Link Building and SEOClerks

[VIVO]

This post is deleted!

[MonicaOConnor]

Run far, run fast. Paid for links and pyramids are never a good plan. Your link profile needs to be natural and linked to QUALITY pages with QUALITY content.

More and more, each Penguin update urges SEOs to understand that it isn't the QUANTITY of your links, but the QUALITY. One of my competitors has over 1,000,000 links and I outrank them with 4800. I have quality content and a strong, quality link profile.

I cannot stress the importance of working on a natural link profile. The mantra for this strategy is "easy come, easy go". It is not a permanent solution, nor is it best practice. Please don't waste your money on something like this.

[MickEdwards]

absolutely agree.

[Essential-Pest]

We have been going through our links and weeding out the bad ones. Just like Monica had said below, it is about quality, not quantity. Making sure your links are legitimately related as well can greatly help.

Although we are still out searching for those link opportunities, we have found that one of our biggest competitors seems to be gaining these trustworthy links extremely fast.

Any suggestions as to better ways to get these links would be greatly appreciated. We have slowly been detoxing the links that do not relate to our website listed on other sites. Also, if you are working with an SEO company, keep a careful eye at how they are working on your site as well. We found many of the links we have had to detox are absolutely not related to our site.

[MonicaOConnor]

you have to be careful. You never want to build more than 10% of you existing link profile per month. Trying to keep up with your competitors could cost you impressions and lower your CTR if your link profile starts to look unnatural to Google.

Your competitor could be paying a team of content writers to build guest blogging strategies and going out of their way to build branded social backlinks. You have to work with the strategy that best suits your website, your SEO goals and will increase your online trust. This is something I battled my bosses with at first, you can't keep up with your competitors if you don't start on a level playing field. It would be like trying to keep up with the Kardashians without a 10 figure income and a job. Nearly impossible, and in the long run it will cost you more than you can afford to spare in trying to get out of a link building penalty. I am speaking from experience on that.

Aside from that, if your competitors are using unnatural link practices, they will get caught and penalized. Don't go down the black hole into the sandbox with them.

[VIVO]

Thank you all for your responses.