Link Building Lies That Are Preventing You From Succeeding

Link building has been around for more than a decade, but there is still a lot of confusion around how to do it successfully. The Penguin and Hummingbird updates did a lot to scare webmasters and SEO professionals from link building. After the updates, many websites lost traffic seemingly overnight.

As a result, you’ll hear people say things like, “Don’t ask for links,” and “Don’t participate in guest posting.”

Search engine optimization is constantly evolving. Certain aspects of link building may no longer work, but that doesn’t mean building links is a dead strategy. Here are some common link building lies busted.

1. “Great” Content Attracts People

A lot of people today simply recommend creating “great” content. They say that creating this content will naturally bring people to your site. While this might be true for established sites and brands, simply relying on “great” content could be a fatal decision.

Firstly, what does “great” really mean? Second, you need links to rank.

For every click on a paid result on Google, there are 11.6 clicks on organic SERP results. Despite recent updates, you still need links to rank on the SERP. Therefore, you don’t just need great content, you need people to link to it.

2. You Don’t Need Links to Rank at the Top

The more authoritative your site, the higher you rank. Google still determines authority by how many relevant backlinks you build. While it’s not the only ranking factor, it does go a long way in determining where you land on SERP results.

3. Only High DA Sites Matter

Yes, you should target high DA websites for your link building campaigns. However, that does not mean that lower DA links don’t matter.

Relevancy matters more than domain authority. If a website is highly relevant to yours, but has a lower domain authority, because they’re newer, you should still target them.

Google’s algorithm is programmed to look for diversity in backlink profiles. If you have more than 100 90+ DA links this could trigger a red flag, so don’t turn down the smaller relevant sites.

4. Only Ask for Links to Your Conversion Pages

If you only ask for links to your money-making pages, chances are you won’t be successful. These pages tend not to be the most valuable pages to audiences. Other webmasters are more likely to link to a page with useful information. It’s important to create high quality resources others will want to link to and promote those in your link building campaigns.

5. You Have to Create the Largest Piece of Content to Rank

Today, a lot of people focus on word count. They believe the more words, the better the opportunity to rank, but take a look at the SERP and you’ll see word count varies. The fifth ranked website might have more words than the second ranked site.

You don’t need to create a word-heavy ultimate guide to get links every time. Don’t just focus on beating your competitor’s piece. Instead, focus on building a resource that answers the most important questions. Use recommended searches to discover what questions people want answered, then answer them.

Don’t believe link building lies. Build a healthy link strategy and benefit in rankings. Ready to start earning more from your website? Join the ArrowShade affiliate network today!