December 19, 2017
How to generate links for SEO?
That is why much of the SEO work, in addition to optimizing
the web and its content, is the generation of links with the purpose of
increasing the authority of the web and improving its positioning. This
practice is known as link building.
In this chapter we will focus on what Google values of the
links, why people link to other websites and the main ways to get a link,
including the main link building tactics.
How Google interprets a link
It is necessary to know that there are many factors that
determine the value of a link, many hypotheses about points that could
influence and some discrepancies between professionals. The most important
points are:
Relevance
Authority
Trust
All in all, it is more important to generate links to pages
with great authority, relevance and trust than to build links without any type
of filter.
How has the link building changed?
Wendy Piersall
A few years ago the link building was done automatically by
signatures with links in forums, bots that commented on publications in a
random way inserting links, exchange of links, and a series of easily scalable
techniques that nowadays do not give results. The latest updates of the search
engine (especially the Google Penguin versions) have focused on better
identifying these unnatural patterns and not only do not transmit value, but
penalize the SEO of a website.
The speed with which Google changes forces us to consider
not only what Google values now, but what points work now but can be
penalized in the coming months. In general it will help us to put ourselves in
the shoes of Google: Your business is to offer its users the best possible
result for a question, the links are just a way to identify it, so we have to
start by creating a content that really is the best answer to that question
before looking for shortcuts.
If you really get it, that content will receive links
without effort, and if the page is optimized you will start uploading positions
in Google.
Why do we link?
The generation of passive links is when your page receives
links without an external effort to obtain them. But why would they link you?
·
You are relevant: This happens to brands like
Coca Cola, Sony, or those that are very relevant in some niches.
·
You are an authority: If you are a reference
within your industry, you will get links from people who link you to complement
content.
·
You add value: People put links in articles,
news or portals to offer additional value or complementary information. If with
what you do you offer a value that complements the content of others or
generates new / interesting information such as news, they will link you.
·
They appreciate you: It may be your friend or
someone your content falls in love with. In any case, this relationship can
lead to a link.
·
Partners: When two people collaborate and
therefore the improvement of one is good for the other, it is normal that they
link with each other, since this can improve the SEO of both domains. WATCH
OUT! Do not force this technique. The exchange of links is punishable by
Google. Many pages have a specific section for partners and commercial
agreements. Pay attention to possible alliances.
· Others: It can happen that people link you
because they hate you, because they want to launch a criticism against you or
because you are relevant for a negative reason. This is not a type of link that
will benefit you in the long term, because it damages your brand and because in
the medium term Google could detect that it contains a negative feeling.
In short, it generates relationships with those who see your
content, it adds value, it becomes an authority and, finally, it becomes
relevant. This is the path to a page with a great link profile that generates
SEO traffic.
Link building tactics
Through content
This technique condenses what we call passive linkage
obtaining in the previous point. It consists of improving your content in a way
that provides value and is a source that everyone wants to link. A variant, the
link baiting, involves generating specific content with the purpose of
generating attention and more links. Within the link baiting we include the
creation of infographics, controversial websites, reports and studies, etc.
Through contacts
A person or organization has a series of relationships that
they have built over time. The more connected you are, the more relationships
you have established. And these relationships can be transferred to the online
world in the form of links.
For example, it is very possible that among your closest
relatives or friends, several have blogs or other types of web. It is normal
for employees of a company to have their own page. It is normal for
distributors, customers and people who provide service to an organization to
have an online presence.
Therefore, it is important that an SEO is well connected and
always has a good number of contacts in the online sector. Do not see it as
asking for a favor, but as a way to add value with your website to another
page.
For example, in the case of a restaurant, you could try to
have your staff and your trusted clients with websites link to them from them.
You could contact suppliers and associates to request that they put us in the
sections of their websites dedicated to it. We could even go to bloggers'
conventions to invite the most important ones to eat for free or with an offer
to obtain mentions and links.
Directories and social repositories
These are all the pages in which you can put a link to your
page through a registration or a registration. This is one of the most
dangerous points in SEO, since there are hundreds of free resources on the web,
but they are potentially harmful to our page.
There are good and bad directories and repositories; the
maximum to know if they are positive for us is: Will it bring traffic from
people who click on the link?
In general, a link that generates this type of traffic will
be positive. If what you want is SEO value, focus on the following points:
1.
Niche Directories: Niche directories are those
that try to provide information on a very specific sector. For example,
technology blog directories or technology company directories. Here you can
even put lists or compilations that fulfill the same function in pages or
blogs, for example: "The best marketing agencies in Spain". Here we
could try to communicate with the author to justify why he should include ours
or try to reach him by other means.
2.
Local directories: These are especially relevant
for local businesses such as restaurants, bars, driving schools, etc. Google
reviews many of these directories to verify information about your business,
and the activity and comments that are generated in them have a great
influence.
Some examples of local directories:
·
Google Plus Local
·
Yelp!
·
Yellow Pages
·
Tripadvisor
·
Social Networks
Most social networks allow you to generate a link to your
website, and most are indexable to Google. This does not mean that you have to
create a profile in every network that exists, but that you make sure that you
take advantage of your social presence in this sense in the channels that make
sense to use for your website. Google+ has a huge effect on the positioning of
a website, showed as the latest studies.
However, do not forget that the main SEO benefit of social
networks is indirect: The diffusion of your content makes it easier to receive
links, so Social Networks are in a way a passive link building tool, and a
complement to active.
3.
Content aggregators and social bookmarking:
These are pages that are dedicated to trying to cure the contents of the web,
either through user votes, popularity in social networks or other factors.
The really popular sites are interesting, not because of the
SEO benefit they can bring, but because they can generate traffic spikes for
thousands of visits from the public that you can build loyalty.
4.
Guest Blogging: Guest blogging is a technique by
which a blogger writes in an external blog in exchange for popularity, and
sometimes, to include links to other pages. If you have a blog or your page
includes one this technique can be the most effective as long as you take it
seriously. It is necessary that you contribute a real value to the blogs in
which you write, only in this way you will get your post to be disseminated and
get a greater reach for the story you want to tell.
Tip: Reserve your best posts for blogs where you will get
more visibility, not yours. If you are going to include links, try not to
appear stuck with shoehorn, but links to some valuable resource or websites
that complement the reading. The guest blogging can not be a form of link spam,
and putting a link in the bio is not as effective and is susceptible to be
detected by algorithms.
5.
Sponsorships: NGO sponsorships, popular
initiatives, or holding events to take care of Corporate Social Responsibility
can be a great way to generate links and contribute to the improvement of your
environment. People love linking to charities or philanthropic events, so
partnering with them is also positive at an SEO level. Make sure that if you
are doing actions of this type you can give an SEO return, either creating your
own page if it is something of the organization or web, or ensuring that the
collaboration also materializes in a link.
6.
Broken Link Building: The broken link building
consists of identifying broken links on third-party websites and recommending a
series of options to the web master that include pages from our own website.
For this we look for links in pages, niches and themes similar to ours,
identify possible links and get in touch with webmasters. It is worth noting
that it is one of the most scalable and effective tactics currently, so we
recommend that you read this spectacular broken link building guide from MOZ
and become an expert.
Conclusion
At Rebel Corp – a Miami
SEO marketing agency – with the help of our professional ppc consultant we can help you
find the potential websites for link building and more to stand out and target
your potential readers.
Jason Mayoral has been actively involved in SEO and Internet
marketing since 1999. Jason's knowledge and experience have made him one of the
most respected and referenced SEO's in the industry and his passion for
innovation and growth has led his company, rebelCorp.us , to become one of the world's leading online
marketing firms.
Author Bio_JasonMayoral
Jason Mayoral has been actively involved in SEO and Internet
marketing since 1999. Jason's knowledge and experience have made him one of the
most respected and referenced SEO's in the industry and his passion for
innovation and growth has led his company, rebelCorp.us , to become one of the world's leading online
marketing firms.
