10 Post-Panda/Penguin Era Link Acquisition Strategies

Started by apexis, 10-24-2012, 02:45:41

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10 Post-Panda/Penguin Era Link Acquisition Strategies
In February of 2011, the introduction of the Panda update shook up the search results, altering more than one out of every 10 searches. Content farms were demolished, and some SEOs were left scrambling for new tactics. Then, in April of 2012, the Penguin update hit 3 percent of the search results, knocking out sites with link profiles that looked suspicious.

In the wake of the Panda and Penguin updates, I have dug into the data and found some of the most common patterns in the sites and pages that lost their rankings. Using this information, I have developed methods for recovering from, and preventing these issues from happening.

The search engines are only getting smarter, and link building is being redefined as a result. It's important to think ahead if you want to stay in the game for the long haul. With that in mind, here are 10 strategies we use to future-proof our efforts.

1. Identify Viable Link Opportunities
The shotgun approach isn't going to cut it in the years going forward. You need to find and qualify your link opportunities by their authority and relevance. Focus strictly on domains related to your niche, and approach these opportunities strategically. Ask yourself if it's possible to build a link from the target site in a way that will make sense to a human visitor.

If the human visitors won't even be there, don't waste your time. Identifying the right link opportunities is a must before you can start building links.

2. Use the Best Tools
Tools exist to make your job easier, not to replace you. Tools like SEOMoz's Open Site Explorer and Majestic SEO allow you to spot domains with a lot of authority with the search engines. Use tools like this to identify which sites are most promising, but audit them as a human being. Take a look at the site and use the "common sense test." Is the site built for users? Is it well researched and/or entertaining? Does it have a decent following?

3. Focus On Sites With Manual Approval
If you can get a link from a site without a human being playing a part in the process, that link is virtually guaranteed to have no value in the long term. Any benefit it offers today will disappear tomorrow, possibly bringing a penalty along with it.

Sites with no manual review process ultimately lose value. Low-quality junk gets posted, sometimes not even written by human beings. These sites are ultimately penalized or hit by an algorithm update, and all the work that went into the links from the site is lost.

4. Win the Content Marketing Game
Before we dive into this one, let me just say that it's important to start mixing up your medium. Text will always be powerful, and most of the content on the Web will probably always be text, but that's exactly why it's so important to do something different and stand out. All of the following count as content. Don't forget:

•Infographic Creation and Marketing
•Whitepapers, PDFs, and Presentations
•Videos
•Webinars
•eBooks
•Tools and Widgets
•QA Site activity
•Comment Marketing
•References and Guides
•Microsites and Landing pages
•Guest Blogging
•Blogger Outreach
•Press Releases
•Case Studies
It's also important to understand a few things about the psychology of what makes things go viral, such as:

•Specific, unique, urgent, useful headlines
•Court controversy (provided it doesn't hurt your reputation)
•Use lists
•Focus on trending topics
•Be inspirational, funny, and incite emotions
5. Use Balanced Anchor Text
Anchor text just isn't the signal it used to be. About 70 percent of your links should just mention your brand, URL, or domain name. Only about 10 percent should focus on the exact keywords you are trying to rank for. The remaining 20 percent should use parts of the keyword mixed in with your brand name, broader terms, and other "partial match" anchor text.

Avoid building an excessive number of backlinks with exact match anchor text, or even using similar anchor text repetitively.

6. Don't Use Mass Link Building Tactics
Almost any technique that can get you thousands of links in a short period of time is going to look suspicious to the algorithms. If it is the result of buying links or automation, there are almost certainly patterns that will be detected by the algorithms of today or the near future. The only legitimate way to get a massive amount of links in a short period of time is if they are the result of viral content, and this is the only case where you will be protected.

7. Social Media is Your Friend
The search engines are using social data to improve their search results. Social sharing activity is an important signal, because it indicates that real human beings are enjoying your content enough to share it with their friends or followers. Approach content and outreach with an understanding of this influence.

At the same time, recognize that people increasingly use social media to communicate, so when you are building relationships for link building purposes, it is a good idea to take advantage of these networks. Ultimately, your goal should be to get as many tweets, likes, shares, and +1s on your target and link building pages as possible.

8. Monitor Your Link Profile
Be sure to periodically review your links in Google Webmaster Tools and Open Site Explorer, and keep a spreadsheet of your intentionally acquired links. You want to keep track of things like where the links are coming from and what the anchor text looks like, in order to avoid crossing any thresholds that could result in a penalty. Even those who are doing everything properly can sometimes take a hit.

Monitoring your links also gives you an opportunity to get in touch with people who are already linking to you and scale those relationships for even better results.

9. Analyze Your Competitor's Links
While you don't want to copy everything that your competitors are doing, it is a good idea to take a look at their link profile for ideas. It will also help you get a broad idea of how much work it's going to take to rank for a specific term, and whether or not it will be worth the effort. Again, don't just copy your competitors. Think strategically.

10. Build Relationships
Finally, some of the best links are built by personal relationships. This is especially true of relationships that start in the real world. Go to seminars and places where you can expect to find people in your industry with a presence on the Web, and start building up your network. Focus on building real relationships in the beginning, not on the links. Keep business cards on you so that it's more natural to bring up in a conversation.

Conclusion
Understanding the algorithm is an important part of SEO, but it's important to recognize that the algorithm will change. Those who achieve the most success from search optimization are the ones who are skilled at building relationships and thinking about the direction of the Web as a whole.

Google will adjust to meet the needs of consumers, so keep the search engine's business goals in mind as much as your own, and build a solid reputation using strategies that are as future-proof as possible in the changing landscape of the Web.


bhushanrancor

In the post-Panda/Penguin era, link acquisition strategies have evolved to place a greater emphasis on quality rather than quantity. Prior to these updates, many websites relied on spammy and low-quality links to improve their search engine rankings. However, Google's Panda and Penguin algorithms targeted such practices and penalized websites that engaged in them.

Nowadays, search engines place a stronger emphasis on natural, high-quality backlinks from reputable sources. Here are some strategies to consider when acquiring links in the post-Panda/Penguin era:

1. Content creation and promotion: Creating valuable and shareable content is a crucial aspect of modern link building. By developing content that is relevant, informative, and engaging, you increase the likelihood of other websites linking back to your content naturally.

2. Guest blogging and contributorship: Contributing guest posts to authoritative websites within your industry can be an effective way to build high-quality links. Ensure that your guest posts provide value to readers and include a link back to your website where appropriate.

3. Building relationships with influencers and industry experts: Engaging with influential figures in your field can be beneficial for both networking and link building purposes. By building authentic relationships, you may earn opportunities to collaborate or get mentioned on their platforms, resulting in valuable backlinks.

4. Broken link building: This strategy involves finding broken links on relevant websites and reaching out to the webmasters to suggest replacing the broken link with a link to your own relevant content. This approach provides value to the webmaster by helping them fix broken links while also acquiring a quality backlink for your website.

5. Social media marketing: While social media signals don't directly impact search engine rankings, they can indirectly contribute to link acquisition. By consistently sharing and promoting your content on social media, you increase its visibility, potentially attracting more attention and organic backlinks.

Here are a few additional strategies to consider for link acquisition in the post-Panda/Penguin era:

1. Influencer collaborations: Partnering with influencers or industry experts to create collaborative content can be an effective way to gain exposure and acquire quality backlinks. This could involve co-creating blog posts, videos, or other types of content that highlight your expertise and attract links from their audience.

2. Resource pages and directories: Look for relevant websites that have resource pages or directories in your industry. Reach out to the website owners and suggest adding your website as a valuable resource. This can lead to high-quality backlinks and increased visibility within your niche.

3. Community engagement: Actively participating in online discussions, forums, and communities relevant to your industry can help you establish yourself as an authority. By providing helpful insights and contributing to conversations, you may earn recognition and backlinks from other community members.

4. Brand mentions: Monitor online mentions of your brand or products using tools like Google Alerts or social listening platforms. If you come across unlinked mentions, reach out to the website owners or authors and politely ask if they can include a link to your website. This can help you capitalize on existing mentions and turn them into valuable backlinks.

5. Skyscraper technique: Identify popular content in your niche and create a superior version that offers more value, is more comprehensive, or presents information in a more visually appealing manner. Once your content is ready, reach out to websites that have linked to the original content and suggest that they consider linking to your improved version instead.
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vijaychauhan007

Awesome tips.. My website has been hit in the recent update and i lost over 90% of my traffic which i was getting from Search Engines. I am just trying to set things up again and your post helped a lot. Keep it up. :)
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kapooraisha365

After Google Panda and Penguin, hope these stuff will help us to have our rankings..Anyways, thanks a lot for sharing such wonderful tips..
newbielink:http://www.gravityinformatics.com [nonactive]
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sylviadlyons

Ya, it is a nice article. i had read this article two days ago on searchenginejournal.com .