot agree more when you are being cautious with Google to do well with SEO. There are many Gurus out there giving wrong information about how they don’t need Google anymore. You definitely don’t want to mess with Google to succeed in this field.
Thanks for the great information (as usual).
Joel
The more i read about backlinks, the more i understand their value. Long live backlinks, the life blood of traffic, sales and profits………………
What about social networks? Can you put strong links on them?
Sounds like some really good advise, but would you really want to get rid of inbound links?
Dave.
I read the whole article, it was very informative.
Thanks Anik for the straight to the important points,
comprehensive information.
The depth of what I need to know about backlinks,
was just right!
Look forward to the next chunk of I need to be
aware & implement this now.
Holla J.Washington
When we said ‘linking to yourself’ we were referring to linking one website you own to another site you own more than once. Internal linking is fine, in fact, it’s one way to protect yourself from someone scraping your site’s content.
Search engines check IP addresses, and don’t give the link a lot of weight if it’s from the same IP address or hosting server. You can link your sites together, but don’t expect it to boost your ranking.
I agree with you Anik that link diversity is very important. I always advocate getting a variety of links from different types of sites so any link building activity appears natural to the search engines.
Besides the above, I’d also add that it is important to point links to sub-pages of a site and not just the homepage. Too often, a site is lopsided with lots of links to the homepage and few (if any at all) links to the interior pages. By placing links to the subpages, you increase the likelihood of getting an indented listing in the search results.
I like your backlinks from charities idea as these are likely to be really nice quality links that will not only improve your standing in the community but also be a highly credible source to backlinks.
what a brilliant tip – that for that! i am going to try it out now – cheers matt
Hey thanks Anik for answering the question I had about automated link building programs. Very good stuff and I can’t wait to see the next post.
Hi Anik,
Great tips!
One tip that may help you and followers:
Include the name of a well-known celebrity in the title.
After doing this-my blog readership picked up considerably.
Now, I just have to figure out how to monetize the increased traffic.
Thanks Again, Anik!
Thanks Anik,
I especially like the widget idea. However, there are tons of free widget out there and it is hard to gain an edge to compete with all those! Any suggestion?
Cheers,
Ming Jong
Excellent tips on links! One must be as diverse in buisness,as one is diverse in life
Keep up the good work
Fantastic tips there, thanks. And thanks too for giving us the Site: searches for Bing – I’d not been able to get them to work!
Great tips
good information, thanks a lot
Great tips Anik
love the idea of using widgets to create backlinks.
Neat trick. Thanks to people like you I am constantly learning something new to do with search engines to help me succeed.