Brisbane SEO Expert Shares His Top Tips for Link Building Strategies

One of the main ways that search engines such as Google determine the relative importance of your website is the number of quality incoming links it has (incoming links are links from other sites back to your website). However there are a number of things you need to consider before embarking on a link building campaign, because if you tackle it incorrectly you will end up being penalised in the search engine rankings.My name is Bipul Kafley and my company specialises in Brisbane Search Engine Optimisation. Here are my top 10 tips on building effective links for your website.

1. Quality is more important than quantity

When looking at links, search engines look at the quality of the links back to your site. By this I mean the search engines look at the ranking and reputation of the sites generating the links and if their site content is directly related to your website. If you generate links from many sites that have lower rankings than you do, you could negatively affect your own ranking or you are not properly building links. If you list your site on “link farms” or sites that only exist to create backlinks then you can also affect your ranking.

2. Watch directory listings

Following on from the previous point, there are now thousands of web directories across the internet. Many of them are just glorified link farms, while others are reputable with high rankings. Only list your website in reputable web directories. Directories such as DMOZ and Yahoo are great for your website reputation. Ask your Search Engines firm if you are not sure which directories are reputable.

3. Anchor text of inbound links

If you are linking back to your website it helps to have your keywords in the anchor link. By this I mean rather than “visit my website” you would say “visit my SEO Brisbane website”. By including your keywords in the link it is like hitting the turbo boost button on your car – it adds more SEO power!

4. Look for the diamond links or authorative site links

Just as diamonds are precious because they are rare, the diamond links are ones from .gov or .edu websites. If you can get a link from one of these sites you are seen as more credible than if you only have links from .com, .biz, .info etc sites.

5. Birds of a feather flock together

Links back to your site from other sites in your industry are very valuable. Search engines interpret these sorts of links as a “vote of confidence” by your peers and that you are popular within your topical community. As a result your reputation is enhanced.

6. Do it naturally

The web ages like good wine. Older links are better than young fresh links. If your website suddenly gets hundreds of new links where none were had before, search engines are suspicious that you may have “bought” the links from a link farm and will penalise you for it. The goal is to do it naturally. Build your links slowly and consistently rather than in fits and starts. The industry of Search Engine Optimisation in Brisbane is still quite new; so many companies are in a rush for quick results which could cost you in the longer term. Remember to take it slow.

7. Internal links still are important

Links within your website are subject to the same linking rules. Make sure you have the correct keywords in your anchors, don’t overdo the links, and do it naturally.

8. Your website links page

Many website have a “links” page where they link to their favourite resources or suppliers. However, if you have one of these on your website then these outgoing links should be very carefully selected. Limit your number of outgoing links to no more than 30 high quality links on your page (remember high quality includes that they are of a higher page rank than you).

9. Watch your friends

Many people try strategies such as “If I link to you will you link to me”. Cross linking is OK if done in extreme moderation and only if there is a direct relationship between your sites. Hanging out with bad friends can get you a reputation for reciprocal link trading which is frowned on by search engines. A good internet marketing Brisbane firm will be able to help you check out your friend’s reputation so you don’t make any mistakes.

10. Mark your place

This is a very subtle but effective link strategy. On your website page you can place what is termed an anchor to mark a place in your text. When you link to a page, you can link to that particular anchor on the page also. Keyword your anchor rather than just rely on a default title. By following that strategy you will improve the quality of the link.

Link strategies are very powerful SEO strategies if they are correctly completed, just take your time, do them naturally and if in doubt seek advice from an experienced SEO firm.

Do I Need to Take Care of My Broken Links?

Broken links are a nuisance- are they not? Broken links have long been known for being a pain for the webmasters – a broken link not only irritates the site visitors but also stops a search engine spider from reaching all your important pages.
To ensure your web site is search engine/visitor friendly, make sure you review and resolve your website links regularly.

Google New Widget [‘404: page not found’]

“Google now offers webmasters a JavaScript-based gadget to include into their 404 (page not found) pages. Depending on where the user went and what other pages are available on the server, this widget will show suggestions of where to go, and offer a search box (sometimes with a suggested query in it as well).”
If the content is no longer available on your site then displaying a ‘404: Page not found’ error and guiding site visitor to the most appropriate page is entirely appropriate. With the new widget you can simply login to the Google Webmaster Tools and enhance your 404 error pages.

OWS also recommend using permanent redirects if you wish to explain why content has been removed and provide /guide visitors to the specific landing pages.
If you are new to redirects and 404 error page, consider talking to one of our Brisbane Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialists today.
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