Link Building: Did Panda/Penguin kill it?

[ColtonJD91]

I'm right on the verge of launching my website, (T-Minus 27 days :coolgleamA and I've started transitioning my focus towards SEO. A lot of the advice I've got is that paid link building will kill my ranking; some even say ANY link building promoted by me could be viewed in a negative light by Google. I've made my articles/site as SEO friendly as I personally am capable of doing, however, I can't seem to trust any of the advice I've found for link building. Consider this an S.O.S (Save our Site ) Any advice is much appreciated!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TheTruth]

I'm right on the verge of launching my website, (T-Minus 27 days :coolgleamA and I've started transitioning my focus towards SEO. A lot of the advice I've got is that paid link building will kill my ranking; some even say ANY link building promoted by me could be viewed in a negative light by Google. I've made my articles/site as SEO friendly as I personally am capable of doing, however, I can't seem to trust any of the advice I've found for link building. Consider this an S.O.S (Save our Site ) Any advice is much appreciated!

As of right now, the only way you will rank your pages is by link building.


Whoever is telling you otherwise spends no time ranking sites.


Sure with the updates, the game changed a bit (giving more significance to social media-which you can game as well) But building links is the only way to rank as it stands.

That being said, you should do some research on what type of links would do you good and which ones would do you bad.

Here is a general guideline:

-Tier 1 links should all be quality. High PR, low amount of outbound links and diversity. (anchor text should be very diversified with thinks like "click here" appearing often)

- Tier 2 links can be shitty. DO not send these type of links to your money site as you may get in trouble. Send them to the tier 2's

- Tier 3 (same as tier 3)


Make sure your on-page SEO is good. Shoot me a pm if you aren't sure you have this done right.

I say test 1 page and see how it goes. Then take it from there.

 

[MCD]

Look, I see why you would be scared about the update but if you look at the whole picture Google Penguin and Panda are meaningless. Google has been making updates to the search algorithm since they began. Each one raining down terror on SEO noobs and provoking "the sky is falling" reactions. Panda and Penguin are just two of Google's many attempts to discourage webmasters from learning SEO.

The guys that are more experienced with SEO aren't afraid of updates because they know that it will only destroy the weak competition and make it easier for them to rise to the top. If that is your goal then you cannot allow yourself to be discourage by Google. You need to just continue to learn everything you can about SEO. If you take the time to learn it inside and out it will work and you will be rewarded.

As far as your concerns about link building, it still works as well as it used to. At worst you'll just have to change up your strategy. The Google Penguin update attacked unnatural link patterns by looking at things like anchor text diversity, link velocity, extension diversity etc. If you can learn about all this you can effectively combat the Penguin update.

 

[ColtonJD91]

Thanks for the advice guys! Speed+ for both of ya .
I just order a copy of SEO Made Simple on my Kindle. Any chance you guys have read it and know if it's the real deal?

Make sure your on-page SEO is good. Shoot me a pm if you aren't sure you have this done right.

I might just take you up on that, TheTruth, would you need my HTML/CSS or just need to see the site once it's live?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[TheTruth]

Thanks for the advice guys! Speed+ for both of ya .
I just order a copy of SEO Made Simple on my Kindle. Any chance you guys have read it and know if it's the real deal?

I might just take you up on that, TheTruth, would you need my HTML/CSS or just need to see the site once it's live?

I have not read the book, but I looked into it and the publication date is in 2008.... which means, if you are able to, please get a refund lol

The SEO game is very different in 2012.

I would not need your html and css, just send me a link to your site and I will have a look at it

 

[ColtonJD91]

I have not read the book, but I looked into it and the publication date is in 2008.... which means, if you are able to, please get a refund lol

It was$2.99 LOL! I can kill it in a night just to get a solid understanding and then move on to some thing more recent.
My site has a target launch of Oct. 1st. I'll shoot ya a link once it's up and running!

 

[JasonR]

Google "Beginners Guide to SEO" by SEOMoz. Excellent starting point.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[ColtonJD91]

Google "Beginners Guide to SEO" by SEOMoz. Excellent starting point.

Printed it out and read it already! Thank you tho. It definitely got the ball rolling as it was my first SEO related reading. Come to think of it... I should probably revisit it.

 

[The-J]

The principles of SEO haven't changed much, it seems. It's just the old methods of 'cheating the system' don't work anymore.

SEO is a process, just like anything else. You won't get ranked front page in two months. If it's a small niche, you'll get there in six.

But, really, think about it: did Facebook get powerful because it had great SEO? No way! Go search 'social networking for college students' and Facebook won't be on the front page. And, yet, that's exactly what it does, and more, and it serves some 1 billion people in the world (1 billion people didn't exist on this Earth 100 years ago). Facebook got powerful because it built a BRAND with a name that people KNEW and could easily tell OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT.

I may be wrong in my thinking, but I think this: SEO is a waste of time for a lot of people. Unless your site revolves around content, spending hours of your day on SEO is worthless. If you're in a small niche and you create a powerful brand that stands for excellent product quality and excellent customer service, then the SEO will follow (you'll create buzz, you'll get linked to, people will share your content or products, and you will become relevant).

I say this because this is what Google wants and it will stop at nothing to make sure it happens. And, sorry for saying this, but Google, their machines, and their team, are smarter than you.

 

[ColtonJD91]

I may be wrong in my thinking, but I think this: SEO is a waste of time for a lot of people. Unless your site revolves around content, spending hours of your day on SEO is worthless.

I suppose my thought process was good SEO can eliminate a need for advertising expenditures, at least early on. I really like your insights tho. What approach would you take to introducing a new product into the market if high keyword ranking wasn't a option?

And in regards to:

Google, their machines, and their team, are smarter than you.

OUCH! Lol, JK. That's actually a very valid point, and I'm starting to see that aspect of their company now that I'm learning what actually goes into page ranking. I've already opted against aggressive link building and paid SEO/link work; The best plan is to let it play out organically IMO.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[The-J]

What approach would you take to introducing a new product into the market if high keyword ranking wasn't a option?

Don't get me wrong. I didn't say it wasn't an option. I'm also not saying that ranking doesn't matter: it matters tons.

I'm saying that pushing all your efforts into SEO isn't as time-useful as it once was. Instead, create a brand and get that brand in front of your target audience. In business, it's all about thinking outside the box.

 

[splok]

Keep in mind that any sort of link-building is really trying to cheat the system. The way Google wants you get get links is by creating great content so that users will link to you themselves. Naturally, we don't want to wait on that to happen, so we build the links ourselves. Keep in mind though, that while you should be building links yourself, if the way you do it looks too unnatural (and no one outside of Google knows exactly what that means), then you'll site will be penalized.

Relying solely on SEO is a risky thing. If you do to little, it won't matter. Being on page 300 or page 3 is pretty much the same. If you do to much of the wrong things, then your work will leave you worse off than when you started. Even if you do things right, there's an entire internet of people trying to outrank you, and since you're just starting, they have a head start.

Organic search traffic is fantastic, but I would be careful making a business that relies solely on Google sending me users.

 

[nzerinto]

As someone who currently does SEO full time, I've got one piece of advice for you.

Don't do SEO. Do PR.

What I mean by that is, focus on promoting your site to your related market. Get involved in industry blogs and forums. Post guest blogs on sites where you can reach your target market. Create "how to" videos of that applies to your market, and post them on YouTube. Sign up to HelpAReporter.com and respond whenever a query comes up where you can show your expertise in your field. Follow market leaders in Twitter and Facebook, and engage them, and engage their followers - not because you are looking for followers yourself, but out of an honest intent to get involved and share ideas.

It's not easy, and it's certainly not fast. But given a consistent approach, you'll build a campaign that will stand the test of time, compared to if you go to Fiverr and buy a gig for 20,000 shitty forum links.

The more you focus on this, the more opportunities you'll see. The biggest benefit, however, is that by doing this two things happen:

1. You'll build a natural source of traffic that isn't reliant on search engines, and therefore your business is hedged against any possibilities of future fluctuations when updates are made. No more worrying about any white and black animals....

2. The SEO will sort itself out, from the natural buzz created by your "PR" work. So you'll actually get ranking anyway...

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.