What's a non-contextual link?

Could someone give me an example of a non-contextual link? And should I be avoiding them for the most part?

It simply refers to a link not surrounded by text. An example would be something like a profile link, like this. Contextual links are regarded as one of the best links you can get, so you should actively try and and create/earn/buy them.

Thank you. Also, is it very important for SEO and link building? And what about something like this:

Click here if your like chicken wings and blahblahblah. Is that still contextual? Or does it have have to be both sides, or contain relevant keywords as the anchor?

this is a contextual link

lorem dispsum lorem dispsum lorem dispsum lorem dispsum http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/black-hat-seo/743394-whats-non-contextual-link.html lorem dispsum lorem dispsum lorem dispsum
lorem dispsum lorem dispsum lorem dispsum

this not contextual link

http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/black-hat-seo/743394-whats-non-contextual-link.html

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aliveonbhw

samiejg said:

Thank you. Also, is it very important for SEO and link building? And what about something like this:

Click here if your like chicken wings and blahblahblah. Is that still contextual? Or does it have have to be both sides, or contain relevant keywords as the anchor?

Click to expand...

Yes absolutely, it is an important part of SEO and link building. It is regarded as the 'perfect' link and is basically what PBN's and blog posts are based upon. Yes, that example would be seen as contextual. It is not necessary to have the text on both sides of the link (you could have the link at the very start of an article, for example), however it would better if the link could be placed in the middle of some semantically-related content with text on either side. No, the link does not have the include relevant keywords as the anchor. Raw URL's or generic keywords like 'this page' all work great. However, in such a case you should always try to include the keyword you are trying to rank for in the title of the article and write relevant context to support your link, anchor-text or not.