Investing in ineffective link building strategies can drain thousands of dollars without yielding any significant results. Although link building holds immense potential in elevating website rankings and driving traffic from Google, improper execution can backfire, resulting in ranking setbacks or stagnation. Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
However, if you find yourself in this predicament, fret not!
In this comprehensive case study, we will delineate a systematic approach to reviving a website afflicted by a plethora of subpar backlinks. By implementing our strategies, we not only restored its standing but also catapulted its monthly visitor count by more than tenfold.
Topics Covered in This Case Study: Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
Examining the backlink profile and overall health of a website involves distinguishing between detrimental backlinks and high-quality ones. Crafting an effective link building strategy requires careful planning and execution. Additionally, rectifying past link building errors is crucial for improving the website’s performance and credibility.
Topics We’ll Skirt Around: Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
Optimizing your website for search engines involves several key areas: on-page SEO, which focuses on enhancing individual web pages to rank higher and attract organic traffic; technical SEO, which involves improving website infrastructure and backend elements to enhance search engine crawling and indexing; conducting keyword research and developing a content strategy to target relevant terms and topics for your audience; and implementing monetization strategies along with Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) techniques to maximize revenue and user engagement.
Regarding The Website
In the case study provided, our client has engaged in our Managed Link Building Program, a service tailored to building backlinks to enhance Google rankings. While we don’t own the site, we actively participate in link building according to the client’s goals and monthly budget.
Specializing in the video games niche, the client employs a strategic approach to SEO, initially targeting less competitive keywords before gradually transitioning to more challenging ones. This strategy involves consistent content publication on the website, typically ranging from three to ten articles monthly.
Today, the site demonstrates significant progress in ranking for numerous high-volume keywords, indicating a successful implementation of the link building strategy alongside regular content updates.
Application Evaluation and Our Assessment
Upon receiving the client’s application, we initiated a thorough analysis of their site’s off-page SEO and backlinks to craft a strategic plan. The client disclosed that their site had suffered from recent Google algorithm updates and acknowledged the ineffectiveness of prior “black hat” tactics.
Our analysis revealed several key insights:
– The site boasted a significant scale with approximately 2,000 URLs indexed on Google and had been established for several years.
– Despite having over 1,000 referring domains, its Domain Rating (DR) stood at 45, indicating room for improvement.
– Over the years, the site experienced fluctuating keyword rankings and traffic patterns, lacking consistent growth.
– The backlink profile exhibited alarming signs of unnatural activity, characterized by spammy web 2.0 links, foreign language sites, and auto-generated links.
– Despite the poor quality of backlinks, the anchor text usage showed some degree of coherence, albeit lacking in natural diversity.
– Notably, the site maintained rankings for relevant keywords, albeit with considerable volatility and untapped potential for growth.
– Analysis revealed an imbalance in link distribution, with inner pages receiving a disproportionate number of links compared to the homepage, which appeared relatively weak.
– The client’s budget constraints, at $500 per month, seemed inadequate given the site’s current link profile.
Our Proposed Approach to Building Links
Based on our analysis, we’ve devised a strategic plan to help the site recover from its previous issues with bad backlinks and set it on the path towards improvement:
1. Our primary focus will be on acquiring contextual backlinks from reputable sites and articles within their niche. We’re steering clear of spammy and low-quality links, opting instead for a mix of niche edits and guest posts from credible websites.
2. Diversification is key. We’ll employ a blend of authority levels in our link-building efforts to ensure a more natural-looking link profile and anchor text distribution. While we’ll start with a fair share of lower authority links to build quantity, we’ll also incorporate higher authority links whenever possible.
3. Initially, our attention will be directed towards strengthening the homepage, which currently lacks sufficient links. Once we observe positive responses from search engines, we’ll gradually shift focus towards building links for inner pages.
4. We’re prioritizing the use of natural anchor text such as branded, URL, and generic anchors. As the site’s performance improves, we’ll introduce more targeted anchor text, but for now, the emphasis remains on organic and diverse anchor text.
5. Flexibility is key to our approach. We’ll reassess the site’s status at the start of each month to determine if any adjustments to our strategy are necessary. Our methodology adapts based on Google’s response to ensure continuous progress and effectiveness in our link-building efforts.
Reasons for Not Suggesting a Disavow
Submitting a list of problematic backlinks to Google for disavowal is a method aimed at having them disregarded entirely. However, we strongly advise reserving disavowals as a final recourse, typically when website traffic and rankings exhibit significant declines. It’s crucial to ascertain with utmost certainty that backlinks are indeed the root cause of the issue, a task often fraught with challenges.
In the case of the website depicted in the illustration, I am nearly certain that the backlinks are not the primary concern. Rather, the issues appear to stem from a blend of factors related to EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) and affiliate-specific challenges.
Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
Frequently, individuals mistakenly disavow backlinks that could have been beneficial to their site’s performance. Hence, our preferred approach in most instances is to prioritize the cultivation of new, high-quality backlinks instead of fixating on eliminating perceived “bad” ones.
A Brief Guide to Creating Backlinks
As part of our MLB program, we conduct a thorough assessment of each website’s current health and rankings at the onset of every month before dispatching new orders to our link building teams. Building certain types of links, such as niche edits and guest posts, can be a time-consuming process, often taking anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks to complete. Given the time it takes for link building to yield tangible results, it’s common that we may not witness the full impact of the previous month’s efforts when initiating link building for the subsequent month. Rest assured, all links constructed for the website during this period are crafted by our dedicated teams. For detailed information about the types of links and packages utilized, you can refer to our product pages.
Building Links: First Month Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
During the initial month of link building, we focused on implementing the analysis discussed in the pre-application phase. Given that the site already had a substantial number of pillow links, including directories, citations, and blog comments, we opted not to prioritize additional ones at this stage.
Our primary objective was to transition from the existing low-quality backlinks towards more relevant and high-quality ones while maintaining a decent level of authority. With a budget of $500 allocated for the first month, our strategy involved diversifying our link profile with a focus on niche edits and guest posts, which collectively accounted for about 95% of the budget.
Niche edits and guest posts were chosen for their effectiveness in securing links from real sites and articles within the target niche, thereby contributing significantly to the site’s relevance and authority. To achieve a balanced link profile, we opted for low to mid-authority links, enabling us to build a higher volume of links while distancing ourselves from the site’s previous low-quality backlinks.
All links were directed towards the site’s homepage, primarily due to its relatively low link count and concerns regarding the health of the inner pages. Given the site’s volatile traffic and keyword performance without steady growth, emphasizing homepage links was deemed beneficial for overall site stability.
In terms of anchor text, we prioritized natural and non-commercial phrases to maintain a healthy link profile, avoiding the use of money anchors given the site’s current condition. Our approach aimed to enhance the site’s link profile in a gradual and sustainable manner, aligning with the overarching goal of improving its overall health and performance.
Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
Building Links: Second Month
In the second month of link building, our approach remained consistent despite the initial results. While the website experienced a slight increase in traffic and rankings, there was a decrease in the number of keywords it ranked for. However, this was not unexpected given the site’s previous spammy backlink profile. We understood that achieving steady growth would take time and persisted with our strategy.
With a budget of $500 for the second month, we continued to focus on diversifying the site’s backlink profile with quality links from authentic sources. To expedite the process, we opted for a mix of guest posts and niche edits, maintaining the same strategy as the previous month.
To accommodate the budget constraints, we targeted lower authority sites this time. While high authority links would have been ideal, they were not feasible within the allocated budget. Nonetheless, we aimed to tip the scales in favor of quality links to counteract the previous spammy profile.
As volatility persisted, we directed all links to the homepage, which still lacked sufficient links. Additionally, we utilized a combination of branded, URL, and generic anchor texts to maintain a natural link profile and mitigate any potential penalties.
Overall, our focus remained on steadily building a diverse and high-quality backlink profile, despite the challenges posed by the site’s previous history.
Building Links: Third Month
In the Third month of analyzing the site with Ahrefs, we witnessed a remarkable surge in traffic, nearly doubling within just one month. Concurrently, keyword growth also rebounded to previous levels. This unexpected success underscored the importance of maintaining a cautious approach.
One common mistake in SEO is to prematurely escalate link-building efforts when signs of progress emerge. However, it’s crucial to recognize that the site remains in a volatile state. To prevent exacerbating fluctuations, it’s imperative to continue with a natural link-building strategy.
For the third month, our allocated backlink budget was $500. The strategy remained consistent with a blend of niche edits and guest posts. While this mix may vary from month to month, we ensured to maintain a balance in link types. Additionally, we incorporated social signals, leveraging links from social media platforms to authenticate the momentum of our link-building campaign.
As the site showed signs of progress, we opted for higher authority links, steering away from low-quality sources. Linking exclusively to the homepage, we prioritized stability and longevity over immediate gains. Furthermore, we adhered to a natural anchor text distribution, avoiding any exact-match anchors throughout the process.
Building Links: Month Four Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
Whoever claimed that link building had to be a challenging endeavor? In the third month of focusing solely on acquiring homepage links with natural anchor texts, significant progress was evident. According to the metrics from Ahrefs, traffic had surged by approximately 200% compared to the starting point. While keyword rankings had also experienced a noteworthy 100% increase following an initial dip. The overall outlook of the website was notably improve, showcasing promising signs of growth.
Revitalizing After Poor Backlinking
Although the temptation to transition gradually towards incorporating more inner-page links with occasional exact-match anchors arose. The decision was deferred for several reasons. Firstly, the inner pages still relied heavily on backlinks, leaving the homepage relatively weaker in terms of link profile. Secondly, the site’s stability was not yet firmly establishe, given the relatively short span of growth experienced thus far. Lastly, there seemed to be little rationale in altering a strategy that was yielding favorable outcomes and was deeme inherently safe. Adhering to the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” seemed prudent under the circumstances.
In essence, witnessing such favorable outcomes made the task at hand appear remarkably straightforward. Underscoring the satisfaction derived from seeing tangible results.
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