My Link Building Strategy Good or Bad?

[Chris.Menke]

Getting there. Stay away from directories where others are using targeted anchor text.

[azokaei]

Okay so stay away from any directories that other sites are using targeted keyword anchor text, So when posting links on the directories I should avoid using keyword anchors instead use the client's site or brand name correct?

[Chris.Menke]

Yep.

[WilliamCarr]

I know you said "at least 500 words", but make sure all of your articles don't have the same (or very close) word count.

This is a pattern that's likely pretty obvious to Google as there's a countless number of "SEO companies" selling 500 word articles.

In other words, a blog naturally is going to have posts with varying word counts.

[Jeepster]

Quick Q Chris, given that I found your answer at the top of this thread one of the most informative I've read in a while:
Guest blogging: does it make a difference whether the link back to my site is embedded in the article itself as opposed to in an author bio at the bottom?
Thanks

[Chris.Menke]

Jeepster, these days, forget the back link and go for the authorship markup from your bio or author page to your G+ account--especially if it's not a high quality blog your guest post is on, 'cause they're going to get dinged eventually and those back links will be worthless.  If they don't do authorship, you may think about getting the post published elsewhere.  If they're a quality blog (all posts are on-topic and they've got an active readership) it could go either way as to which is better--authorship or back link.

If you have to go with the link, go with a branded term from your bio.

[KeriMorgret]

It can make a difference to to a picky editor who is reviewing your guest post. I can't tell you how many YouMoz submissions start out with "I was talking with my coworkers at my seo company [link drop] about xyz". Both SEOmoz and the author would get called out if we published the YouMoz post like that. Those types of links get removed and the author is invited to put them in their bio.

[Chris.Menke]

Yes, you're right, there are very few legitimate opportunities to get a link back to your site from within the body a guest blog post.  However, if a resource existed on the author's site that supported the blog post and there were no other appropriate resources, would that be a case where such a link would be acceptable?

[Jeepster]

Hi Keri & Chris
Thanks for the replies.
What I'm trying to ascertain is: is a link in the body of a post more trusted by search engines than one in an author bio at the bottom of it?

[KeriMorgret]

Jeepster, that I can't say for sure. As an editor, I go for what is trusted by my readers.