Bad Link Building Strategies to Avoid: Protecting Your Online Reputation

Many link building strategies and tactics can be valuable when used properly, but there are some that you need to avoid at all costs if you want to protect your reputation online. These link building strategies will damage your reputation, and they may even cause search engines to punish you with lower rankings in the future. So avoid these at all costs, and keep your reputation safe!

What is a link building strategy?

Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own. This is done in an effort to improve your site’s search engine ranking and visibility. However, not all link building strategies are created equal. In fact, some can actually do more harm than good.

The unhappy eight

#1 DO NOT BUY LINKS

This is a huge no-no in the world of link building. Not only will it get you penalized by Google, but it will also damage your reputation among other webmasters. If you’re caught buying links, you could be blacklisted from Google altogether, which would be devastating for your business.

There are many legitimate ways to build backlinks to your site and blog, such as guest blogging and commenting on other people’s blogs. You don’t want to risk having your domain or site removed from Google’s index because of one bad decision!

#2 DO NOT OVERLINK

One of the quickest ways to damage your reputation is by over-linking. This is when you have too many links going to and from your website, and it looks spammy. Not only will this turn off potential customers, but it will also get you -again – penalized by Google. So be sure to keep your linking under control!

#3 DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN UNETHICAL CAMPAIGNS

Unethical campaigns are those that involve deceit, manipulation, or anything else that would be considered underhanded or unfair. This includes (but is not limited to) things like link buying, link farms, and link wheels. What is more, you need to know who you work with – it is better that it is not any party violating personal data, inducing illegal activities, etc.

#4 DO NOT CREATE SHODDY, LOW-QUALITY ARTICLES

Creating articles that are full of typos, grammar errors, and factual inaccuracies will not only turn off potential customers, but it will also make you look unprofessional. If you want to build a good reputation, make sure the content you’re putting out is top-notch. That way people will trust you more when they see your links and posts.

Find your niche that interests you and you like to write about it. Make your content original, original, interesting – it will be appreciated not only by users, but also by web robots assessing the quality of your website. Do not plagiarize someone else’s work and do not copy-paste from other sources without including quotes and attributing them.

#5 DO NOT SPAM UNRELATED BLOGS WITH PAID CONTENT RELEASES

Posting paid content releases on unrelated blogs is a surefire way to damage your reputation. Not only will you get flagged for spam, but you’ll also lose the trust of your readers. The website then looks unnatural and repels users. If you’re going to post your content on other sites, make sure it’s in a relevant category. Or at least offer up some value in return like commenting or sharing their posts.

#6 DO NOT ATTACK OTHER INDUSTRY LEADERS IN AN ATTEMPT TO GRAB ATTENTION

It’s one thing to disagree with another person in your industry, but it’s a whole other level to attack them. This will not only damage your reputation, but it will also make you look unprofessional. If you must address someone directly, be respectful and constructive.

#7 DO NOT CONSTANTLY ASK FOR LINKS FROM YOUR INTERVIEWEES

You’ll be seen as someone who is only interested in self-promotion, and people will be less likely to want to work with you. Instead, focus on building relationships and providing value. The best way to build links without jeopardizing your reputation is by participating in online communities that you care about, such as local meetups or Facebook groups for your industry.

#8 DO NOT USE HARDCORE SEO TRICKS THAT WILL COMPROMISE YOUR SCORES ON GOOGLE, YAHOO OR BING SEARCH ENGINES

Always avoid:

• Doorway pages.
• Hidden text or links.
• Creating pages, subdomains, or domains with duplicate content.
• Pages with malicious behavior, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans, or other malicious code.
• Buying or selling links that pass PageRank.

Conclusion

In short, don’t engage in any link building activities that could be considered spammy or unethical. This includes, but is not limited to, buying links, participating in link schemes, and excessive link exchange. Not only will these activities damage your reputation, but they could also get you penalized by Google. So, it’s simply not worth the risk.

Bet on these five good link building practices.

1. Creating great content that people want to link to.
2. Reaching out to industry influencers and thought leaders.
3. Using social media platforms to build relationships and drive traffic.
4. Guest blogging on high-quality websites.
5. Creating an infographic or other engaging visual content.