Backlinks: Which is true? Which is myth?

[Michael Lee]

Hi guys,

I've been coming across conflicting information about backlinks. So it has me quite confused.

For example, some say to build links slowly, while I also read you can do it fast as long as it's not extremely overdone (by that, they mean hundreds of thousands).

I've also read if your link is on a low Page Rank webpage within a high page rank domain, this will still count. If that's true, then we can submit the same article to as many article directories at once and get link juice from various article pages (If this is the case, then why do the gurus recommend to submit only to the top 5 or top 10 article directories?)

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

Thanks,
Michael

[LondonPaladin]

The better the pagerank the more value the backlink. If you go crazy with a brand new website using an automated backlink program you will get the Google slap.

If you post an identical article to dozens of directories, Google will ignore most of them because they are duplicate content.

[Fernando Veloso]

Originally Posted by LondonPaladin

If you go crazy with a brand new website using an automated backlink program you will get the Google slap.

Oh boy... not again this mambo jambo.

Have you got any proof to back up this claim? And I mean PROOF? Not the usual urban myth on how "someone" had a site slapped...?



I really think we need a sticky with this one: backlinks can't hurt your site.

Period.

[Ken Strong]

I'm starting to think we need a Backlinks sub-forum, with a sub-sub-forum for Arguments.

[Tom Goodwin]

Originally Posted by LondonPaladin

If you go crazy with a brand new website using an automated backlink program you will get the Google slap.

Do you also believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy?

[Khemal]

If building links can get you sanboxed then every affiliate marketer would be building links to their competitiors' website hoping that one day only theirs will remain "unslapped"....

Get real. Do you think that a billion dollar company (Google) would employ some of the brightest minds in computing and algorithms to come up with a ranking algorithm which would have an Achilles heel called "number of back links"?

That same people who preach "backlink voodoo" will say your landing page MUST have your keyword that us used as anchor text to rank well for it and I'm going to tell them type "click here" in google and look at the #1 spot Adobe's landing page and be astonished that the words "click here" do not even appear on it! Hmmm....

Here's some free advice. Pick a cheap domain and TEST out theories before you swallow other people's advice. If you're still affraid to build backlinks then put up web 2.0 pages at established sites like ezinearticles etc and build links to that page. You think google's gonna slap that?

That's my $0.02 for the day.

[Mike Grant]

I throw 1000+ at newly created sites. Doing just fine.

[Khemal]

Originally Posted by mgtarheels

I throw 1000+ at newly created sites. Doing just fine.

Send me the URLs of those sites and I'll add 10,000 more and slap them off Google!

(I kid, of course...)

[Irnes Jakupovic]

You will not get "slapped" for adding too many links too fast. If that were the case anyone could take there competitors site and put it in a automated program and get them slapped.

[erniev42]

I agree with fernando, it is almost impossible for any backlinks to actually hurt. That being said I do believe that In general google rewards natural growth. So it only makes since that you may be better off creating links that look natural. Just my opnion.

[latinoman231982]

So wait there, are you guys saying there is no need to point backlinks at a filter site, instead just promote direct to the website?

[Tom Goodwin]

Originally Posted by latinoman231982

So wait there, are you guys saying there is no need to point backlinks at a filter site, instead just promote direct to the website?

yes, and no. I don't think you have to hid links by sending them through feeder sites for the purposes of Google.

But, lets say you had access to xrumer, and you could pump out 200,000 links. You have a pretty new site. Sending all 200k to your new site would be overkill, IMO. You wouldn't get the awesome effect you were intending.

Now, if you were to send, maybe 20k to your domain, and then sent 20k more through other domains, then then repointed back at your site? I think that would be a better solution.

Also, if you were doing SEO for a "real" company, they might not want tons of blog comments or forum profiles pointing directly at their site. In that case, I would likely just send everything through some feeder sites.

Tom

[yoshi74]

For want of trying to look for a get rich quick scheme try instead to actually build quality backlinks to your site.

The first question you need to answer is "what am I building backlinks for?"

There are two main reasons..

1) To get traffic (priority)
2) To try to build PR

That is it. It really is that simple. The rest of the answers come from these two questions.

1) If you want traffic what do you want it to acheive. Well presumably conversions for whatever is on the site. Therefore you need quality backlinks that are target related to your content.

I see it time and time again on sites.. "I've got 10 million back links da da da..." It's complete nonsense. If you had 10 million backlinks (ok or whatever figure) and had a 5% conversion rate at $1 dollar, then you wouldn't be posting on these forums looking for advice... FACT!

Yes you do need backlinks but they have to drive quality content to your site and actually make conversions to make you money. Therefore target quality links, relevant keyword terms in the links and go for links from sites where visitors might actually be interested in what you are trying to put in front of them.

2) Target links to build PR. This is an even more absurd belief.

PR means pretty much nothing to the end game of converting visitors. Again people concentrate too much on this. "PR is vanity, targetted traffic is sanity" is the mantra that most website owners would do well to heed. Why? I have seen sites in niches with zilch traffic (ever!) with a high PR simply because they dominate their niche and have a few good links. Converesly there are sites that are performing way better (1000% more traffic and revenue) with low PR. Again it means nothing to the end game.

If you do feel the need to get a high PR then yes you will need backlinks but its the age old adage, that you need quality.

How many times have I seen sites with PR5 links from a do follow blog thinking that their comment among the 500 other comments is actually benefiting their site(!) when in fact a link from a relevant PR1 site with only a handful of outbound links will do their site far more benefit, both in terms of traffic AND link juice.

So to answer the original point. You should build quality links - for traffic first and PR second. If your content is good enough and the right visitors come you will build authority anyway.

Yes it's hard. Yes it's thankless and yes it's dull. But that is the whole point. Othewise it would be too easy to dislodge quality sites at the top of the search engines just by cranking up thousands of low quality backlinks.

If you follow the quality path then you won't be able to build backlinks quick enough to worry what google is thinking because it will be slow and hard work.... but ultimately both your site and your wallet will benefit from it long term.

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by KenStrong

I'm starting to think we need a Backlinks sub-forum, with a sub-sub-forum for Arguments.

No we should not.

YouTube - Monty Python - Argument Clinic

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by Michael Lee

For example, some say to build links slowly, while I also read you can do it fast as long as it's not extremely overdone (by that, they mean hundreds of thousands).

If you're intending to compete in the same niches that I'm working in, yes, backlinking too fast will hurt you. Only get one link a week, or better yet, per month, and ask people who link to you without your permission to remove their link. You wouldn't want to get slapped by "The Big G" now would you?

Originally Posted by Michael Lee

why do the gurus recommend to submit only to the top 5 or top 10 article directories?)

Two basic reasons, direct traffic and better syndication of the articles. You can mass submit, nothing wrong with that, it's just you'll get about the same results on average. Most smaller directories don't have the link juice, the traffic or the level of syndication of the big sites. Also, many of them are essentially left on auto-pilot and either aren't publishing new submissions or been spammed into oblivion.

[Tom Goodwin]

Originally Posted by yoshi74

How many times have I seen sites with PR5 links from a do follow blog thinking that their comment among the 500 other comments is actually benefiting their site(!) when in fact a link from a relevant PR1 site with only a handful of outbound links will do their site far more benefit, both in terms of traffic AND link juice.

I know lots of SEO "gurus" have been spreading this idea about link power diffusion, but that certainly has not been the experience of either myself, Terry Kyle and some others who have studied the actual effect on both Google SERP ranking and PR.

With respect to PR, you will see time and time again that some sites get almost all of the PR from 1 or 2 incoming links, and these are on pages with MASSIVE OBLs. It is pretty commonplace to find a PR4, for instance, where they are getting all of their link juice from 1-2 PR5 links, each on pages with something like 2-500 OBLs.

With respect to SERPs, Selling links on high PR (PR6 down to PR3) domains is part of my business. We studied on the Google SERP rankings to sites of ours, it it didn't matter if there was only a handful of OBLs or 100 OBLs on the page.

For more discussion on that topic, see this thread.

Obviously traffic (via the links) is a different issue, this reply is only respect to SERP ranking and PR.

Tom

[Shaunman]

If you go crazy with a brand new website using an automated backlink program you will get the Google slap.

If you post an identical article to dozens of directories, Google will ignore most of them because they are duplicate content.

That is a pretty good summary of the myths.

So, here is the truth.

All "dofollow" links count. Higher the pagerank the better the link. And the more original the content the higher the link value. But ALL "DoFollow" Links Count Somewhat!

[va_mom]

Originally Posted by Shaunman

That is a pretty good summary of the myths.

So, here is the truth.

All "dofollow" links count. Higher the pagerank the better the link. And the more original the content the higher the link value. But ALL "DoFollow" Links Count Somewhat!

This explains all...

[seoforu]

Content matters a lot so if you are going for an article backlink then make sure you post original content there..and about other backlinks,I would say..have links from high pr pages.