The Official Diversity Thread - All Aspects of Diversity Explained [POST-PENGUIN]

[azguru]

Recently, there has been a lot of questions about what diversity means so i figured it is time to get a solid thread going. After the Peguin update, I believe that diversity is crucial and can make or break your SEO plan. I survived the Penguin update because I started diversifying after I was hit hard by the previous Panda update.

So here it goes. First thing to keep in mind is that there are many different kinds of diversity (diversity within diversity). A lot of people think of only back link diversity. While that is important, there is so much more! I like to break diversity into a few different categories, and here they are:

Backlink Diversity

This is crucial and quite possibly the biggest aspect of link diversity. Google is looking for this, because a normal "white hat" site will be receiving all kinds of links. You shouldn't disregard any type of link. Also, it is important to have both do follow and no follow links, just like it is important to have high pr links and low pr links. It is also a smart idea to create link pyramids and link wheels with these links.

Here are a bunch of different links you can use:

• Wiki Links
• Social Bookmarks
• Social Networks
• Forum Profiles
• Blog Comments
• Doc Sites
• PowerPoint Sites
• Statistic Sites
• Blog Networks/Guest Posts (If you know they are safe)
• Guest Books
• Homepage links
• EDU and GOV Links
• Article Directories
• Directory Submissions
• Web 2.0s
• Press Releases
• RSS Feeds

Social Backlinks/Social Presence

The next are of focus is your online social presence. Usually, popular sites will be talked about on the web. A lot of these will create a backlink to your site, but more importantly, they will help you create a strong social presence across the web. After the recent penguin update, this has become more important then ever.

Here are some ways you can gain a social presence:

• Twitter Retweets
• Facebook Likes
• Pinterest Pins
• Google +1s
• Yahoo Answers Responses
• Youtube Videos
• Stumbleupon/Reddit/Digg Likes and Up votes

Anchor Text Diversification

Anchor text diversification needs to be applied to all of the above mentioned diversification methods. This can make or break you. I already wrote a thread about his a while ago so I'm just going to link to that:

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/black-hat-seo/433853-tip-basic-anchor-text-diversification.html

More Diversification Tips

• Diversify On-Site SEO (Strong tags, Italics, Underline, H1s, Keyword Density etc.)
• Diversify content length as well as content keyword focus (500 words, 700 words, use different keywords, etc.)
• Promote more keywords
• Use Different IPs/Proxies for Backlinking
• Use Linkwheels and Link Pyramids Strategically
• Backlink the inner pages of your site

Let's get a conversation going here! Feel free to add to any of these diversification methods! I will be adding more as I think of them as well.

 

[Walker2k11]

Great post, will bookmark it for further reading but thanks for the share!

 

[nikolaalx]

Great post.

I however do not feel very good about the type of links which you have recommended for diversification.

Blog comments, forum profiles and guest books are too dangerous to be used for money site.

Maybe only pointing those to tier 1 properties, but still I'd recommend to avoid this.

You can also add in some specific links to avoid

- Footer links
- sitewide links

Also just read your anchor diversification thread and can add to not only include phrases e.g. "x y z" but also "x y" "x z" "y z" "x z".

I would recommend also to eliminate any and all bolding and italics on pages. Repetitive bolding on a keyword more than once on a page is pretty unnatural.

My 2 c

 

[Dn100]

I think the OP highlights some pretty basic stuff - however its stuff which is being overlooked by many people who have been hit by the recent update. I've chatted with a few people with my thoughts and initial analysis several times since the update hit, and a lot of people are still unsure of the next step / don't want to get their feet wet and work at re-ranking their sites, hoping another update will come. Google may tweak the algorithm, but it is unlikely they will roll it back.

Diversity has ALWAYS been key in SEO. Whether you are talking diversity of backlink platforms/sources or anchor text variation - if you don't make your backlink profile look as natural as possible, your going to get caught sooner or later, and it has never been good to rely on 1 type (or a small few types) of backlinks.

At the end of the day, the world of SEO is ever changing - those who take action and adapt are the ones which will succeed.

Edit to add:

Anchor text variation doesn't necessarily have to mean you include naked URL's or "click here" types of anchors. I have 2 sites which have risen since this update, both targeting medium comp terms. I have not targeted any 1 particular keyword more than another, however some of the keywords do vary. Best way to explain is say 1 site is an SEO website, the HP has links containing anchor texts such as seo, seo in, web design, internet marketing, online marketing, search engine optimization - and various synonyms. On both these sites, I haven't used naked URL's or any "click here" type anchors.

 

[azguru]

Great post.

I however do not feel very good about the type of links which you have recommended for diversification.

Blog comments, forum profiles and guest books are too dangerous to be used for money site.

Maybe only pointing those to tier 1 properties, but still I'd recommend to avoid this.

You can also add in some specific links to avoid

- Footer links
- sitewide links

Also just read your anchor diversification thread and can add to not only include phrases e.g. "x y z" but also "x y" "x z" "y z" "x z".

I would recommend also to eliminate any and all bolding and italics on pages. Repetitive bolding on a keyword more than once on a page is pretty unnatural.

My 2 c

In my opinion, you need to use all kinds of links- the extent to which you use them will correlate with their power. I don't believe that forum profiles, blog comments, and guest posts are dangerous WHEN USED PROPERLY. Obviously you don't scrapebox or xrumer blast your money site.

As for the italics and bolding, same thing. Don't overdo it, but a little bit of emphasis on your keywords is always helpful.

Please note, that I apply all these tactics and my rankings have skyrocketed since penguin.

 

[azguru]

Anchor text variation doesn't necessarily have to mean you include naked URL's or "click here" types of anchors. I have 2 sites which have risen since this update, both targeting medium comp terms. I have not targeted any 1 particular keyword more than another, however some of the keywords do vary. Best way to explain is say 1 site is an SEO website, the HP has links containing anchor texts such as seo, seo in, web design, internet marketing, online marketing, search engine optimization - and various synonyms. On both these sites, I haven't used naked URL's or any "click here" type anchors.

I agree that it is not 100% necessary, but neither is any of this stuff. The goal is to just cover all bases just in case google implements stricter algorithms. All of these diversification methods can be mixed and matched. I just wanted to throw them all out there so people have options and fully understand what it means to diversify.

Yes it's basic, but you would be surprised at how many people put all their eggs in one basket.

 

[mojamalatajna]

My god would I follow all this tips but the thing is i've been doing the same stuff for 5 simiral sites and only 2 got hit. And those 2 sites have backlinks with 1200 + obl, so thats my only guess why they got SLAPPED by an icy animal, but still lovely tips

 

[jb2008]

Sounds like too much work.

 

[zep123dmc]

Thank you for this great post Azguru.

When you said use proxies for backlinking, do you mean only for sites you plan to post on more than once?

 

[azguru]

Thank you for this great post Azguru.

When you said use proxies for backlinking, do you mean only for sites you plan to post on more than once?

You're welcome. I'm glad you found it useful.

As for the IPs - The reasoning you mentioned is good so you don't get banned or flagged as a spammer - but I meant it more so that your backlinks come from many different IPs which looks more natural and once again adds to the diversity of yourbacklinks

 

[Techxan]

 

[Seoservices004]

Yeah ...Here Are the Best strategy Which Always Benifit The Website..if it is Panda Update, Pengien Update...or Zebra Update :-


Good OnPage Optimization--->> Update your Blogs With good Content
Off Page Optimization :-
Unique content
Use Only Quality Websites
Anchor Text diversification
Links Diversification
Links with Changeable IP's


That's Benefit To Any website..


That's it.


Thanks.

 

[azguru]

Yeah ...Here Are the Best strategy Which Always Benifit The Website..if it is Panda Update, Pengien Update...or Zebra Update :-


Good OnPage Optimization--->> Update your Blogs With good Content
Off Page Optimization :-
Unique content
Use Only Quality Websites
Anchor Text diversification
Links Diversification
Links with Changeable IP's


That's Benefit To Any website..


That's it.


Thanks.

I agree. In order for any of this to work you need to provide a quality site. I always keep my sites White Hat with unique content and then do all my offsite work Black Hat

 

[kopite248]

Hi im currently constructing a broken linkwheel only using unique content. Im using facebook,tumblr etc. Do I need to use proxies when creating these site?

 

[azguru]

Hi im currently constructing a broken linkwheel only using unique content. Im using facebook,tumblr etc. Do I need to use proxies when creating these site?

The IP diversity would definitely be beneficial

 

[newmember]

Thank you !