6 Mistakes to avoid when linkbuilding

6 Mistakes to avoid when linkbuilding

Linkbuilding, or link building, is an essential strategy in the world of SEO, and rightly so, as it plays a fundamental role in being useful for positioning the pages of a website.

However, the ease with which mistakes can be made when trying to implement it on your own, rather than having professional link building services, is surprising.

In any case, it is not impossible to do link building on your own, you just have to keep in mind some common mistakes that you will have to avoid to ensure that your strategy is effective and does not harm your online presence, because it is the last thing you want.

Automatic link building tools

Automation may be tempting, but when it comes to link building, using automated tools is not going to be a good thing – in fact, the opposite is almost certainly true. Search engines value the authenticity and quality of links, and automatic tools often generate low quality links that can be detected and penalized.

Instead of relying on automation, it is preferable to invest time and effort in link building manually, focusing on quality over quantity, because quantity does not always mean it is beneficial.

The use of hidden links

Trying to hide links to improve search engine rankings is an ill-advised tactic. Search engines such as Google or Bing are becoming increasingly sophisticated in detecting deceptive practices, and the use of hidden links can result in penalties.

At first you may not think they will notice, but they will. Keep in mind that transparency is essential in linkbuilding, so make sure that all your links are visible and relevant to users.

The more, the worse it can be

There is a misperception, especially by SEO newbies, that the more links, the better. However, quality trumps quantity in the world of linkbuilding.

Low quality or irrelevant links can hurt your ranking instead of improving it. It is crucial to focus on acquiring quality links from relevant and trustworthy websites rather than simply accumulating a large number of links without criteria.

Different from your theme

An effective linkbuilding strategy involves acquiring links that are related to your topic or industry. Linking to websites that deviate too much from your niche will sometimes dilute the relevance of your content and negatively affect your search engine rankings.

It is key that you focus on finding links that complement and reinforce your central theme, or at least slightly associated themes.

Highly optimized anchor text

The choice of anchor text, i.e. in which links are placed, is important in linkbuilding, but excessive use of optimized anchor text can be detrimental. Diversify your anchor texts to make them look natural and organic.

For example, if you want to rank for the keyword ‘best nut recipes’, try to use variety instead of always using the same anchor text. Excessive use of keywords can be interpreted as manipulation by search engines, which can result in penalties, leaving you out of the results.

Watch out for the link farm!

Link farming, or link farming, is a dishonest practice in which a large number of links are created from the same website to many other websites, providing little or no valuable content. Search engines are well aware of this tactic and often penalize them.

Generally, getting links from these sites is usually cheap, and tempting because they may have great DA or PA, but it is wise to avoid participating in link farms and instead focus on building genuine relationships and quality links.

It is clear that linkbuilding is a valuable strategy, but its execution requires care and attention. Avoiding these common mistakes will help you build a solid and lasting online presence, improving your search engine rankings ethically and effectively.

Escrito por Daniel Ortiz
Consultor SEO y experto en outreach, con una licenciatura en Comunicación Audiovisual por la Universidad de Navarra. Con más de 10 años en el sector, he ayudado a numerosas empresas a mejorar su visibilidad online y a construir relaciones sólidas con otros medios digitales.