SEO: Different Types of Backlinks

Every SEO expert knows the importance of a strong link building strategy. But, do you know what types of links you should be building? There are many different types of backlinks, and some may be more effective than others. Before you begin implementing your SEO strategy, make sure you learn about these types of backlinks:

Directory Links

A directory link is a link placed on a website that helps people find different products, businesses, or services near them. For example, a Chamber of Commerce website may have a directory that lists links to all of their members’ websites. Directory links can be valuable if they are placed on reputable websites, such as the official Chamber of Commerce page. Unfortunately, many directories are low quality websites that accept free or paid submissions. Putting a link on this type of directory probably won’t generate any traffic to your website or improve your ranking.

EDU or GOV Links

Google typically views any website that ends in .edu or .gov as more trustworthy and valuable than websites that end in .com. For this reason, if you can get a link on a .edu or .gov website, this may give your website’s SEO a boost. Why? Google will see that a trusted website values your content enough to direct followers to your website. To Google, this means that you must be a reliable source, otherwise the .edu or .gov website would not have trusted you.

No Follow vs. Follow Links

Every link—regardless of what website it is on—will either be a no follow or follow link. It’s crucial that you understand the difference between these two types of links if you want to improve your SEO. Here is how each of these links appear in the code of a webpage:

< a href=https://www.example.com/ “rel = “nofollow”>Link Text </a >
<a href=https://www.example.com/ “rel = “dofollow”>Link Text </a>

The first is a “no follow” link, which is a link that will not improve your ranking at all. Google and other search engines see no follow links as simple HTML text, which means you will not receive any credit for a backlink if it is a no follow link. However, the “do follow” links will help you improve your ranking. As you start to contact site administrators to discuss placing your links on their websites, make sure that you ask whether the link they give you will be a no follow or do follow. If the site administrator is only willing to give you a no follow link, then it’s not worth your time or effort to place this link on their site. Follow links vs. no follow links: should you care?

Guest Posts

Marketers often seek out guest blogging opportunities as part of their link building strategies. To do this, marketers contact various websites and ask if they are currently accepting guest posts. If the website agrees to publish your post, you will be responsible for writing original content that matches the tone and style of other pieces on the website. You should also include a link to your website within the content so when the article is published, there will be a backlink to your website. This type of link can be extremely effective as long as the guest post is published on a high quality website. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to find and build relationships with bloggers, so many marketers don’t have the resources to implement this strategy.

Author Bios

Some websites will agree to publish your guest post as long as you do not include any links to your website within the content. Many blogs have put this rule in place to control to ensure their content doesn’t end up looking like spam. If this happens to you, talk to the site administrator and ask if you can include a link in the author bio section instead of the content. Although a link in the author bio is not as valuable as a link in the content, it will still have an impact on your ranking.  

Blog Comments

One of the oldest tricks that marketers use to build links is commenting on blog posts. Marketers identify relevant industry blogs and then leave thoughtful comments on various posts. Included within each of their comments is a link back to their website. This is a simple way to build backlinks without having to put in the work to contact site administrators or write original guest posts. But, is this method effective? It depends. Some blogs only allow no follow links in their comments, which means the fact that your link has been published on another website will not improve your SEO at all. But, if the link is a do follow link, leaving comments could affect your ranking as long as the blog is not a low quality website.

Testimonials

Make a list of all the companies that you do business with and then visit each of their websites to see if they have a testimonials page. If they do, get in touch with your contact at the company to see if they would be interested in posting a testimonial from you on their site. Of course, don’t forget to ask about including a link back to your website within the testimonial. You shouldn’t have trouble finding companies that are willing to accept your testimonial. After all, who would turn down the chance to feature a great review from a current or former client? But, you may need to explain exactly why it is so important for you to have the link in your testimonial so they don’t crop that part out before posting it to their website.

Ready to implement an effective link building strategy? The team at Denver Website Designs can help you plan and implement a unique strategy to boost your search results ranking. We assist businesses of all kinds and have helped companies of all sizes grow their business using digital marketing. Learn more about our process and how we can help your business grow!