Understanding Backlinks

[TheCG]

OK, I'll admit it. I have bought backlinks from about 10 different sources in my grand 8 weeks in this thing you guys call internet marketing.

I have bought alot of other things in my newbie feeding frenzy but the topic here is backlinks so let's stay there for a minute.

I have bought .gov and .edu backlinks (that are still MIA by the way), social bookmarks, article submissions, drip feeds and others that I can't think of the names of all in the hopes of getting a page ranked well in that persnickety beast called Google.

So today I go to the one site I have directed the majority of my backlink bonanza to and I discover that for the past 3 days the number of backlinks has declined from a high of 448 to it's present 384.

What is the deal?

At this point I must admit I don't know what in the heck the difference is between all of these different types of backlinks and I really wish one of the IM demi-Gods here would take a few minutes to explain to me, and many others I am sure, exactly.......

1. What is the difference between backlinks, if any?

2. Why do some run away even after you provide them with a good home?

3. If I am going to buy backlinks, who should I buy from or what type should I buy?

4. What should I be paying form them?

5. Should I suscribe to one of the backlink services? If I do, will that maintain my backlinks?

6. How do I know if my backlink provider is taking me for a ride?

In essence, I need a backlink 101 if there is such a thing before I go backlink crazy.

Thanks for reading this backlink rant.

TheCG

[TheCG]

WOW! These things move down the page fast!

[dvduval]

I would say that a lot of the links for sale are a waste of time. If "everybody" is doing it, chances are greater it is a strategy that has passed its time. Google can easily detect if links are of the variety that are easily obtained by anyone.

Links that are moderated or have an editorial process in place are more difficult to obtain, and generally more valuable.

Links that are on high pagerank or well trafficked sites are generally more valuable.

Good luck!

[jimtow]

You need high Quality backlinks to rank high in google.
Jim

[Tyrus Antas]

If you're going down that road you need to buy
links from authority domains, related to your site's
main topic. These sites should be trusted by Google.

You need good and varied anchor text. Also try to avoid
site-wide links.

It's better that you spend money in less but higher quality
links. When you buy links from backlinking mills you aren't
getting quality links therefore you will need more of them.

Tyrus

[dk1]

Buying links is a bad move if you don't know what you're doing - its worse if you don't know what type of links you're buying and the fact that you're paid links are still MIA suggests that you probably wasted your money.

To start, go through the "white hat" approach. Manual submit links to directories (avoid link farms!), obtain links through anchor texts, do some article distribution, place your anchor text'd link in your signature here.. these should all help you.

Read some articles on SEO and link building instead of trying to be spoon fed answers.

Good luck.

[TheCG]

I spend hours each day trying to find the answers to my questions but generally the answers are so varied and inconsistent, I don't feel I have learned much. Certainly not much that I know to be the truth.

Sorry if my question made it sound to you like I am trying to be "spoon fed" as this was not the case. I thought I could ask a question without someone feeling the need to insult me.

Thanks for your help just the same.

Originally Posted by dk1

Buying links is a bad move if you don't know what you're doing - its worse if you don't know what type of links you're buying and the fact that you're paid links are still MIA suggests that you probably wasted your money.

To start, go through the "white hat" approach. Manual submit links to directories (avoid link farms!), obtain links through anchor texts, do some article distribution, place your anchor text'd link in your signature here.. these should all help you.

Read some articles on SEO and link building instead of trying to be spoon fed answers.

Good luck.

[dayanthan]

Well said TheCg. I believe the tone of some people on here can often be off putting. Then when you respond as you are entitled to do, others jump in and accuse you of insulting others. It is quite irritating. People can be funny.
Anyway, my limited knowledge tells me not to buy links as I believe some of what the other posters above said about them. It is better to do something yourself and not entrust it to those who may not care.

I recommend forum commenting, commenting on blogs that are "dofollow" as the link will be recognised (opposite of "nofollow"). I have also tried something called SocialAdr and it seems so far to be doing ok re backlinks as others submit my bookmarks for me and in return I submit theirs. Try youbuzz.com and things like Digg.
I also strongly recommend article marketing. I can say from my experience that it has helped me with my search engine ranking for my keywords. Not on page one yet but am sure I can make it with time. One of my articles is number one for a keyword.
This is just my experience and you'd want to check with others. Just don't believe everything you hear and don't take everything at face value. People who mistakenly think they are the authority on these matters may mislead you and cost you.

[cma01]

So today I go to the one site I have directed the majority of my backlink bonanza to and I discover that for the past 3 days the number of backlinks has declined from a high of 448 to it's present 384.

It could be several things. If some of the backlinks you bought were article submissions in a blog network, they may have been indexed when they were on the front page. When your article rolled off the front page (which they always will,) your link was gone when the search engines crawled the page again.

For those types of submissions, you need to index the actual url your site is on for it to have a chance to stick.

If it was from a forum profile, it may have been deleted.

With any form of backlinking, you are going to experience attrition. That's just the way it is.

You can make the most of your efforts by indexing your links in some way. There are a number of programs/services that do this:

* Sean Donahoe's Backlink Booster (a script you install on your own hosting)
* Carl Ringwall's Backlink Index Express (same as above)
* Steve's Backlink Energizer (a plugin for Wordpress)
* Pat & Gary's Link Juice Maximizer launching November 15th (a network you submit to)

As for what "types" of links work best:

* Do follow is better than no follow
* Contextual is better than in a side bar or footer
* Contextual links high in the article are given more weight than those lower (for example, within the first paragraph of an article versus in a resource box)
* A home page link is better than an inner page
* Keyword anchor text is key.
* Any link is better than no link.

Having a diverse backlink profile is a good thing. You just have to find what works best for you and look at different types of backlinks and see where they fit into your own system.

[silverwaterfall]

I've been trying to digest the backlink formula as well. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and "selling backlinks" but the quality is often suspect. You get what you pay for, I've learned...

[88crxsi]

I would study up on some basic seo. Take some time to read information on the forums so you have a good understanding of how things work.

I started reading the forums a couple months ago. I started out knowing nothing. I had to learn how to host my blog, do redirects, little bit of php scripts, seo, social media, and learn to write good articles on my niche. I was scared ****-less when I started, but now that I'm taking action everything I read is starting to fall into place.

I would stop buying backlinks and services until you do a little research. If you read up enough you can implement it yourself. You need quality backlinks from authority sites.

Write good original articles. I find that my 900 word articles draw in traffic better then 4-500 word articles. If your passionate about your niche with a little research you should be able to knock out 900 word articles in around 20-30 minutes.

Use anchor text with your keywords. Deep link your pages. What I mean by this is don't just link to your main page, but link to other pages on your blog/website. This gives you more link juice.

I'm already ranking on pages 1-3 for a lot of my keyword terms. I did my keyword research then wrote my articles accordingly. If you don't like to write you can always outsource, but I find it easiest to get in and fail until I learn the proper way. I would rather know what I'm doing. Just my 2cents.

If your going to spend money I would say your best investment is a coach. Thats what I did and the information is better then buying 100 ebooks.

Hope this helps
Zach

[peace1]

Yes, backlinks have to be of good quality and built up over time. Here is some more helpful information hubpages. com/hub/link-wheel-building-backlinks-and-backlinking-free-traffic

[peace1]

linkvana might also be an option for you.

[brandonbaker]

Reverse engineer where the big boys are getting their links and find out how to get those.

Simple.

[Corvinus]

Quality of the links are more important than quantity. If you will buy links, buy to those authority sites.