Link building in any SEO campaign, though very tedious and time consuming, is absolutely necessary to increase your ranks in search engines. Building both quality inbound and outbound links not only makes your site more visible in the world of the Internet, it also shows Google and other search engines that your site’s content is relevant enough to be shared.
Many companies do not have the time required to consistently develop these inbound and outbound links to their website, so they look to an effective but risky alternative: Hiring a link building company or SEO specialist to do it for them.
Hiring an outside Link-Building or SEO company can be risky in many ways…
Here are some things you should be aware of before you choose the right company:
• Look out for International Agencies: Many companies that advertise their services in the U.S. may come from international agencies headquartered in India or China. Some companies will even tell you that they are headquartered in the U.S. but sub-contract off the work they say they are providing for you to international agencies. These international agencies do not know the U.S. market, or your industry specifics, as well as a company actually located in the U.S. so pick someone that can be readily available to you.
• Avoid Cheap Backlink services at all costs! When companies say that they can give you say, 1000 links for only five hundred dollars, they are most likely using a link auto-submission service of some sort. These auto-submission services “auto-post” your website URL to thousands of irrelevant search engines, spam-like classified ad websites and absolute useless internet directories that allow this automatic submission.
These cheap backlinks are a waste of money and time in the following ways:
1. Google controls around 60% of search engine users’ attention already, so you need to pay attention to what Google considers high quality. Rather than having a 1000 links from another junk search engine, getting links from the top ten sites ranking for similar keywords on Google, Google will find these links in higher quality.
2. You should be aiming to receive links from sites that are relevant in the field you are trying to market. Gaining links from random internet directories about Healthcare will not help a company trying to rank for keywords like Motocross Racing.
3. You have no idea where these auto-submission services are sending your website’s URL. For all you know, the latest pornography sites could now be sporting the link to your website! Now that is an affiliation you want to avoid in a professional setting.
• Your quality links should be coming from websites that are in the same industry as you. When interviewing possible link building prospects, ask them the types of links they would pursue in their strategy. Any experienced link builder would target sites with high pagerank, sites that are related to your industry (themed blogs, fan sites, industry professionals, industry associations, etc.), and other websites that make sense for your industry and keywords you are aiming for!
These observations should be made and researched before you write that paycheck to an outside link building firm. You should target companies that can keep you involved and educated in all steps of a link building campaign, with regular communication, that knows what they are talking about. Don’t get caught up in a scam or hire an SEO specialist who thinks they are an expert when they are clearly an amateur. Hire a firm with clear case studies, relevant knowledge about the internet and your industry, and one that you can afford. Check out WebitMD!
WebitMD has years of experience with link building campaigns! Check out our services or contact a WebitMD consultant today to find out more information!
Blog Post Written By: Kent Seiders