8 Myths Behind Backlink Profiles

When it comes to SEO and backlinks, there’s a lot of information out there. Information that can often times be contradictory. In can be confusing, especially for people who aren’t as familiar with SEO to know when to follow or when to ignore certain pieces of advice.  However, there are a few common placed myths that do need to be addressed when it comes to Indianapolis SEO and backlink profiles.

Myth #1: “Rel=nofollow” Links Do Not Help

Essentially, “Rel=nofollow” is a tag that tells Google “do not crawl this ink” and “do not pass PageRank”, per Google’s Webmaster Tools. While these links might not necessarily have a lot of standalone power, they can be helpful when it comes to providing a lift in rankings and overall website domain authority. Particularly when it comes to over-optimized websites, few “nofollow” links in the backlink profile, and when anchor text is over-optimized. Basically in these situations, they help to balance out rations of over-optimized links.

Myth #2:The Quantity Doesn’t Matter

A lot of times you’ll hear quality over quantity. And in a lot of cases this is true because your content matters to users. However, when it comes to ranking, having more backlinks can give you an edge over your competitors. Plus, t’s something Google favors, and at the very least isn’t going to hurt you.

Myth #3: High Quality Links Are The Only Thing That Matters

This goes back to myth #2. The truth of the matter is that you cannot butyl a quality backlink profile with just 10-15 good quality links. Google prefers it when you have a good, healthy, and natural backlink profile that’s made up of a lot of links from a lot of different places. Remember, Google isn’t actually all that smart of an algorithm. It can’t see what websites look like or how links are acquired. It can only see a finished product.  

Myth #4: Old Sites/Links Don’t Help

When it comes to ranking and backlinks, Google doesn’t care what your website looks like. Its only concern is how it performs its search engine. So, just because your website ugly or that your links are old, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. In fact, often times Google prefers a websites and links that have a long history, versus new and unproven web pages.

Myth #5: Bio Links Are Not Helpful

These are actually a great foundation for content creation and promotion using another website viewer base. Even if it’s the same bio link from the same site, but different articles, it still is valuable because you’re adding more links and getting more velocity. A good quality link is a good quality link. Just don’t go paying for affiliated links. That’s a whole other storm.

Myth #6: Affiliate & Paid Links Help, They Just Are Dangerous

The only part of this myth that is true is that it is dangerous. Even if the link does give you some “cred” in the digital world, Google is unpredictable. They can change their algorithms at any time, without warning. And if they happen to find a way to crush affiliate links, well then you’re screwed. The other problem with affiliate links is that it can inflate your rankings. Which may seem great, but the minute you leave the affiliate, your rankings go with it. Trust us when we say, it’s best to leave your Indianapolis SEO and backlink strategy free from affiliate links. If you must use affiliate links, then at least make sure you “Rel=nofollow” every affiliate link you take on.

Myth #7: Blog Comments = Spam Links

While tactics like blog commenting, guest posting, and forum links have been used to and abused back in the day, there are still websites that give quality information to consumers. So, why wouldn’t you want to be in front of them? Go ahead and post comments, just don’t do it for the links. Do them instead to create good content. Remember, when it comes down to it, content wins and SEO looses.

Myth #8: Mentions Without A Link Count

Let’s be honest. This one is just ridiculous. After all, what good is an article that mentions your name but doesn’t link back to you? Google is a crawler, and it crawls for links. If there are no links then logic would dictate that it does not count.

In conclusion, you will always find people coming in on both sides of some of these issues. What really matters is finding a good strategy for your backlink profile that can help boost your Indianapolis SEO. Find out what works for you, and your business will be a success.