In this Web 2.0 series, we’ve covered two awesome sections starting with creating thee properties and then writing content for each. We discussed how to register email address, set up the pages, write content, frequency, and length. However, it’s time we discuss the most important factor when building Web 2.0 for link building, especially increasing rankings within the SERP. It’s time to pay close attention to the linking pattern and how to use LSI + long tail keywords when embedding links into your content.
This is the last part of the Web 2.0 series and I suggest you read 17-1 and 17-2 before continuing so you understand the process from start to finish.
Strategy #17-3 – Web 2.0
Here are a few important things to keep in mind when formulating a link building pattern for your Web 2.0 properties…
First, Google has made several changes to their search algorithm, tweaking it to correlate with the user search pattern. When people are searching online, they’ll use both long-tail and LSI keywords within the search phrase. This means people are becoming more in-depth about what they’re searching and for Google to provide these people with the best experience, it’s important for them to make these changes. Next, Google has also tweaked their guidelines in reference to writing content, web design, and link building. For example, Web 2.0’s are a grey-hat link building strategy often falling right in between what’s acceptable and what’s not. Why? It all depends on your link building pattern and if you’re creating blogs to simply link to your own content, then it’ll lead to you getting banned. However, general blog creation is allowed but it must follow a smooth natural linking pattern NOT created to simply manipulate the SERP’s.
Let’s get started…
Link Format
When building links, it’s important to include: LSI, long-tail, and related keywords as anchor text. Having all of these different formats will ensure you are meeting the user search pattern. Long-tail keywords include phrases with more than “3†words and LSI (latent semantic indexing) reflects keywords that are closely related to your “target†keywords. Next, general related keywords are closely linked to both LSI and long-tail keywords. Next,
Having a link building pattern will ensure you don’t link bomb a single keyword, but have a natural link building pattern. The main focus of such a link building pattern is to appeal to the changes in Google and their algorithm. Finding LSI and long-tail keywords are NOT difficult as Google already does a great job providing closely related keywords while searching. For example, you can find them using Keyword Planner, or the automatic drop-down while searching a keyword within Google. Next, when the results appear after you perform a search, you can simply scroll to the bottom to find closely related-keywords.
Here is a great resource I created on locating the best LSI keywords.
Link Placement
Here is where you can get creative and I recommend placing links in different places throughout your content. As mentioned, you should use the following link building pattern….
- Link 1/5 posts to your “target†website
- Maximum “2†links per content
- 1 link pointing to homepage and “1†pointing to internal page
- 4/5 posts should point to external authority relevant source (this should a good reference pattern)
However,
When building links to your “target†website, I recommend the following. Always build links above the fold so it’s the first thing people see and they are easier to index by search bots. Next, when creating simple links, you can build them anywhere, adding them in the top, middle, and bottom using a “Useful Resource†heading. The key is to follow the link building guidelines above and always make sure you mix up the anchor text.
Where to Link
I often get asked: Where should I point my links to on my website? My answer is very simple…mix it up.
It’s important to always link to your home page and link “1†external link to a sub-page. This way, you are deep-linking, which is very important to increase the authority of the entire domain. Deep linking is playing an important role especially because it shows Google the whole site is of value and NOT just the home page. The best advice is to mix up the anchor text and the pages you link to every time. However, keep in mind, “1†link should always point to the homepage so you’re increasing both the domain and page authority.
Here’s a breakdown of what we learned in Web 2.0 17-3 –
- Use LSI & Long-Tail Keywords
- Keyword Planner and general search is a great way to find keywords
- Link 1/5 posts to your “target†website
- Maximum “2†links per content
- 1 link pointing to homepage and “1†pointing to internal page
- 4/5 posts should point to external authority relevant source (this should a good reference pattern)