The value of building links, looking for thoughts

[deanPlumberseo]

So I use a third party service to build links for me. They charge around $140 to build about 25 links a month, I'm seeing a little traction from their efforts but I'm thinking is there a better place to put that budget.

Here is an example of the types of links they build

1. Social bookmarking sites
2. Forums
3. Blogs
4. Classified Ads
5. RSS submissions

Looking for some feedback.

Dean

 

[Marie Ysais]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

Hi Dean,
Do you get the URL's of the links that are created? Are the links keyword rich? Do they make sure the submissions are found by Google?

A link is only good if it is found by Google and crafted correctly. I am not sure what type of links they are submitting but do they also include citations that will include your Business Name, Address and Phone number?

 

[deanPlumberseo]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

Hi Dean,
Do you get the URL's of the links that are created? Are the links keyword rich? Do they make sure the submissions are found by Google?

A link is only good if it is found by Google and crafted correctly. I am not sure what type of links they are submitting but do they also include citations that will include your Business Name, Address and Phone number?

Hi Marie:

Thanks for the reply, I do get a list of the links and they seem so so at best, some are ok. They do let me know if and or when a link goes live as far as being found on Google, I'll have to look closer at that.

The links they are submitting are on Social bookmarking sites, which I think are weak, some forums and RSS links. They don't do any citation building. We do all the citation building in house. I'm looking closely at this and trying to determine If I would be better served bumping up the budget towards more citation and content creation. Any thoughts on that?

Dean

 

[Marie Ysais]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

Hi Dean, The types of back links you mentioned are very weak and not valued as highly as they once were.
If you need to rank in local I would work on citations and also content creation.
If you are needing to also rank in organic I would pay closer attention to on page SEO, back links from blog articles (not in the comments section) and good content creation.

It also depends on how competitive your market is because with really good on page SEO you should do really well.
If the competition is really big then the back links will come into play. I currently work with plumbers in my area and they are doing really well with good on page SEO, good back links and updating their blog at least twice a month.

The most valuable in my opinion will be your on page SEO.

 

[Phil Rozek]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

@Dean

Yeah, as Marie said, a bunch of dime-a-dozen links won't help. You probably don't even need to build links at all. But if you're going to give it a whirl, you're better off trying to get a couple of good ones.

Overall - and without knowing more detail on your situation - I'd say that you'll pull ahead long-term will be by getting reviews on a variety of sites (Google+Local and third-party sites). Your on-page factors and citations are the groundwork; if those aren't up to snuff, reviews (and links) won't matter. But once you've put in a bunch of work on the former, then it's time to focus on the latter.

 

[deanPlumberseo]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

@Dean

Yeah, as Marie said, a bunch of dime-a-dozen links won't help. You probably don't even need to build links at all. But if you're going to give it a whirl, you're better off trying to get a couple of good ones.

Overall - and without knowing more detail on your situation - I'd say that you'll pull ahead long-term will be by getting reviews on a variety of sites (Google+Local and third-party sites). Your on-page factors and citations are the groundwork; if those aren't up to snuff, reviews (and links) won't matter. But once you've put in a bunch of work on the former, then it's time to focus on the latter.

Thanks for the input Phil, I kind of felt that way but just wanted confirmation. Appreciate the feedback.

Dean

---------- Post Merged at 11:50 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 11:49 AM ----------

Hi Dean, The types of back links you mentioned are very weak and not valued as highly as they once were.
If you need to rank in local I would work on citations and also content creation.
If you are needing to also rank in organic I would pay closer attention to on page SEO, back links from blog articles (not in the comments section) and good content creation.

It also depends on how competitive your market is because with really good on page SEO you should do really well.
If the competition is really big then the back links will come into play. I currently work with plumbers in my area and they are doing really well with good on page SEO, good back links and updating their blog at least twice a month.

The most valuable in my opinion will be your on page SEO.

Thanks Marie, that's the way I was feeling and just wanted some confirmation.

Dean

 

[Phil Rozek]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

No problem, Dean. There's not a lot of consensus among local SEO-ers on where links fit into the picture; it's just my experience that in most cases they're icing on the cake.

 

[Matt Justice]

Re: The Value of building links, looking for thoughts

Why don't you guys build your own network to promote clients?

Cleaner, faster, and you maintain tons of control.

 

[WHUK]

You can easily build links on your own. Initially you can concentrate on getting content based links through article directories and blogging websites. You can also consider the forums related to your niche. Conducting the search engine optimization strategies on a daily basis will help you in creating a good online visibility.

 

[Phil Rozek]

Chris Silver Smith had some great advice in his SEL piece from a couple days ago:

The Best Link Building For Local SEO -- None!

I tend to agree with it.