The Death of the Link Wheel Strategy

I almost hesitate to comment on this because there are so many variables but looking at the big picture - a global link wheel must be a google objective. Google are simply a gateway to a database which they scrounge the web for and list what they want to include. The end result for them must be for a web searcher to be able to find anything through their system - much like any database management program. And effective linkwheels must help them do this more easily. So why would they discourage it.

I wouldn't say it is useless. The wheels I use are still very effective and I simply do not close them off. For me it's really that easy.

The Web 2.0 properties are effective in themselves. You can easily promote a product and even opt-in on some.

They rank faster than a new site, they get traffic from other users and they don't need much promotion to rank.

Obviously, if people are only using Web 2.0 to spam an article and leave a link, then why would Google like them? On the contrary, if you make a good looking, dynamic Web 2.0 property with spun or unique content then the site will easily rank and pass on juice.

About the SEO purposes, I think too few Internet Marketers understand or don't care, that Google does not only look at your sites backlinks, but also at the backlinks to your backlinks.

The idea of the link wheel is to make it seem like your main site is a hub for a keyword. A real hub wouldn't not just have backlinks from isolated other sites, but the sites that link to the hub would also have backlinks from other similar sites.

In conclusion, my opinion from a standard SEO viewpoint is that you need to build some backlinks to your Web 2.0 as well and make them be able to stand alone. Fortunately, there are many automated tools that can help with this. Point some articles, blog comments, forum profile links and the like at the Web 2.0. Treat the Web 2.0 like you would your own site. I also think that there is no need for 30 sites. Just a few very good ones.

My opinion on linkwheels is that they were a concept imagined up to sell ebooks quickly. The fact is that smart SEO professionals have been doing similar tricks for years. The fact is for me at least, a link wheel is more of a 'family tree' - your sites at the top and your links slowly grow out like roots.

The problem people have with link wheels is they follow a recipe. A recipe that's already been copied by thousands. Linking always has and always should be a natural thing that occurs over time. You can boost it up using bits and bobs every now and again, but when you start major link building, it may work for a time but what happens when you stop?

I never understood people that worked on link wheels where they could spend more time with on-page optimization.

Tried the link wheel thingy - both complete and incomplete wheels and didn't see any improvement in serps, so I think I will stick to unlinked 2.0 sites.