Link Building – What Google Likes, and Doesn’t Like?

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There are many kinds of methods to gain one way links to your website or blog. People try to get lots of inbound links to their site as links are part of algorithm that Google uses to rank sites. Google link ranking algorithm decides the position of your website within the search results for certain keywords. The methods for generating links include, Cross-linking, Reciprocal Linking, Submitting the online web directories, Link Baiting, Social Bookmarking, Link Farms, Requesting Links, Buying Links, Forum and online community links, and finally article writing.

Google accepts links, which are building naturally. So, some of these techniques to build inbound links are acceptable by Google. However, Google clearly states that they are against any kind of links schemes that is designed to increase specifically Page Rank. So let’s analyse each technique to build links:

Link Farms: Link farms are designed for manipulating Google’s ranking algorithm. Most of the sites that involve with link farms consist links that are not related to their content. Therefore, Google is not a fan of link farms and do not hesitate to removing them from their index, if they are discovered.

Cross Linking: Cross linking is building different versions of your site that are hosted under different domains and providing inbound links from those sites to your original site. Google states that if cross linking is done excessively, you would get penalised. Of course this doesn’t mean that you can’t crosslink between your sites. You just need to evaluate and see if the links provide any value to your sites.

Reciprocal Linking: Again, if it is done excessively, Google will penalise. But how do we know, if we over done it? You can link exchange with relevant sites. These can be 3 or 4 sites. But, if you dedicate a page, just for exchanging links, then this is excessive.

Buying Links: Buying links from related sites is acceptable. However, if you buy links from sites that has no benefit what so ever to your site, then it violates google’s policy. For instance buying links for a fashion blog from webmasters blog, just because webmasters blog has PR value. As long as you buy links to promote your site and products, from related site then link buying is OK.

Forums and Online Communities: As long as you don’t spam these sites with your links then it is ok to include your links as your signature.

Link Baits: It is natural way of link building. People link to your site, because they want to, not because you asked them to provide a link. When you create a content that is useful to other people, then in time they will start linking to your site.

Directory Submission: There are many directories available over the Internet. People mainly submit to these directories to increase their back links. I personally don’t think these links can effect your rankings a lot. But I also think, they won’t violate any google policy. Directories are good, if you want your site get indexed quickly by the search engine.

Social Bookmarking: Same as directories, they can help your site to get indexed much quicker. Also, they can produce some traffic to your site.

So, as you can see there are many ways to build links to your site. But, some of these methods violate googles policy and you could get punished for using those techniques. The best way to build links is to produce content that have some kind value to some. If people find your site useful, then they will link to your site eventually.

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