Are back-links still needed? If it is just a back-link on a no-name website with no traffic then no. If its on an authoritative or high traffic site, then yes. Google just released new link attributes UGC & Sponsored that accompany nofollow now and they specifically called them “hints.” I still stand behind my opinion that links are dead in and by themselves and that you should be building complete seo campaigns with off-site content that you pay, upload, or sponsor that contains 1-2 links pointing back.
Back-link Strategy
Enough chit chat, let’s get to brass tacks and actually demonstrate a sample plan. First let’s define a few points so that it will understand what you need to do:
- Target Site: your website where you want the back-link traffic to flow to
- Tier 1: these are links that point directly back to the target site or specific page
- Tier 2: these are links that typically point to tier 1 content
- UGC – user generated content such as comments on Reddit, a post, or on social media
- Sponsored – this attribution will be applied to paid spots
Back-link Strategy 2020
Sample Campaign
This is a fabricated story and campaign for illustrative purposes.
Target Site: Puppies for Sale in Sacramento.
Target Page: A page that goes into details about this type of therapy dog and how it is a great therapy dog.
Purpose of Website: A licensed breeder who sells, trains, and consults on specific breeds
SEO Campaign: Do ‘X’ dog breeds make good therapy dogs?
Tier 1: Choose 3 sites where you will promote or post this top level content which has 1-2 back-links pointing back to the target site. Anchor text should be very specific and natural, ignore keyword anchors unless it is appropriate. Sample anchor text: “site” or “website” if its a profile link and if available, the name of the business. I would link in the content (not a heading) using natural language where it references this dog being a good breed for therapy dogs. This is because the purpose of a back-link is to provide additional information to a reader if they so choose to research further – which is why you want to make it as natural as possible inside of articles.
Tier 2: These should be articles which are generalized and do not reference the target site. Instead they link back to the Tier 1 article – you are promoting that tier 1 content. Our rule is around 3 supporting pieces of content for each tier 1 article. So if you want to produce 3 articles, you would need to produce an additional 9 pieces of content for Tier 2 building.
Obviously, this method takes a lot more resources but it is effective and tried & true marketing methods. Some people will write one article for the Tier 2 and then use a tool or person to rewrite the same piece in multiple ways to save on costs.
Note: You will want to monitor those tier 2 pages, if one breaks out it may become a Tier 1 piece and you would want to edit the content to include a back-link to the target site. Monitoring and maintenance is a key piece of enterprise seo.
Enterprise SEO Back-Link Building
Clients usually ask me before hiring us, what’s included. I’m glad you asked, if you hired Got.Media to do your back-link building you get content creation (writing), campaign strategy plan, execution of the plan, reporting, and a copy of locations posted. We believe in showing our work. If you are paying for back-links and you do not have high quality content, a list of where it is being posted, and some sort of analytics report followup after 1-3 months than you are missing out – we are here to help, book an appointment today!
In The End
Everyone has a budget with their marketing, so the real question is how much do you have for pr style seo campaigns to boost authority or traffic of a page? It is not the recommended practice for every business and budget, you may be better off producing a video and using that as an article on your website, or technical seo or speed improvements. What I am trying to say is, do not waste your time and budget without getting some advice first – whether from Got.Media or another agency.
If you are interested in help with your back-link building, enterprise seo campaigns, or a little bit of consulting give us a call today or book an appointment on our calendar online! We look forward to serving you.