During the “Link Building Basics” session at SES, Debra Mastaler came up with a great list of facts and fiction regarding link building. It’s great information to take with you as you embark on your SEO journey. The veterans might even find some new info too. All this information is based on notes directly from the session taken by Chris Richardson.
Know anymore myths about Link building? Disagree with these? Talk about it for WebProWorld. Learn more about the Link Building Basics session
The first myth she debunked was “recip linking is discounted” The fact is recip linking is not discounted however it shouldn’t be your only linking strategy. Stay within your niche though. Outside links are not as valuable. Recip linking can take time and you need to know you’re getting a return link.
Don’t use recip link request automated emails. Try to be personal. Make sure the partner host’s the on their site. Offsite hosted links don’t do you any good. Also, recip linking gives users total control through placement and the anchor text.
Anchor text is incredibly important when you are linking for rank optimized anchor text.
Remember to be picky and that newsletters are good outlets to recip links with provided they archive their content.
The next myth is non-recip outbound links are bad. The fact is search engines look how the site links in and how it links out. Sites with a lot of incoming links and outbound links can be viewed negatively by search.
Link out to sites that will benefit you. Link to sites that mention yours. It helps build credibility.
The final myth and perhaps the most controversial among WebProWorld members is DMOZ links carry strong weight. The fact is they don’t carry any extra weight. Take the time to submit to DMOZ, submit and forget.
Google does show links from sites with page ranks less than three. These links do show up and they will give the appropriate benefit. Google doesn’t show all the links in a link check. If bad sites link to you, you won’t get penalized. You’re not penalized by sites that link to you.
Finally, she reiterated that quality is more important than quantity. Quality content is what is gold. Remember to use good anchor text, don’t always link for rank and discussion groups can be good for viral marketing. Hopefully this will help dispel some rumors for people link building.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
