When done properly, link building can help increase the amount of traffic that goes to a website. Although the strategy has been discussed repeatedly, it is still possible to find websites that do not know how to use it properly or do not use it at all. There are many ways to build links but the process can become quite confusing for some. Let us make it simpler by listing things that you should avoid doing when building links.

Do not:

1. Be unprofessional

It is important to make connections and build relationships. As in life, building relationships can take time. Check out websites that feature the same topics that you do. Read a few of the posts to get a general idea. Leave a meaningful comment on their blog. Write a polite letter asking the owner to check out your website as well. Ask the owner if he/she will consider linking to it. Do not demand or sound desperate. You may need to wait for some time in order to get a response, especially if you are messaging a popular blogger or website.

2. Post your link on threads and chat rooms

A lot of websites and readers do not like seeing people starting threads or simply posting a link to their website. Some consider it as self-promotion and may even cause them to ignore the link altogether. There are also websites that prohibit such behavior and may ban your account if you are caught doing so. As an alternative, use your account profile and signature to list your links. Leaving useful comments on threads will allow people to see your signature and click on the link to your website.

3. Use irrelevant links

Some publishers tend to build links haphazardly, without considering if the links are even relevant to their site. Including a bunch of unrelated links will not help out your cause. Major search engines such as Google and Bing may even use this as grounds to penalize your website and give it a lower rank. As such, you should be careful when adding links or contacting people to add you to their website. This means you should avoid using spam sites or paid link farms to build your links.

4. Use hidden links

Just because your readers do not see it does not mean the search engines cannot detect it either. Using hidden links is a good way for your website to get penalized.

5. Use article directories

The usefulness of submitting to article directories is a topic that is still debated among publishers and experts. Some sources would advise the use of article directories to get a link to your website. However, others would argue that search engines consider such sites to be of low quality and authority. You may not get penalized for submitting to such directories but there is no assurance that getting a link back will help improve your website’s rank or the amount of traffic it receives.

6. Post multiple useless comments

People do not like to hear people constantly promoting their website. It is like hearing a sales pitch. As a result, they may see your comments as spam. Only post meaningful comments or provide valuable information. Avoid flooding the website or posting the same comment multiple times. This can irritate the readers and cause them to ignore any future comments you make.

7. Produce boring content

The objective to putting up a blog is to get people to see you as an authority on a certain niche or topic. People like to share and link to websites that they trust or have a certain level of authority. Do not stuff your website with boring or unoriginal content. If you cannot write compelling articles, hire someone who can.

These are only some of the things that you should avoid doing. Link building is about establishing yourself as an authority in the field and building a reputation. As such, you must do whatever it takes to protect that name and reputation. Produce great content and be selective in choosing websites to link with. Once you get people to follow your website, you will get more people to share your content. This will encourage people to link to your website. It is not easy and will take a lot of time to build up a good set of relevant links. Continue doing it the right way and you will see your efforts paying off.

Bethany Wesch writes about blogging, branding and online marketing. She writes for QuantumLinx.com.au – an online marketing agency which specialise in providing SEO services in Sydney to local businesses and sales people.