Penguin 2.0 has caused business owners and SEOs to look at link building in a new light. In fact, some SEOs are tossing the term itself aside for others such as “link earning” or “expanding brand visibility.”
Whatever you choose to call it, the most important thing is to know what types of links still hold value and offer positive exposure for your site.
As Andrew explained in his post about which links don’t work after Penguin 2.0, link removal must be balanced with new, higher quality link acquisition.
Types of links that still work (that you may or may not currently be getting):
- Guest blogging or content trading – don’t be a link hoarder, other bloggers might have great content for your site too!
- High quality local or business directories (those in your niche are especially valuable)
- Blog directories
- Partnership links
- Resources/links pages
- Sponsorship links
- Video, e-book, infographic, and other types of submissions
- Giveaways for your product or services on blogs in your industry
One way to find link opportunities is by evaluating your competitors’ backlink profiles. We suggest using Moz’s Open Site Explorer or MajesticSEO. These tools allow you to export competitor links to a CSV and sort them by varying metrics.
Remember, in order for others to link to your site, your content must be of value to them. Do a quick assessment of your site or ask a pair of outside eyes if they would link to specific landing pages you want to share. Make adjustments to the page if needed – attractive graphics, better content, something compelling that will keep a user’s attention.
Then focus on a marketing strategy that will encourage people in your niche to link to your site. Maybe that means putting up an awesome infographic, or hosting a really interesting interview with a pro in your industry and posting it your blog. The options are endless. Although Penguin might have harmed your rankings, look at it as an opportunity to get creative with your online marketing and improve the quality of content that your business puts forth. After all, the real purpose of earning links is to assist brand exposure and encourage people to share what you are saying!