Eric Ward taught me how to find backlink targets in 2009. Looking at the backlink profiles of competitors’ sites was part of that process, and I still use that in my arsenal of linkbuilding weapons. One of the things I’ve discovered by doing this kind of research is that many websites succeed in spite of, not because of, their backlink profile.
Less seasoned SEOs might look at a competitor’s backlink profile with the intention of getting as many of the same links as their competitor has. More sophisticated Web marketing specialists are skeptical about almost every link they see in those reports, especially if the site is in a competitive vertical where there’s a lot of link buying and selling. My partner, Michael Martinez, doesn’t even do this kind of research if he can avoid it. He has his own ways of building and attracting links to his sites.
I’ve had a lot of success with link building outreach, though, and I don’t mind the work. The trick is being selective about which opportunities you try to pursue and which ones you ignore. (Eric Ward taught me that, too.)
One high-ranking competitor website I researched recently came back with 192 domains linking to it. After doing a manual review of every site that was linking to this website, I’d eliminated 166 targets as being too risky to pursue. Michael and I discussed this, and he suggested I write about the criteria I used to eliminate prospects. These vary from case to case, but in this case, I found a lot of the following kinds of links:
Directories with Keyword Rich, Grammatically Incorrect Anchor Text
When a site is listed in a directory, the standard is to list it using the name of the site as its anchor text. Some directories might use the site’s URL instead. In the former case, it’s appropriate to capitalize the name of the site. (A website’s name is a proper noun, and proper nouns are always capitalized.) If you see listings in a directory with anchor text like “payday loan”, especially if the words aren’t capitalized, well…you’re better off without that listing.
Directories with Identical (or Very Similar) Designs
A lot of so-called directories still use identical or almost identical designs. That’s a red flag. Sometimes such directories will use slightly different designs, but they’ll use a single design element on multiple sites. One I saw recently was a “Submit Your Site” button that was identical across almost a dozen different directories. I think it’s safe to say that the competitor site was succeeding in the SERPs in spite of, not because of, the listings in those directories.
“SEO-Friendly” Directories
People have been warned about this one ad nauseam, but if I see a logo on a directory that calls their links “SEO-friendly”, I don’t even bother to look any further.
Directories with Empty Screenshots
Lots of directory scripts have a spot where the submitter can input a logo and/or a screenshot. If that part of the listing is blank on most of the listings, skip the directory and find a better prospect.
Sites that Don’t Rank for Anything
I was stunned at how many sites don’t even rank for their own name. If a site can’t even rank for its own name, how valuable could a link from that site be.
What about the Other 26 Sites?
I’m convinced that the other 26 sites that were linking to this site were responsible for its success. Well, that and the other 200+ factors that Google takes into account when it ranks a page.
Naive SEOs often make the mistake of thinking that every site outranking them is doing so because of their backlink profile, but that ain’t always the case. Sometimes these other sites have better content. Sometimes they did a better job with the on-page optimization. Sometimes it’s just dumb luck.
My advice is to cast a critical, skeptical eye over your competitors’ backlinks, and take a methodical, measured approach toward building a low-risk profile for yourself.
Read More about Search Engine Optimization
How Long Does It Take SEO To Work?
Guest Post Link Building: Why It Hurts the Web
Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness for Non-expert Websites
On-Page Optimization SEO Checklist
SEO Metrics Online: Which Measurements Should You Use?
Follow Reflective Dynamics |
Click here to follow Reflective Dynamics on Twitter: @refdynamics. Click here to follow SEO Theory on Twitter: @seo_theory. Reflective Dynamics' RSS Feed (summaries only) |