Reliable link sources and the value of online PR

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Whether it is digital PR, lead generation of brand building you’re engaged with, it is always worth noting that the quality of the links you build as part of the same process should be of equal concern to all other objectives.

There are many approaches out there and it is hard to value a good link:

Sure, it’s difficult to guarantee links. Every SEM group has wide-variety of diverse tactics which can result in links, but what’s effective varies greatly depending on client and niche. The domain authority and page rank of the links is always a critical factor.

Securing links is often time consuming, difficult, and requires specialized knowledge. That inherently makes it a valuable skill. Perhaps the most important aspect to remember is that you do not “buy links” – it is a sin to utter these words. Instead, you may buy sponsored posts as part of your native advertising campaigns – and they should certainly contain links, so it is more of an indirect approach.

Suffice to say that links are extremely hard to put a monetary price on, especially per individual link. As cited before, there are many studies showing the value of links, Google continues to stand behind links as a key ranking signal, and SEOs all have first-hand experience with the value of links in ranking.

But those all look at the larger picture. It’s near impossible to say definitively how many links, what type of links, and how long after you build those links, will lead to specific rankings.

This means that link building requires a custom campaign, necessitates an ongoing project, and needs to look at the big picture. It is true that link building can be rather time consuming – unless you attract them naturally through a potent strategy, in which case developing the strategy itself is time consuming. The truth is, that aside from content marketing – it is two very different practices, with different focuses, that can occasionally result in some similarities.

With good links, it is true that to avoid a penalty, you have to deserve them. You have to earn them – even if the potential linking site isn’t aware of it. Then it’s just a matter of letting them know about why you deserve the link. And a natural part of that equation involves building relationships. It is also at this point where we should ask the question: Are we building links for little businesses, or is it taking place at an enterprise level?

When tasked with developing a link-building program, at the enterprise level, marketers should start to focus and think about relationship building. One should focus on obtaining natural, organic links while eliminating old strategies and tactics; only exact match keyword anchors, thin content, buying links, developing link wheels, etc. These methods are not only now less effective than they may have been in the past, but can also be harmful to your organic visibility and, in turn, your bottom line. Now more than ever it’s imperative to avoid low-quality link building that the engines penalize and focus on building long-term real relationships.

Initially, spend some time analyzing your internal and external links. First, look at your website’s internal links and locate the broken ones and update them first to point to valid pages of the site. Internal links will prove to be the easiest to update as you will have direct control of them, or at least access to the person or team that does. In addition to updating the link destinations, make sure to also 301 redirect the 404 error pages to pages on the site that are relevant and valid with a 200. The 301 redirect will ensure that any SEO value that the page may have accumulated in the past is preserved. We used to call it “SEO juice” or link equity – it is still a valid concept.

 

 

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