Category Archives: Webmastering

webmaster related blog

Webmastering

Are linkwheels dead? What is a link pyramid?

We talked in the past about how to properly create a linkwheel structure, how to maintain it and how to best benefit from it. Later on, it seems that Google has started devaluating links coming from linkwheels structures, so instead of still trying and seeing no benefits, what is the next step we can take?

The answer is quite simple: link pyramids. But what is a link pyramid and how can it help us? Basically, link pyramids are structures created from your money website, bumper sites and low-valuable backlinks. As the name says, you will have from 3 to x layers of backlinks, for example:

Top layer – money site
Middle layer – web 2.0 websites like Blogger.com, a hubpage, Squidoo pages etc
Thid layer – articles pointing to your web 2.0 structures
Fourth layer – less to 0 value backlinks pointing to your articles these can be from forum profiles, blog comments, social bookmarking etc

Of course, it depends of how competitive is your keyword and many other factors for knowing the exact number of web 2.0 properties to use or how many articles to submit, but basically this is the main structure that should be used. What happens when the “pyramid arises”? Well, your middle layer “sucks” link juice from your third layer which gets its link juice from the fourth layer, in the end all the benefits heading to your money site, through buffer sites.

Buffer sites are valuable while they can support different types of backlinks automatically created with tools like Xrumer, Scrapebox, SENuke and so on. Imagine pointing all those links to your money site in a week or so, the only word that comes to my mind is banned! Exactly, gaining thousands of backlinks in a week to your money site could only lead to getting banned/de-indexed from the search engines, thus the necessity of using those buffer websites to act like a barrier but in the same time gain all the automatically created link juice and transfer to your money site.

Whether we are talking about linkwheels, link pyramid or any other link building structure, you must keep in mind that a gradually increase in the backlinks number is a must. In the same time try to gain some really valuable backlinks as well, non-anchored backlinks and so on, so that your strategy will not raise any red flags and will not get you kicked from search engines’ index.

Webmastering

Quality over quantity or quantity over quality?

This is a debate that seems to never end in the SEO industry, more precisely when it comes to link building. There are two types of link builders with different thoughts:

1. Quality links count more

Quality link are described as those of great value, coming from high PageRank websites, niche-related with less than let’s say 10 outbound links, featuring unique content and so on. These are the high-hanging fruits that are supposed to make a difference and indeed, quality links are most of the times the best ones a website could acquire, even if it lasts lot of time until getting some of those.

2. Quantity of links counts more

These are the usual blog comments, forums links, directories links, guestbook links and so on. The difference between the ones above and these is the fact that these come from high-spammed channels, are located in bad neighborhoods, have maybe thousands of outbound links on page, basically all the opposite to a quality link.

You might say that the answer is simple: quality links count more. But the question that comes is: are quality links easier to be obtained than quantity links? Again, you might say of course, due to the fact that quantity links require much work.
On the other hand, it would not be the first time we see websites ranking quite high in search engine results and when checking their backlinks we notice that only bad links are pointing to their websites, in high numbers. The answers for those sometimes huge numbers are, simple said:

– Scrapebox – a tool for automatic blog comments
– Xrumer – a tool for forum spamming, considered the most powerful blackhat tool ever created
– AutoPligg – a tool for spamming Pligg websites
– Auto-Directory submission tools
– Article Marketing Robot – a tool that submits your articles to thousands of websites thus gaining instant backlink, and so on;

Of course, those are not the single tools that automate link building however they are the most representative ones ever created. Getting back to our initial discussion, it seems that indeed, bad links in quantity can also help in website ranking but only when used with caution and without leaving any footprints. But in the end, one quality link could literally weight as much as 10,000 spam links so the decision on how to approach one of these strategies will only depend to the link builder.

Webmastering

How a link profile should really look ?

When we are talking about link building strategies, one thing is sure : nobody really knows how Google ranks different sites and with the daily algorithm changes it is almost impossible to find out all its ranking factors. However, there are some factors that anyone should be aware of, and one of the most important factors is how your link building profile looks.

Before digging deeper into this subject, we should remind you that before all, it is a demonstrated fact that quality counts more than quantity, whether we are referring to creating content or building links for a website. With the algorithm changing each day, nowadays we cannot know for sure whether link numbers matter most or content, social media presence etc, but let’s see some points related to link profile.

1. Nofollow – dofollow ratio

Most people concentrate on getting only dofollow links, but does this look natural in Google bots’ eyes ? A website gathering links from different channels will definitely have nofollow as well so be prepared to take this into account when starting your link building strategy.

2. Valuable VS non-valuable links

Now an again, a natural link profile should definitely have in « portfolio » links from low blogs as well ; a link profile with let’s say 90% dofollow links from homepages will definitely pull the triggers and raise the red flag.

3. Anchor text diversity

Yes, you try to rank for a competitive keyword, however building links only with that anchor text is unusual. Add to your links portfolio long-tail anchors, links without any anchor, usual « here » links and so on.

4. Social bookmarking sites

There are many automating tools that can easily bring hundreds of links from social bookmarking sites, this is not unusual at all. However, having the same text describing the link could again pull some triggers and release « Google’s hammer » upon your website.

5. Link diversity

Probably the most important aspect is link diversity. Concentrate your link building efforts on multiple channels, from social media, forums, blog comments, directories to home-page links, review links and so on. This is one of the best strategies to keep your link profile looking natural now and again.

Webmastering

The perfect start in blogging world

When it comes to blogging, this has become a very popular way for expressing thoughts and ideas, promoting products and even earning loads of money. However, there are some steps any beginner should keep in mind ; following them could bring some unexpected success in a short time.

1. Niche blogs are better

When it comes to general vs niche blogs, the last one scan skyrocket your popularity and income way faster than the general ones. One thing is sure though : choosing the niche you have a passion about but also one that is big enough to become profitable is a great way to success.

2. Catchy domain names or keyword rich domain names ?

As an example : onlinedogtraininglessons.com or petx.com ? (chosen randomly). It seems that keyword rich domain names are getting faster results than those with a branding potential, however it all depends on your taste. Our choice would definitely be keyword rich ones…

3. How often should you blog ?

This question has a simple answer : as often as you have something interesting to share. Instead of creating daily blog posts that no one will read try to concentrate more on creating mind-blowing content, even if you will post not so often. This isn’t a numbers’ game – quality weights way more than quantity. Also, frequency is another important issue you should consider when blogging.

4. Should I do keyword research ?

Definitely ! Creating posts that are both for human readers and for bots is the best way to do it. Choose carefully the keywords you are after, use them in title, use them in body, in description. One word of advice : don’t overdo this while it can come back against you !

5. Social media involvement ?

Start building relationships on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking websites. Moreover, social bookmarking sites can also be a goldmine when it comes to promoting a website and even getting some valuable links from other fellow bloggers. Incorporating Houston SEO strategies further enhances visibility and engagement, ensuring your website reaches its target audience effectively.

These are five great steps any folk should consider when starting to blog. If you have any other interesting tips, feel free to share them in the comments section of our blog.

Webmastering

How to properly build links through blog comments

Nowadays, lots of link builders are using blog comments as a great method for building backlinks for their websites. Of course, some are doing manual comments, some use shadier tools like Scrapebox and so on. Blog comments are great for two reasons : first, you get yourself noticed in the community. When you have something to say, something interesting, people will naturally click on your link and land on your website. Second, they are great for link building. Whether it is an anchor that you are after or even you name, in the end a link is a link.

Here are some great methods for making your comments stand for long and bring you the value that you are looking for :

1. Read and understand the entire post

There are literally million of comments on the web with only « great post, thanks » and so on, and almost 99% of those comments belong to people not even reading the post. Read the post, understand it and contribute with a good comment.

2. Related post

If you are for example in the cosmetics niche, commenting on an iPhone blog post will definitely not bring you any visitor while they are not interested in your website. However finding a post like « creams that make you skin brighter » and coming with some other examples or alike ones might bring you some extra-traffic solely from the fact that you know what you’re talking about and you also have a website related to what the post is about.

3. Do not only use keywords as names

There are webmasters that also accept keywords as names and webmasters that don’t, most ones come from the second category. By using the full name when commenting you get A. more trust from the blogger and B. much higher approval rate.

4. Come back for more

No, it is not about more comments a.k.a more links but coming back to see whether you got a reply or a question you might answer. This is all about building a trusty relationship not only with the blog owner but also with its visitors. A best thing to do is to subscribe to future comments on that particular post you’ve comment, that’s how you’ll not miss any opportunity to show your expertise further.

5. Less links, better value

Commenting on hardly-spammed blogs will get you nowhere for 2 reasons : first, the link juice on that page is distributed to all outbound links and second, when there are over let’s say 50 links on a page the possibility of getting at least 1 visitor through your link tends to hit the 0 margins, so better stay away from heavily commented blogs.