lightningblitz
Elite Member
- Nov 30, 2014
- 1,920
- 4,714
It is no secret that you need diversity to rank. The higher the competition, the more diversity you generally need. Diversity in the form of referring domains, link types, and acquisition.
If anyone can build the backlink in five minutes, odds are it isn't worth as much as a link that takes 20 minutes to attain.
Even the 'Classic' SEO Links can be more Diverse
What link do you build for diversity currently?
We all know the power links are PBN links. For low comp, maybe Web 2.0s. Some people try Guest Posts.
But diversity? The basics are:
Web 2.0 blogs
Article Directory
PDF Sharing
Video Links
Image Links
Blog Comments
Forum Links
Profile Links
But not all forum links are equal. What has more SEO value, a backlink from a public forum, or invite only forum? The link juice may be the same, but one is far less likely to be marked as spam.
Web 2.0s are the easiest example of this. The harder the links are to make, and the harder they are to keep, the better they are for diversity.
Classic Edu blog posts are web 2.0s. But normally only students and staff can make the blog.
Sites.google are web 2.0 links. But google is notorious for taking these down. But based on metrics alone, a sites.google web 2.0 quickly aquires higher tf and pa than most other web 2.0s.
When you look at PBN domains, the more referring domains, the strong the domain generally is. This applies to your money site.
Building the same 20 web 2.0s every one spams for all inner pages of your website is less effective than mixing up what web 2.0 platforms you use.
Finding the links your competition doesn't use
If you are like me, you learned SEO from forums. You discovered new link types via testing, link profile analysis of websites, and reverse engineering SEO services.
Back in the day we had software submission links. Now the rage are:
1. Charity links
2. Scholarship links
3. Broken link building
4. Infographic guest posts
5. Resource page links
6. Testimonail Links
These are all great and take real effort to get. But now they are shared on forums. You can buy most of these on fiverr. These are not the rare link types they once were.
If the history of SEO tells us anything, once abused the platform or google will crack down on the links.
The more they get spammed, the worse they are. Two years ago a lot of Edu platforms were cracked down on.
I posted a way to get Texas library Edu links and it was closed shortly there after. @Leith 's google extension links were made No Follow.
Once abused, the link value decreases. To find the most powerful links, you need to stay ahead of the curve.
The more link types you have, the greater diversity you profile has. The harder it is for competition to outrank you.
The Unique Links I Build
1. Niche Specific Q and A Sites
No, not Quora or Yahoo Answers. Think realself.com. If you have a client who is a MD, realself allows the MD to answer questions.
Think quora with a huge job qualification. Not every niche will have these. Health does, law does, a few others do. These links are harder to get than quora links and if you provide bad advice on some of those sites, you will be banned with a quickness.
2. Niche Verification Links
Some niches have verification or authorities which require application and website compliance. These sites will provide a strong backlink to yourwebsite.
For the health niche, you have Health on the Net. You get a decent and exclusive backlink and a badge for your website which inspires user trust.
This has a lot more ranking ability than a regular business verification link from a site like bbb.
3. Niche Web 2.0s / Authority Posts
These have varying value, but these are viable contextual links.
Search out niche based web 2.0s or article submission sites.
For the home design / improvement niche I almost always have a blog on Houzz. For any health related site I get a link from selfgrowth.
These are the least unique links on this short list, as some of these are spammed.
4. Google 'Stacking' - This Isn't New
I mentioned sites.google already. That is not new. Nor are those google authority stacking services that are popular.
I have not used these are often now adays, as they are getting spammed. But you have google site, google blogger, google maps, and google developer.
If you submit an App with google, you get a backlink. I last did this in 2017 (If I remember correctly) for a longterm client project who could actually use an app.
You get a nice free link. You can get a decent app made for a few hundred, and google does charge annually for this app.
I wont promise this will sky rocket your rankings (like sellers do) but the developer app link is useful.
5. Custom 301 Redirect URL Shortener
This isn't new. 301 URL shortener links have a disminished amount of link juice recently. The links also tend to break and can be seen as spammy.
What isn't spammy? Your own branded shortened link. Perminent link juice. Still low link juice but incredible branding.
Bitly offers you to buy your own domain to shorten, but I prefer Rebrandly.
I know, my list isn't special.
Most SEOs will know my list. I can't give away much else without releasing 'secrets' or exposing niches.
But the trend should be visible. The gist is I look for hard to get niche links. Niche verification links are great. I have received a lot of link juice from health on the net alone.
Others like houzz are just niche specific web 2.0s. While a google developer account and an app link from google was once a great link.
The harder the link is to get, and the harder it is to keep the link alive, the better it is for diversity.
Do I need these links?
Absolutely not.
Finding a great hidden link type can help you rank. Health on the net has pushed low comp keywords into top one hundred with no other link building done. But I could do the same with some good web 2.0s and basic link building.
For medium comp, these links may help put you over the top. But again, you can win with the PBN game and most regular diversity.
But the higher up in competition you go, the more important having different links are. When your competition can afford a massive high quality PBN, all the Editorial links they can get, matching their profile and adding in a very authoritative unique link (or fifty, for high comp) can make the difference.
Final Thoughts
Find the links which your competition doesnt have. The basic strategy of building your competitions profile and adding extra PBN links works, but has limitations.
When your competition is already ranking they can afford to just buy more PBN links.
You beat that level of competition with having links they dont have. At least in my humble opinion.
If anyone can build the backlink in five minutes, odds are it isn't worth as much as a link that takes 20 minutes to attain.
Even the 'Classic' SEO Links can be more Diverse
What link do you build for diversity currently?
We all know the power links are PBN links. For low comp, maybe Web 2.0s. Some people try Guest Posts.
But diversity? The basics are:
Web 2.0 blogs
Article Directory
PDF Sharing
Video Links
Image Links
Blog Comments
Forum Links
Profile Links
But not all forum links are equal. What has more SEO value, a backlink from a public forum, or invite only forum? The link juice may be the same, but one is far less likely to be marked as spam.
Web 2.0s are the easiest example of this. The harder the links are to make, and the harder they are to keep, the better they are for diversity.
Classic Edu blog posts are web 2.0s. But normally only students and staff can make the blog.
Sites.google are web 2.0 links. But google is notorious for taking these down. But based on metrics alone, a sites.google web 2.0 quickly aquires higher tf and pa than most other web 2.0s.
When you look at PBN domains, the more referring domains, the strong the domain generally is. This applies to your money site.
Building the same 20 web 2.0s every one spams for all inner pages of your website is less effective than mixing up what web 2.0 platforms you use.
Finding the links your competition doesn't use
If you are like me, you learned SEO from forums. You discovered new link types via testing, link profile analysis of websites, and reverse engineering SEO services.
Back in the day we had software submission links. Now the rage are:
1. Charity links
2. Scholarship links
3. Broken link building
4. Infographic guest posts
5. Resource page links
6. Testimonail Links
These are all great and take real effort to get. But now they are shared on forums. You can buy most of these on fiverr. These are not the rare link types they once were.
If the history of SEO tells us anything, once abused the platform or google will crack down on the links.
The more they get spammed, the worse they are. Two years ago a lot of Edu platforms were cracked down on.
I posted a way to get Texas library Edu links and it was closed shortly there after. @Leith 's google extension links were made No Follow.
Once abused, the link value decreases. To find the most powerful links, you need to stay ahead of the curve.
The more link types you have, the greater diversity you profile has. The harder it is for competition to outrank you.
The Unique Links I Build
1. Niche Specific Q and A Sites
No, not Quora or Yahoo Answers. Think realself.com. If you have a client who is a MD, realself allows the MD to answer questions.
Think quora with a huge job qualification. Not every niche will have these. Health does, law does, a few others do. These links are harder to get than quora links and if you provide bad advice on some of those sites, you will be banned with a quickness.
2. Niche Verification Links
Some niches have verification or authorities which require application and website compliance. These sites will provide a strong backlink to yourwebsite.
For the health niche, you have Health on the Net. You get a decent and exclusive backlink and a badge for your website which inspires user trust.
This has a lot more ranking ability than a regular business verification link from a site like bbb.
3. Niche Web 2.0s / Authority Posts
These have varying value, but these are viable contextual links.
Search out niche based web 2.0s or article submission sites.
For the home design / improvement niche I almost always have a blog on Houzz. For any health related site I get a link from selfgrowth.
These are the least unique links on this short list, as some of these are spammed.
4. Google 'Stacking' - This Isn't New
I mentioned sites.google already. That is not new. Nor are those google authority stacking services that are popular.
I have not used these are often now adays, as they are getting spammed. But you have google site, google blogger, google maps, and google developer.
If you submit an App with google, you get a backlink. I last did this in 2017 (If I remember correctly) for a longterm client project who could actually use an app.
You get a nice free link. You can get a decent app made for a few hundred, and google does charge annually for this app.
I wont promise this will sky rocket your rankings (like sellers do) but the developer app link is useful.
5. Custom 301 Redirect URL Shortener
This isn't new. 301 URL shortener links have a disminished amount of link juice recently. The links also tend to break and can be seen as spammy.
What isn't spammy? Your own branded shortened link. Perminent link juice. Still low link juice but incredible branding.
Bitly offers you to buy your own domain to shorten, but I prefer Rebrandly.
I know, my list isn't special.
Most SEOs will know my list. I can't give away much else without releasing 'secrets' or exposing niches.
But the trend should be visible. The gist is I look for hard to get niche links. Niche verification links are great. I have received a lot of link juice from health on the net alone.
Others like houzz are just niche specific web 2.0s. While a google developer account and an app link from google was once a great link.
The harder the link is to get, and the harder it is to keep the link alive, the better it is for diversity.
Do I need these links?
Absolutely not.
Finding a great hidden link type can help you rank. Health on the net has pushed low comp keywords into top one hundred with no other link building done. But I could do the same with some good web 2.0s and basic link building.
For medium comp, these links may help put you over the top. But again, you can win with the PBN game and most regular diversity.
But the higher up in competition you go, the more important having different links are. When your competition can afford a massive high quality PBN, all the Editorial links they can get, matching their profile and adding in a very authoritative unique link (or fifty, for high comp) can make the difference.
Final Thoughts
Find the links which your competition doesnt have. The basic strategy of building your competitions profile and adding extra PBN links works, but has limitations.
When your competition is already ranking they can afford to just buy more PBN links.
You beat that level of competition with having links they dont have. At least in my humble opinion.
