25 Link Building Pitfalls Everyone Should Avoid

Link building is one of the best ways to gain the search engine rankings you've been looking for. Maybe you already have a link building strategy set up...but are you doing it right?

There is a lot of old information swirling around about building links, and the purpose of this article is to tell you what kind of link building strategies are outdated, which don't work and which are just plain stupid. Please feel free to comment below with your own additions.

You should avoid:

1) Hiding any links off a page. Google doesn't like this little CSS trick.

2) Buying links in the places everyone else in buying them. By buying where everyone else is, you're diluting the value and the effectiveness of the links you're getting.

3) Purchasing links from any link vendor who has their inventory online. Remember: Google can see the same list you're looking at.

4) Using automatic link building software. If you want to leave a damaging footprint, go ahead and use that software.

5) Using the same anchor text repeatedly. Your anchor text should look natural and diverse, relevant to the content of whatever page its on.

6) Overusing the same kinds of links. You want a wide range of links, not just one kind. One-way, reciprocal, site-wide, high or low pr - vary your links accordingly.

7) Having PR patterns in your backlinks that look unnatural. Don't have all high PR or all low PR pages; strike a balance between them.

8) Placing links in sections that are in sponsored or paid areas. Google and friends are getting increasingly good at spotting links in these areas and have started lowering their PR and weight accordingly.

9) Spamming Wikipedia for links. Bad idea all around. Get a link in Wikipedia if you meet their criteria; if you don't, you'll just get kicked out,and possibly banned.

10) Spamming top social media site with fake votes or diggs. This will kill your credibility and label you, quite rightly, a spammer. Produce linkbait that's worthy of being promoted.

11) Spamming forums of .edu or .gov sites. If you want these valuable links, get them by offering the site something relevant they can link to.

12) Comment spamming. Don't spam guest books or blogs unless you enjoy being hated and don't care about building your rep or authority.

13) Using 301 redirects too often. Used sparingly, this can be effective. Used too much, it starts to look unnatural. I mean, 400 redirects to your site? Google's not stupid...

14) Using artificial link networks. Just don't. The SERP's find artificial link networks easily.

15) Creating ten bazillion generic "link to me" emails. If you're requesting a link from someone, make it personal.

16) Implementing a link spike just one time. While some one-time link spikes can be good, e.g. articles and press releases, you generally want to avoid making those 70 links all live in 3 days. Spread your link life out over time and remember that moderation is key.

17) Setting up a link directory on your site. A lot of effort, no reward because it doesn't work.

18) Spamming forums. Again, if you care about your rep at all, don't spam forums.

19) Forgetting to add anchor text to your links. Anchor text adds a lot of value; by not adding any, you're lowering the effectiveness of the link.

20) Submitting your site to 6000 directories for $19.99. Generic options always get you in trouble, and you're essentially paying for nothing. Authority Domains link building service strategists have personally tested over 600 of these directories and found only a small handful that actually provide value.

21) Sending annoying updates to everyone and your mother when you post to your blog. Moderation, again, is key here. You want to keep people interested and keep the backlinks coming, not see them roll their eyes with annoyance when they get your tenth email that week.

22) Forgetting about keywords for which you already rank . Just because you've been successful up to this point doesn't mean you can't lose everything. Be vigilant and remember to check up on your keyword rankings periodically.

23) Making any emails asking for links impersonal. Nobody likes knowing you didn't care enough about their site or link to do your homework.

24) Creating an article exchange on your website. You're better off hosting high-quality content you've produced and linking out to high quality content other people in your community have created rather than having random article links on a non-important page of your site.

25) Dropping your link building strategy when you see results. Maintain, maintain, maintain. You don't stop promoting your site when it becomes a success, so why would you stop building links when you're starting to do great?