Last Updated on March 3, 2023
If you’ve ever used Google Search, you know that it focuses on providing you with high quality search results. Their algorithm evaluates websites based on hundreds of factors. I you wish to know specifically how Google ranks websites, check out this resource.
When building backlinks to your website, quality is way more important than quantity. Many people think that more is always better, but that simply isn’t true. In this article we demonstrate how you should approach building backlinks to your website.
How cheap backlinking services can cripple your rankings
The truth is, cheap backlinking services like those found on fiver.com (and elsewhere) can actually harm your rankings. Google penalizes websites which have had un-natural growth. This growth is often accomplished by using spammy practices, which are frowned upon by Google. You might like the idea of getting 10,000 links to your site overnight, however your excitement will quickly vanish when your rank plummets.
So how do you know which links are “good” and which could harm your website? Generally, most search engines like to see “natural” looking growth. Whilst you can still use certain services for that extra boost, you need to be very careful. Most of those cheap backlinking services use bots. These bots spam your link onto thousands of worthless pages.
Yes, technically it boosts your backlinks, but it adds very little value and looks suspicious. If you think that your website will become “insert a very popular website here” overnight, I would strongly advice you to pinch yourself. There aren’t any shortcuts.
Why a natural backlinking strategy works best for your website
The best backlinking strategy is one that doesn’t try to do too much too soon. Grow your site naturally by adding a few links each day. Cutting corners isn’t going to get you anywhere, and it could harm your site’s rankings.
Although you’re still going to want plenty of links in order to rank for competitive keywords, quality links are key. It’s no use getting thousands of backlinks from worthless websites when a handful of high value links can be far more beneficial for your venture. A site’s importance is often determined by its Page Rank, or PR.
Most new sites start with a PR of zero, the maximum being ten. Basically, search engines place more value on incoming links from higher PR sites. It’s going to be virtually impossible to get links from PR9 or PR10 sites, but even a few PR2 or PR3 links can be vastly superior to those from sites with no Page Rank. Getting links from PR4 or PR5 sites isn’t out of the question either.
How guest posts can provide quality backlinks for your site
Quality, contextualized links are also important. Google is going to like it if your incoming links are from sites which are relevant to your niche. A great way of getting contextualized links on high PR sites is through guest posting. Where a relevant article is placed on a (high PR) blog in a similar niche, with a link back to your site.
These sorts of backlinks look natural and offer value to the reader. Not only do search engines like them, but you might gain organic traffic from the blog’s readership, giving you even more benefit.
Conclusion
Here are three takeaway point from this article:
- Some of the best backlinking strategies focus on quality rather than quantity.
- Natural looking links on relevant, high value sites can be much more productive for your SEO efforts.
- Some cheap backlinking services can actually cause your rankings to drop.