12 Link Building Strategies You Should Stay Away From

Back in 1996, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google introduced the idea of PageRank. As a hierarchical algorithm, PageRank’s role was to find out a website’s authority based on the number of backlinks.

From 1996 to 2023, backlinks have come a long way. It has gone through countless updates to keep up with the ever-changing search trends.

Considering the important and indispensable role backlinking plays in SEO, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with shortcuts.

And it’s about these shortcuts that we’re going to discuss today. We’ll share 12 link building techniques that will get you into trouble.

Paying for Links

I am starting things off with paying for links since this is usually a mistake new link builders make.

Paying for links is exactly what it sounds like. You pay a specific amount to a site owner, who, in turn, will place your link on their website.

Google openly states in its Webmaster Guidelines that buying or selling links counts as a link scheme and will happily devalue websites that engage in this practice.

Irrelevant Links

Relevance is a huge thing when it comes to link building. If your website gets too many backlinks from websites outside your niche, Google will quickly flag it down.

Say, for example, that if you have a website about pet care and receive too many inbound links from tech sites, this is a case of unnatural links. You may be liable for manual action, and you should disavow these links immediately.

Content Marketing Links

The ethical practice of content marketing involves producing informative content on one’s own website, gaining authority, and, in turn, building resources that generate links via goodwill.

The sketchy version involves hiring a writer who will publish the written article on a third-party site with a link back to the client’s website. (The client here is the party that pays the writer.)

This isn’t link building; it’s advertising. And it violates FTC guidelines, which state that paid advertisements must be disclosed, and if they cannot be disclosed, then such ads shouldn’t exist.

Low-Quality Guest Posts

Guest posts are a great way to generate backlinks and are generally one of the most recommended white-hat link building strategies.

Usually, guest posting involves a blogger who publishes an informative article on a third-party website. This article is written for the reader, and the keywords don’t stand out or interfere with readability.

Low-quality guest posts, on the other hand, are written with the aim of getting a better search ranking. As a result, these articles are usually poorly rephrased versions of the original article and are stuffed with keywords that greatly reduce readability.

For reasons like this, it is recommended to approach a guest posting agency. If you can’t find one, try looking for an SEO agency that offers high-quality guest posting service.

Sponsor Links

Sponsored links are those that use the rel=”sponsored” attribute. Google introduced this attribute to distinguish paid links from the rest.

Sponsored links aren’t bad by themself. But they become problematic when the site you’re sponsoring isn’t related to your niche; those links won’t contribute to your rank.

And if Google finds out, you may be liable for action from their web spam team.

Scholarship Links

Scholarship link building involves creating a scholarship and developing all the necessary content to promote it.

Once that is done, you approach educational institutions, asking for links to your scholarship page or website since Google considers .edu links as high authority.

However, scholarship link building is considered equivalent to paying for links, and that could lead to a manual link penalty. Also, the fact that you have links from domains with irrelevant niches could also damage your backlinking profile.

Badges for Links

In the Badges for Links trick, an SEO will create an award and hand it over to a website. The recipient’s website displays the award badge proudly, claiming to be the winner of a random award.

When handing over the badge, the SEO will sneak in a code that has links back to the website.

This link building trick is unethical because it involves the exchange of something of value in return for a link. Google considers this a method to manipulate links and a violation of its guidelines.

Developing Websites

Not only is this link building trick scammy, but it’s also time-consuming. This method involves creating a brand-new website with the sole purpose of including a link to your main website.

The created sites can be more in number, depending on how desperate the link builder is.

When Google finds out that your website is part of a link wheel (another name for this trick), you get slapped with a Google penalty for violating the Webmaster’s Guidelines.

Forum Spamming

Some people sign up for forums with the intent of promoting their links. It generally goes like this. The link builder adds a couple of “me too!” posts and includes their links, saying that the site has more information on it.

Forum administrators and moderators know this and will happily delete such posts. As an added benefit, businesses that follow this trick will have a reputation for being spammy. This is why it is always a good idea to consult a link building agency to create quality backlinks.

Private Blogging Networks (PBNs)

Some SEOs use PBNs to build a backlink profile. It goes like this. The SEO buys old domains with decent authority and posts content to those websites. Those posts will have links to the website they’d like to boost.

PBNs are considered to be black hat since they use manipulative tactics to earn links rather than creating high-quality content that is of some use to the visitor.

Links From Automatic Link Building Applications

Have you come across tools like GSA Search Engine Ranker, Scrape Box, XRunner, or SEnuke?

These link building tools are good at generating backlinks, and that too a lot of them. The problem is that the generated links aren’t very effective.

Automating isn’t inherently a bad thing, but Google values links that point to websites with rich, relevant content. Something automation isn’t capable of.

Too Much Link Exchanges

Link exchange is when two parties, preferably webmasters, agree to link each other.

This technique is exactly black hat or shady. The problem arises when webmasters overdo it. And when that happens, it pretty much becomes a link scheme.

These are some of the most common practices that link builders should stay away from. Some of the techniques mentioned in the article can be quite effective when used in moderation, but they are frowned upon by the SEO community.

Google is regularly making changes to how search works, and there’s a high possibility that more tricks may come up in the near future.

This is why it is essential to always stay updated with the current happenings in the SEO world. You’ll get a heads-up when some drastic change is coming, and you’ll be better prepared to tackle it.

Another go-to option is to outsource your link building. Outsourcing frees up your schedule and resources, and on top of that, you get positive, quantifiable results.

Second-Tier Links. The Black Sheep of Link Building

Have you ever tried tiered linking?

For the uninitiated, tiered linking is when you share content that has links to a post with links to your website.

That sounds a bit confusing, isn’t it?

Say, for example, that A has links to your client’s website. You create a social media post, B, with links to A. You then go on to make another post with links to B.

Link Building is a valid strategy to increase authority, whereas tiered linking may have its problems.

This isn’t to say that tiered links don’t deliver. They absolutely do. But if you don’t take care, things can quickly go south.

  • Guest post on industry blogs and include 1-2 relevant links in the author bio. Make sure the content provides value for readers.
  • Sponsor or donate to a responsible gambling charity and get a link in return.
  • Comment on forums and articles in your niche, offering useful insights along with a site link. Don’t spam.
  • Get interviewed as an expert on gambling sites and podcasts. Mention your site contextually if asked.
  • Create social media profiles and engage regularly with valuable info. Include site link in bio.
  • Publish and promote an ebook, research or stats on the industry with 1-2 attribution links.
  • Start an ethical affiliate program and have partners link to your site from theirs.
  • Reach out to local casinos and gambling venues to be listed as a recommended responsible site.

The focus should be on building reputation by providing genuine value to users first rather than just seeking links. Links should occur naturally and ethically as part of that process. Aggressive/manipulative link building tactics should be avoided.

In this article, I have only discussed second-tier links because you run the risk of getting penalized by Google if you go above second-tier linking.

What Are Second-Tier Links?

As said earlier, tiered linking is when you create posts or websites with the intention of linking to posts that have links to your actual website.

First-tier links are the links you find in posts (social media or blogs) that redirect the visitor to your website.

Second-tier links boost first-tier links. These are the links that point to pages with links to your website, aka first-tier links.

You can find second-tier links in just about anything, from social media posts, articles, and emails to directories and forums.

So, what benefit do second-tier links provide?

The main advantage of second-tier links is that they improve your website’s backlink profile. A better backlink profile increases the authoritativeness of your website. The more domain authority your website has, the better its search ranking.

And finally, a better search ranking means more visibility, which means increased traffic.

This is why you shouldn’t ignore second-tier links when building a backlink profile.

Tiered linking follows the concept of link equity, which is explained below.

Link Equity

When one webpage links to another, some of the first page’s authority is passed on to the second page. This is called link equity.

In simple terms, when page A links to page B, page B gets some of page A’s authority.

This is why marketers go after websites with high domain authority (DA) to build a website’s backlink profile.

Another name for link equity is “link juice,” since the DA flows from one page to another, improving the rankings of everything along the way.

With that out of the way, let’s discuss the ideal spots to place second-tier links.

Guest Posts

Guest posts are created for two reasons alone: one, to post your links, and two, to educate visitors on a certain topic.

Guest posts are the most commonly used tools when it comes to link building. You find a website relevant to your niche, request that they post an article with a link to your website, and, if they agree, post an article with a link back to your website.

You can also promote your guest posts this way. Just create additional posts that link back to your original guest post with a link to your website.

Secondary Website

You can place links to your main website on your secondary website(s). In other words, just create a blog post on your secondary website and include a link to your primary website.

You must also make sure that the websites that link to your primary website belong to the same niche, as Google will find it fishy if your website has multiple backlinks from sites that are irrelevant to your niche.

Social Bookmark Links

Social bookmarking is a phenomenon where websites have dedicated, organized forums for discussions and resource sharing. Social bookmarking sites allow visitors to engage with people with similar interests or professions.

Social bookmarking websites are great for sharing your second-tier links, considering the exorbitant number of people who use them.

Social Media

Just a heads up, social media links are nofollow, meaning they don’t contribute anything in terms of SEO.

But links in social media posts are great for one thing, exposure. They’re great at promoting guest posts with first- and second-tier links.

And, on top of that, social media links also help Google index content better.

Link Exchanges

It is exactly what it sounds like. Link exchanges are when two websites agree to link to each other with the objective of improving SEO rankings.

Google guidelines have given the green light for link exchanges, but only to a certain extent.

The link exchange strategy is great for second-tier links since you won’t directly link your website but to a post with the link, considerably reducing the chances of a Google penalty.

Forums

Forums are private, heavily moderated, and come with their own set of rules. The reason I say this is because if you’re directly promoting a post with your link, the moderators will flag you. Even if the moderators miss it, the members will report you.

At times like this, second-tier links are a lifesaver. Because, you’re not directly linking your website.

Another thing to keep in mind when posting in forums is relevance. Post your second-tier links on relevant forums, as most forums have strict rules against spamming and self-promotion.

Now that you’ve read what you can (or should) do, here are a few things you shouldn’t do.

Link Schemes

A Link Scheme is a strategy where marketers create websites, relationships, and processes for backlinking.

This is problematic because the websites that link to your pages don’t have any other purpose. They’re there only to post your links.

Also, Google penalizes websites that are involved in link schemes.

Relevance

Although Domain Authority (DA) and Domain Rating (DR) are important factors to measure the strength of a website’s backlinks, you can’t ignore relevance.

Google will find out if your website has multiple links from websites that are outside your niche. And when that happens, your website will be handed a Google Manual Penalty.

Spamming

Spamming is, was, and will never be a good strategy for anything, especially SEO. That’s why it’s recommended to include links to your original post just once in your secondary post.

Take the case of email. You’re using an email for second-tier link building and have mentioned the links twice; Gmail will happily group your email under the promotions tab.

To wrap things up, link building is a viable strategy for SEO. Not only does it contribute to better website traffic, but it also improves your page and domain authority.

Just like every other thing, there are ways to speed up the process for quick results. But their consequences make them not worth it.

Second-tier links are something like that. Use it just the right amount, and you’re fine. Abuse it and face the consequences.

When executed correctly, second-tier links can do a world of good for your primary website, both in terms of traffic and ranking.