{"id":6920,"date":"2022-11-16T12:57:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T12:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/"},"modified":"2022-11-16T12:57:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T12:57:20","slug":"6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/","title":{"rendered":"6 link-building myths and truths by Internet Marketing Ninjas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Link building is one of the most misunderstood aspects of an effective digital marketing strategy. Being difficult to properly scale, some avoid it altogether while others outsource the work and hope for the best. Getting it right either internally or with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internetmarketingninjas.com\/link-consulting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">link-building partner<\/a> can catapult your SEO performance. Still, in doing so<a>, you must avoid these common link-building myths and mistakes to succeed in the long term<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Myth_1_Links_must_meet_a_minimum_DA_or_other_score_in_order_to_pass_value\" >Myth 1: Links must meet a minimum DA or other score in order to pass value.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Myth_2_Links_must_be_from_relevant_websites_or_they_wont_count\" >Myth 2: Links must be from relevant websites or they won\u2019t count.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Myth_3_Relying_on_guest_blogging_or_link_networks_is_worth_the_effort\" >Myth 3: Relying on guest blogging or link networks is worth the effort.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Myth_4_Internal_linking_isnt_as_important\" >Myth 4: Internal linking isn\u2019t as important.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Myth_5_Link_building_alone_will_get_the_job_done\" >Myth 5: Link building alone will get the job done.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Myth_6_Link_building_is_dead\" >Myth 6: Link building is dead!<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/16\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-by-internet-marketing-ninjas\/#Wrapping_it_up\" >Wrapping it up<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Myth_1_Links_must_meet_a_minimum_DA_or_other_score_in_order_to_pass_value\"><\/span>Myth 1: Links must meet a minimum DA or other score in order to pass value.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A common mistake webmasters make is relying on third-party metrics like Domain Authority, Domain Rating, or Citation Flow when deciding on link opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to understand what these numbers represent \u2013 and what they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>As an example, <a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/learn\/seo\/domain-authority\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Domain Authority<\/a> is Moz\u2019s best guess at a website\u2019s ability to rank itself and has no bearing on a website\u2019s ability to pass link equity to other sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Domain scores from various data providers often vary from one to the next, so who should you rely on? We\u2019d argue none of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>These solutions have a fraction of the crawl Google has. Their datasets and algorithms all differ from one another, and there\u2019s a lot they miss when determining a site\u2019s score.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, Google does not use any of these scores when deciding how to rank websites or treat links from them.<\/p>\n<p>A link from a low-scoring domain like a town library or relevant resource site can not only pass link equity. It can drive direct traffic as well.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than tossing link opportunities due to low DA, use common sense. Would the site link to you in a natural way because your content compliments theirs? Is the site authentic, meaning without SEO or commercial intent? If so, it\u2019s likely an opportunity you shouldn\u2019t pass up \u2013 even with a low score.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Myth_2_Links_must_be_from_relevant_websites_or_they_wont_count\"><\/span>Myth 2: Links must be from relevant websites or they won\u2019t count.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In an ideal world, other websites within your vertical would link to you \u2013 it\u2019s a natural fit. For many of you, these are often your competitors and unlikely links to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>Stretching the relevancy gap when looking for link opportunities is often needed in competitive verticals in order to achieve high-quality links on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n<p>When considering websites to earn links from, think outside your core business and look for opportunities a step or two away.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In doing so, the quantity and quality of link prospects can increase tenfold and help you discover link-earning opportunities you would have otherwise missed.<\/p>\n<p>Pretend you sell life insurance. Rather than trying to solely get links from other life insurance websites, you could search for websites in supplementary niches like healthy living and family planning, which are generally more resource-heavy.<\/p>\n<p>This will also allow you to find powerful domains to source links from (ones with a lot of high-quality backlinks pointing to them), therefore passing more link equity to you.<\/p>\n<p>To accomplish this, you\u2019ll need to develop a robust <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internetmarketingninjas.com\/blog\/link-building\/how-to-do-link-building-in-2022-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">linkable content plan<\/a> focused on these audiences, giving them something worthy of linking to\u2014more on this in the above-linked video.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Myth_3_Relying_on_guest_blogging_or_link_networks_is_worth_the_effort\"><\/span>Myth 3: Relying on guest blogging or link networks is worth the effort.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Google has been clear on this for many years \u2013 guest blogging and link buying as link-building tactics violate their webmaster guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>You can find their messaging regarding this <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2017\/05\/a-reminder-about-links-in-large-scale\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/essentials\/spam-policies#link-spam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>; \u00a0they also rolled out a link spam update last year detailed <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/blog\/2021\/07\/link-tagging-and-link-spam-update\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. Some more guidance on this from Search Engine Roundtable is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/google-guest-blog-post-links-have-zero-value-29916.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/google-uses-many-signals-to-detect-guest-posts-32338.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>TLDR: If you are currently obtaining these types of links, especially in large numbers or as a large percentage of your backlink profile, it\u2019s time to stop.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s understandable why many folks lean into these tactics. They\u2019re cost-effective and easy to scale. They can even provide a short-term boost, but it\u2019s only a matter of time before Google discounts them, and you\u2019re back to square one.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The good news is Google\u2019s default for the past couple of years has just been to ignore these types of links in your backlink profile rather than penalize you for them. However, penalties are still imposed in certain cases, so why take the risk when there are alternative options?<\/p>\n<p>At best, you\u2019ve wasted time, dollars, and other resources obtaining them. At worst, they can cause a link penalty if they remain a cornerstone of your link-building efforts.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Myth_4_Internal_linking_isnt_as_important\"><\/span>Myth 4: Internal linking isn\u2019t as important.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One area we find a lot of webmasters ignore is their internal linking optimization.<\/p>\n<p>It can be difficult to manage and keep up with, especially for large e-commerce websites and other very large websites with pages that come and go on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is internal linking optimization is one of the quickest ways to boost your SERP visibility, especially for mid &amp; long-tail keyword phrases.<\/p>\n<p>Internal linking gives you an opportunity to vary internal link anchor text to individual pages, boosting their rankings for a larger volume of keywords.<\/p>\n<p>We optimize internal linking early on in most SEO campaigns, and it almost always produces a measurable lift in a site\u2019s share of search \u2013 that is, the number of keywords ranking in Google, the average ranking of those phrases as a whole, and the total non-paid Google organic traffic coming to the site. And this often times happens within 30 days after optimization.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It also allows you to control where links appear throughout your website and provide a secondary navigation path for users and Googlebot.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Not sure where to start? We\u2019ve put together an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internetmarketingninjas.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/the-2022-ninjas-guide-to-internal-linking-optimization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">internal linking guide here<\/a>, but one of the first things to do is link like-minded content and commercial pages together throughout your website, especially if any of those pages have backlinks to them. Not only will that help establish thematic authority, but it will also pass link equity through to the pages that matter most.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Myth_5_Link_building_alone_will_get_the_job_done\"><\/span>Myth 5: Link building alone will get the job done.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While links are often a necessity to rank in most competitive verticals, they\u2019re not the only piece of the puzzle.<\/p>\n<p>People often view links as the \u201cmagic answer\u201d to help them rank better. And in some circumstances, it is links that they need most. But the ability for links to pass maximum value has a lot of assumptions associated with it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>While they can be the biggest needle mover, you won\u2019t get their full benefit if your website is full of technical errors, has poor content, or has a poor user experience.<\/p>\n<p>The latter is especially true once your site begins to rank on Page 1. If you provide a poor user-experience, you\u2019ll unlikely remain there for long.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also important to realize Page 1 of Google continues to move further away from the \u201c10 blue links\u201d of days past. If you\u2019re not optimizing for a variety of search features \u2013 images, videos, People Also Ask, carousels, and so on then, you\u2019re leaving a lot of traffic opportunities on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Often, there are dozens of results to click on before reaching the #1 organic result, especially on mobile.\u00a0 And links alone won\u2019t help you capture many of these placements.<\/p>\n<p>While organic rankings remain a top priority, don\u2019t ignore all of the other real estate opportunities on Page 1. You\u2019ll need an optimized content, image, video and schema plan in place to maximize your SERP visibility.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Myth_6_Link_building_is_dead\"><\/span>Myth 6: Link building is dead!<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ve heard this shouted time and time again over the years.<\/p>\n<p>Just last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/google-links-less-important-ranking-34357.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Mueller suggested<\/a> that links may become less important as time goes on.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to notice the language used: \u201cI imagine,\u201d \u201cmy guess,\u201d \u201cover time,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n<p>In reality, Google has been saying this for <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/googles-matt-cutts-time-backlinks-will-become-less-important-190566\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nearly a decade<\/a>. One of the things that historically sets Google apart from every other search engine is its link data and reliance on it to determine search engine rankings. That remains true to this day.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, there are more ranking considerations now than 10 years ago. And as mentioned previously, Page 1 of Google looks much different now than it did then. These present additional optimization opportunities that links alone won\u2019t help with, and in that sense, Mueller is correct.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also likely Google wants to continuously discourage artificial link building through their communications just as they always have, so it\u2019s not surprising to see this messaging as we close out the year.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly enough, we do find consistent <em>quality<\/em> link building to produce stronger results as time goes on, likely as Google continues to discount low-quality link-building tactics. The cream always rises to the top.<\/p>\n<p>But ranking a website for high-value keywords in a competitive vertical without strategic linking will remain difficult for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Wrapping_it_up\"><\/span>Wrapping it up<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Link building is an evolving but important ranking factor. If your business relies on SEO traffic, ongoing link earning should be a cornerstone of your digital marketing strategy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.internetmarketingninjas.com\/blog\/link-building\/how-to-do-link-building-in-2022-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read (or watch) more about how to approach link building heading into 2023 on the Internet Marketing Ninjas blog.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/6-link-building-myths-and-truths-389580\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6 link-building myths and truths<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Link building is one of the most misunderstood aspects of an effective digital marketing strategy. Being difficult to properly scale, some avoid it altogether while others outsource the work and hope for the best. Getting it right either internally or with a link-building partner can catapult your SEO performance. Still, in doing so, you must avoid these common link-building myths and mistakes to succeed in the long term. Myth 1: Links must meet a minimum DA or other score in order to pass value. A common [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}