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Backlinking Strategy Revised

by jablythe
21 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hey folks!

As we all know by now-- BMR closed their doors Tuesday (for now at least). There is much speculation out there right now that blog networks are "on Google's radar" and similar deindexing of blogs, part of various blog networks (UAW, MAN, etc..), will take place in the coming days. Countless folks have noted their site's SERPs dropping significantly-- citing their affiliation with blog networks, and how those sites inside of those networks were deindexed by Google.

Clearly, Google is onto public / private blog networks and have clearly shown their dislike of "paid link building" practices. Matt Cutts, head of Google's Webspam team even tweeted about blog networks "being on their radar."

So instead of trying to decide what other paid blog network service to use in place of BMR, UAW, MAN, etc.. I am looking for more of a permanent resolution moving forward. If you just simply replace BMR with another paid blog network service-- it's just a matter of time before their network gets deindexed as well and so forth.

So now I am wondering what new changes/revision/ideas/plans everyone will be incorporating in their backlinking strategies for their websites, new and/or old. What does your backlinking strategy consist of, and what are you doing to replace the portion of your backlinking strategy where you would typically use submissions to the various public / private blog networks?

Thanks in advance for everyone's time and support. I certainly look forward to seeing everyone's thoughts, ideas, and suggestions!

Cheers-- and I wish all of you much continued success!

-Alex
#backlinking #revised #strategy
  • Profile picture of the author Builder154
    This is exactly what I'm wondering too. I was literally just in the next day or two about to join UAW and start using that. And then I hear about BMR today and now I'm questioning everything. It's like the entire backlinking paradigm is now in question and I don't know what to do. It would be great to hear from some experienced folks on this.
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  • Profile picture of the author TeamBringIt
    Doc sharing sites
    Pad submissions
    Press releases
    quality content/link bait
    High PR backlinks from .edu site/wikis (not spammed ones)

    These are always evergreen and effective...

    I have cancelled 2 blog network subscriptions and I'm not bothered at all
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    • Profile picture of the author jablythe
      Originally Posted by TeamBringIt View Post

      Doc sharing sites
      Pad submissions
      Press releases
      quality content/link bait
      High PR backlinks from .edu site/wikis (not spammed ones)

      These are always evergreen and effective...

      I have cancelled 2 blog network subscriptions and I'm not bothered at all
      TeamBringIt -

      Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas! Would you mind to shed some additional light on "Pad Submissions" and "Doc sharing sites" ? I don't recall hearing of these prior -- either that, or I haven't heard the referred to as that before.

      Let me know!

      Thanks so much,
      -Alex
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      • Profile picture of the author Aussie_Al
        Originally Posted by jablythe View Post

        TeamBringIt -

        Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas! Would you mind to shed some additional light on "Pad Submissions" and "Doc sharing sites" ? I don't recall hearing of these prior -- either that, or I haven't heard the referred to as that before.

        Let me know!

        Thanks so much,
        -Alex
        I think they mean paid submissions?

        Doc sharing sites are sites like Scribd where you can share helpful documents - get backlinks and also drive traffic to your site.

        Also consider ad swaps, guest blogging, submit to blog carnivals (http://blogcarnival.com/bc/.)
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        • Profile picture of the author jablythe
          Originally Posted by Aussie_Al View Post

          I think they mean paid submissions?

          Doc sharing sites are sites like Scribd where you can share helpful documents - get backlinks and also drive traffic to your site.

          Also consider ad swaps, guest blogging, submit to blog carnivals
          Aussie_Al

          Thanks so much for the clarification and additional tips and ideas-- greatly appreciated!!

          Cheers,
          -Alex
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          • Profile picture of the author Aussie_Al
            Originally Posted by jablythe View Post

            Aussie_Al

            Thanks so much for the clarification and additional tips and ideas-- greatly appreciated!!

            Cheers,
            -Alex
            No worries Alex - this is what this forum is all about - helping each other out and exchanging tips and ideas
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      • Profile picture of the author intelinside
        PAD files are used to submit softwares to softwares sites and get a backlink in return.

        You can create a simple browser toolbar or screensaver and submit it to High PR software directories to get backlink.

        On the same note, you can convert your content into POD and PDF and submit to respective sites for backlinks.

        I have been using all these from over a year now with some decent results.

        Originally Posted by jablythe View Post

        TeamBringIt -

        Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and ideas! Would you mind to shed some additional light on "Pad Submissions" and "Doc sharing sites" ? I don't recall hearing of these prior -- either that, or I haven't heard the referred to as that before.

        Let me know!

        Thanks so much,
        -Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author nichesitebasics
    Probably invest more time and money in making great content (articles, videos, slide shows, PDF etc.) both for my sites and for promotion. Better to invest for the long term and not be affected by these updates!
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    • Profile picture of the author jablythe
      Originally Posted by nichesitebasics View Post

      Probably invest more time and money in making great content (articles, videos, slide shows, PDF etc.) both for my sites and for promotion. Better to invest for the long term and not be affected by these updates!
      Nichesitebasics -

      Thanks for your comments! I couldn't agree with you more-- focusing on creating "epic content" is the best and safest route to go. You will be investing in your business for the long term, like you said, rather then the short term.

      I think taking the "authority site" approach, across the board, will be a great start!

      Cheers!
      -Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author annadelfin
    Google is really giving SEO practitioners more challenges. While I am knowledgeable with basic and healthy SEO practices, blog networks being on Google's "watch list" will make their subscribers think twice and find some alternatives.
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    • Profile picture of the author Openxcell Inc
      [DELETED]
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      • Profile picture of the author jablythe
        Thanks to everyone that has stopped by so far to provide us with their ideas for new strategies for backlinking!

        It appears that the backlinking strategy going forward will consist of some "old school" SEO tips. I think everything is starting to come full circle, and Google will start going back to the basics with regards to how it decides to rank your site(s).

        Thanks again to everyone that has contributed to this thread thus far, and I am anxious to hear what others are thinking/doing/changing for their backlinking strategy, going forward!

        Thanks again, and I look forward to everyone's ideas!

        Best regards,
        -Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author moneymoguls
    I'm tired of battling with Google. It is never ending. I've spend thousands of dollars on backlinks and have never made that investment back. I'm ready to give up with building links now. I don't want to reply on search engines for traffic any more.

    I'm looking into direct traffic from other websites. Ranking in Google is a PITA.
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    • Profile picture of the author jsmithii68
      Originally Posted by moneymoguls View Post

      I'm tired of battling with Google. It is never ending. I've spend thousands of dollars on backlinks and have never made that investment back. I'm ready to give up with building links now. I don't want to reply on search engines for traffic any more.

      I'm looking into direct traffic from other websites. Ranking in Google is a PITA.

      this is exactly what google is hopping or should i say is knowing will happen. people will get tired of spending money on backlinks and will either do it right or stop doing it all together.
      bottom line, it will get tougher and tougher to get backlinks. the good news is that also as time goes on, those willing to stick it out and do the hard work will face fewer and few competitors. googles making it very clear. we give the quality sites that visitors like and we can stay, otherwise they dont want to mess with us.
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  • Profile picture of the author pirondi
    The real question is How far google wants to go ?

    Because if they want to go far they can kill the link building market very easily with manual reviews and algos.

    They can put 10 or 100 emploeys to monitor and manually check all services and spammy link sources.

    Google did not acted until now because they wasnt bothered by it,but now they are.
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    • Profile picture of the author 1byte
      Originally Posted by pirondi View Post

      The real question is How far google wants to go ?

      Because if they want to go far they can kill the link building market very easily with manual reviews and algos.

      They can put 10 or 100 emploeys to monitor and manually check all services and spammy link sources.
      Not sure if even Google has the resources to "monitor and manually check all services and spammy link sources." There are many millions of sites online with many more thousands coming online everyday.

      It makes more sense that Google has algos that can flag websites with questionable linkbuilding practices, and then initiate a manual review of the sites.

      Originally Posted by pirondi View Post


      Google did not acted until now because they wasnt bothered by it,but now they are.
      I doubt Google "wasn't bothered by it," as they have been against link building schemes for a long time. Google generally expects you to build your site with such great quality content that people will automatically link to the content, without you doing any artificial link building activities yourself.

      As far as I know, all types of link building activities are generally frowned upon by Google, even though they may not take immediate action on it. Eventually though, they will, and I think we saw evidence of that this week with what happened to Build My Rank and other networks.
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      • Profile picture of the author jablythe
        Originally Posted by 1byte View Post

        Not sure if even Google has the resources to "monitor and manually check all services and spammy link sources." There are many millions of sites online with many more thousands coming online everyday.

        It makes more sense that Google has algos that can flag websites with questionable linkbuilding practices, and then initiate a manual review of the sites.



        I doubt Google "wasn't bothered by it," as they have been against link building schemes for a long time. Google generally expects you to build your site with such great quality content that people will automatically link to the content, without you doing any artificial link building activities yourself.

        As far as I know, all types of link building activities are generally frowned upon by Google, even though they may not take immediate action on it. Eventually though, they will, and I think we saw evidence of that this week with what happened to Build My Rank and other networks.
        1byte--

        I couldn't agree with you more! I think Google expects website owners to produce epic content that will naturally be "shared" "liked" and so forth. The recent changes we've seen Google do certainly sheds light on the fact that they are aware of link building and will take steps to weed them out.
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      • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
        I have never thought UAW, BMR etc., were worth the money. I prefer to take things slowly and work to make each of my sites a true "authority" site. I firmly believe that these are the sites that will endure.

        In short, I don't ever want my sites to be reliant on either the whims of Google, or a service such as BMR which could close its doors, exactly as they have, in fact done.

        I just load my sites consistently with well written, high quality content, written with my readers in mind - not Google. The two rules are quality and consistency.

        Over the years I've also built up substantial lists of syndicators who are happy to take that same material (no spinning ever), and publish it in their high traffic blogs, newsletters, etc.

        Some of these have readerships of hundreds of thousands - all of them very focused on my niches.

        Occasionally, when I write what I believe to be a particularly stellar piece, I may also share it with doc sites such as Scribd, DocStoc, Calameo and several others, and I may turn one or two pieces into press releases and publish them on PRLog.org.

        I'm also starting publish my writing on Google+, Qondio.com and Ideamarketers.com, but this is still in its testing stages.
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        • Profile picture of the author 1byte
          Originally Posted by AnniePot View Post

          I have never thought UAW, BMR etc., were worth the money. I prefer to take things slowly and work to make each of my sites a true "authority" site. I firmly believe that these are the sites that will endure.
          Amen.

          Originally Posted by AnniePot View Post

          In short, I don't ever want my sites to be reliant on either the whims of Google, or a service such as BMR which could close its doors, exactly as they have, in fact done.

          I just load my sites consistently with well written, high quality content, written with my readers in mind - not Google. The two rules are quality and consistency.
          Amen again.

          Anne, I have a report from way back in 2005 from a guy named Colin McDougall. The report was called "The VEO Report" in which VEO stood for "Visitor Enhanced Optimization." Even though it was written 7 years ago (ancient history in IM), it's an awesome read, and Colin clearly foresaw what was to come with regards to search engine ranking volatility.

          Colin warned against the futility of chasing the search engine algorithms. Instead of researching ways to gain advantage in the SERPS, he said we should spend our time researching and writing good content to build our authority sites, which would eventually attract the visitors we want.

          Colin was right, and what he said in that report is exactly what you and others have been recommending: a slow but sustainable approach to building our businesses that will survive the "whims of Google" or anything else.

          In the long run, it's a losing game to "game" Google, as many people are beginning to understand this week with the demise of BMR.

          I for one, am going to continue with the same approach you are using to build your websites, because I'm in it for the long haul. It may be a slow go, but I believe it will have staying power that will outlast all of these flashy systems and gadgets that will eventually burn out...or be taken out.
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          • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
            Originally Posted by 1byte View Post

            Amen.

            Anne, I have a report from way back in 2005 from a guy named Colin McDougall. The report was called "The VEO Report" in which VEO stood for "Visitor Enhanced Optimization." Even though it was written 7 years ago (ancient history in IM), it's an awesome read, and Colin clearly foresaw what was to come with regards to search engine ranking volatility.

            Colin warned against the futility of chasing the search engine algorithms. Instead of researching ways to gain advantage in the SERPS, he said we should spend our time researching and writing good content to build our authority sites, which would eventually attract the visitors we want.

            Colin was right, and what he said in that report is exactly what you and others have been recommending: a slow but sustainable approach to building our businesses that will survive the "whims of Google" or anything else.

            In the long run, it's a losing game to "game" Google, as many people are beginning to understand this week with the demise of BMR.

            I for one, am going to continue with the same approach you are using to build your websites, because I'm in it for the long haul. It may be a slow go, but I believe it will have staying power that will outlast all of these flashy systems and gadgets that will eventually burn out...or be taken out.
            I've actually built my approach without ever having heard of the VEO Report you mentioned. I've just Googled it, but only found other forums etc., with brief mentions. Pity, even though it's old, I'm sure it still has substance and I would have enjoyed reading it.
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  • Profile picture of the author jablythe
    Again, thanks to all of you who have contributed to this thread thus far! Very exciting ideas and suggestions, and I certainly look forward to hearing what everyone else has in mind!

    Cheers!
    -Alex
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  • Profile picture of the author yoshi74
    Interesting reading. The one thing I take issue with however is all this 'publishing new content'.

    For some sites I can see this working well but for others it seems somewhat pointless. If I sell or offer a service on 'blue widgets' would I really want to devote my efforts to adding content to my site - in certain niches this is not really going to be practical or will simply end up serving more junk pages on the web that Google will have to sift through.

    Social signals seem to be in play at the moment but again, this assumes that not only that the site has something to 'socialise about' but also the intended audience make use of this medium. An example here would be a website on elderly retirement homes.

    If you look at this example in the context of the two points above I can't see either of this type of site wanting to update and add regular content or hit the social sphere.

    Also with the proposed 'over optimisation penalties' coming in the next update, you won't even be able to optimize your site for what you want it to be found for.

    And you can't spam backlinks anymore....

    Mmmm. I think this is going to be very interesting as to where it all ends. Personally I think the big thing that everyone tends to overlook is that Google is a marketing company that owns a search engine. It is not a search engine company.

    You need to understand the difference.

    It has a stranglehold on search that it can pretty much do what it wants and each quarter it has to report to its shareholders. And each quarter it is expected to show more growth. And where does this growth come from? Advertising revenue.

    If you can game your way to the top of the Serps then this does not spell good news for future profits. No matter how you look at it I believe web ranking will move increasingly to a paid advertising model as time goes by, no matter how much the latest algorithm update is 'dressed up' under the guise of returning better results.
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