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Tiered Link Builders: Whats the word? Did the latest Penguin update change the practice?

by Mike Anthony
12 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I have read a few anecdotal messages that there was some hit against Tiered link building but seeing as I don't do much of that anymore I figured I would ask some of you that do - Any sign that Google turned up their algo against tiered link building in particular?

We have two threads about the Penguin update - this thread is just about tiered link building.
#builders #change #latest #link #penguin #practice #tiered #update #word
  • Profile picture of the author GyuMan82
    From what I have read on other forums it's probably like 50/50 that tiered link building was hit.

    It is likely that some do it better than others, but there have been reports that people who use tiered structures were hit in the last update.

    But again I am sure there is a "skill" disparity for those who got hit and those who didn't.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by GyuMan82 View Post


      But again I am sure there is a "skill" disparity for those who got hit and those who didn't.
      Hmmm yeah depending on what tiers they blasted how much etc.
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      • Profile picture of the author nik0
        Banned
        Big chance the tiered link builders messed up in the first tier already, that would explain 50/50. Especially at BHW hardly any details get provided so it's all pure guessing.

        Lately I saw someone do tiered link building and instead of using money anchors they only used generic and URL anchors of the tier 1 properties, that seemed like a decent way to do it. He still ranks btw.
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        • Profile picture of the author danparks
          Originally Posted by nik0 View Post

          Lately I saw someone do tiered link building and instead of using money anchors they only used generic and URL anchors of the tier 1 properties, that seemed like a decent way to do it. He still ranks btw.
          I don't do tier 2 stuff. But I just assumed that people who do tier 2 did generic anchors. Unless you're trying to rank/monitize your tier 1 (I know some people do that), why risk some over-optimization of anchors on tier 2 links to tier 1? If I had been doing tier 2, I would have zero keywords as anchors, just generic/URL anchors. Just to get the link juice from tier 2 to tier 1, and not risk any possible penalty/slap for keyword-specific anchors. But then, again, I don't do tier 2 so maybe I'm missing something.
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          • Profile picture of the author nik0
            Banned
            Originally Posted by danparks View Post

            I don't do tier 2 stuff. But I just assumed that people who do tier 2 did generic anchors. Unless you're trying to rank/monitize your tier 1 (I know some people do that), why risk some over-optimization of anchors on tier 2 links to tier 1? If I had been doing tier 2, I would have zero keywords as anchors, just generic/URL anchors. Just to get the link juice from tier 2 to tier 1, and not risk any possible penalty/slap for keyword-specific anchors. But then, again, I don't do tier 2 so maybe I'm missing something.
            Lot of people preached to use money anchors in tier 2 to increase the relevance of the links more.
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            • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
              Well sounds like it lives to fight another day but the screws are slowly being tightened. Time to come up with some new strategies as the only thing really left is PBNs, guest posting (the right kind), link bait and link outreach.
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              • Profile picture of the author nik0
                Banned
                Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

                Well sounds like it lives to fight another day but the screws are slowly being tightened. Time to come up with some new strategies as the only thing really left is PBNs, guest posting (the right kind), link bait and link outreach.
                In the end it's all about connections or in other words money to buy directly from journalists, like toptenreviews and many other larger sites are doing, not a single legit non paid link there.
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                • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
                  Yeah I neglected to mention bought links. The engine that people are not even aware drives ton loads of rankings
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                  • Profile picture of the author SEO Power
                    Originally Posted by Mike Anthony View Post

                    Yeah I neglected to mention bought links. The engine that people are not even aware drives ton loads of rankings
                    ...and the technique that most, if not all, big brands have either used in the past or are currently using (I'm sure the right word that fits in there is 'currently' most of the time).

                    As for tiered linking, I think we'll never know how badly it was hit because sites using all types of artificially generater backlinks, from paid links to GSA blasts, got hit.
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  • Profile picture of the author dreamtoreality
    You need to be a bit more careful with your tiers.

    Tier 1: High quality unique content posted on sites with good metrics. PBNs (including aged web 2.0s) work great for this. Treat T1 as a slightly lesser version of your money site. Mix up link and anchor diversity.

    Tier 2: Not a great deal more links per day and certainly not a blast. Good quality, manually spun, readable content.

    Tier 3: Spun content. Maybe it's just me but I don't even go crazy with blasts here.

    Churn & Burn: Authority, social signals and link velocity are key.

    All pretty obvious stuff, but I'll let someone else deal with the anchors as that's the hardest part and I don't want to say (still somewhat logical though).

    That's pretty much the way I do things.

    Lately I've been experimenting with purchasing aged domains that are already indexed too, and then adding content and starting my own link building so I can rank faster. I think that's the route I'm going to stick with from now on.

    I'm still unsure of this sandbox, but by spending a bit more money it's not even an issue.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Anthony
      Originally Posted by dreamtoreality View Post

      You need to be a bit more careful with your tiers.

      Tier 1: High quality unique content posted on sites with good metrics. PBNs (including aged web 2.0s) work great for this. Treat T1 as a slightly lesser version of your money site. Mix up link and anchor diversity.

      Tier 2: Not a great deal more links per day and certainly not a blast. Good quality, manually spun, readable content.

      Tier 3: Spun content. Maybe it's just me but I don't even go crazy with blasts here.
      Man thats a whole lot of content especially if you have to pay to do manual spinning on tier2. You might as well go with aged or even expired but indexed domains with links. You can see how they are slowly locking it down. next two penguin updates and they will probably get to where they want to go
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  • Profile picture of the author Glenn Rodgers
    One more thing that there is no doubt that GOOGLE one by one omit the SEO tricks and it trying to completely move search market towards Paid marketing.
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    Find and post Free Classified Ads in UK. Free online advertising, Buy and Sell Cars, property and your desirable pets in just one click distance. Visit at clickinn.co.uk and get solution.

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