As SEO Experts, we have tried and tested several SEO link-building strategies. Some of them were great and provided excellent results, whilLinkme were complete duds. Link farming is one link-building strategy we would not recommend to anyone, no matter what. We have seen people getting penalized by Google for link farming, which is just not h the risk.
You might have heard the term “link farming” before, but what does it mean? In this article, we will define link farming and discuss why you must be careful if you consider engaging in this practice – We won’t recommend you engage in this practice. We will also look at some of the risks associated with link farming and recommend some alternatives that you need to perform link building the right way.
So, Let’s get Started:
What Is Link Farming?
Link farming is creating link networks or schemes solely to manipulate PageRato, artificially inflating a website’s link popularity by adding hundreds or even thousands of irrelevant links pointing to it.
How To Identify Link Farm?
A large number of websites are linked together. Link farms can be easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for. Here are some common characteristics of link farms.
A large number of websites are linked to each. If you see a website linked to hundreds or even thousands of other websites, it’s part of a link farm. It’s important to note that not all link networks are link farms, but all link farms are link networks.
They Are Usually Low-Quality, Spammy Websites:
If you see a link on a website that looks like it’s solely for link building, then it’s probablLinklink from a link farm. Link farms usually consist of lo, spammy websites with link placements that don’t make sense.
Content Is Low-Quality, Spun, Or Duplicate Content:
They are usually filled with low-quality, spun, or duplicate content. This is because link farmers don’t care about their content. They want to get as many links as possible. Sometimes, link farms will have the same content on their websites.
The Websites Link To Each Other Using Link Directories, Link Wheels, Or Link Pyramids:
Link directories, link wheels, and link pyramids are all ways that link farmers can link their websites to each other. These structures are usually created for the sole purpose of link building and don’t provide any real value to users.
What Are Link Directories, Link Wheels, And Link Pyramids?
Link Directories
Link directories are websites that consist of link after link after link. Most of these links are from low-quality, spammy websites.
Link Wheels
Link wheels are similar to link directories, but they have a specific structure that link farmers use to link their websites to each other. This structure usually looks like a wheel, with the link farmer’s website in the center and all other websites linking to it.
Link Pyramids
Link pyramids are similar to link wheels but have a pyramid structure. The link farmer’s website is at the top of the pyramid, and all other websites link to it.
The Website Has The Same IP Address
Link farms often have websites with similar domain names or IP addresses. This is because link farmers often create multiple websites and link them to each other. The website often has similar domain names or IP addresses:
The Link Placements Are Unnatural Or Irrelevant:
They don’t care about the quality of their link placements; they want to get as many links as possible. This means link placements on link farm websites are often unnatural or irrelevant.
Why Do You Need To Identify The Link Farm?
Link farms can harm your website in a few ways.
- Link farms can get your website penalized by Google. If Google finds out that you’re involved in a link farm, they may penalize your website, which will cause it to lose ranking in search results.
- Link farms can damage your website’s reputation. People may perceive your website as low-quality or spammy if you’re associated with a link farm. This could hurt your website’s ability to attract new visitors and customers.
- Link farms can waste your time and money. If you’re paying someone to create links for you, chances are they’re creating links on link farm websites. This means you’re paying for links that won’t do anything to help your website.
Is Link Farming Worth the Risk?
Link farming is not worth the risk. If you’re caught link farming, you could suffer severe penalties from Google that will damage your website’s ability to rank in search results. Link farms can also damage your website’s reputation and waste time and money. There are many other ways to build more effective and less risky links.
There are a few points that make sure that link farming is risky:
No Long Life For The Links
Link farms are often short-lived. This means that the links you get from link farms may only last for a short period. Once the link farm is shut down, your links will disappear, and you’ll have to start from scratch.
You Can’t Trust The Quality Of The Link
The links you get from link farms are usually low-quality. This means they won’t impact your website’s ranking in search results. Link farms can hurt your website’s ranking if Google finds out you’re involved in one.
You Could Incur Severe Penalties
If you’re caught link farming, you could suffer severe penalties from Google that will damage your website’s ability to rank in search results. Link farms can also damage your website’s reputation and waste time and money. There are many other ways to build more effective and less risky links.
7 Things You Should Do Instead Of Link Farming
There are many other ways to build links that are more effective and less risky than link farming. Here are a few things you can do instead of link farming:
1. Create High-Quality Content
One of the best ways to get links is to create high-quality content that people will want to link to. If you create informative, well-written articles, people will likely link to them. You can also create infographics, videos, and other shareable and linkable media types. Trust us, and this method will work in the long term.
2. Guest Blogging
It is a highly effective link-building strategy. Guest blogging is a great way to get exposure for your website and build links simultaneously. When you guest blog on another website, you can include a link back to your website in your author bio. This is a great way to get high-quality, relevant links. It’s also a great way to build relationships with other bloggers in your industry.
How To Perform Guest Blogging?
There’s a complete process of guest blogging, which goes like this:
- First, you need to find websites that accept guest blog posts.
- Then, it would help if you pitched a story idea to the website’s editor or owner.
- Once your story is accepted, you’ll write and submit the guest blog post.
- After the post is published, you’ll promote it to drive traffic back to your website.
3. Competitor Backlinks
One great way to get links is to find websites that link to your competitor’s website and then contact the link website owner and ask them to link to your website. This is a great way to get high-quality, relevant links.
How Do You Find Competitor’s Website Backlinks:
Several tools are available for finding competitor backlinks, such as link research tools, ahrefs, and buzz sumo. Just enter your competitor’s website in the search box and hit enter. It will give you a list of competitor backlinks. Once you get the competitor backlinks, you can apply filters per needs and generate a list of link opportunities for your website.
4. Broken Link Building
Broken link building is nothing but finding broken links on websites and then contacting the website owner to let them know that and ask them to link to your website instead. This is a great way to get high-quality, relevant links.
This can be the most straightforward link-building strategy, and it works like this:
- You find a website that’s linking to a broken link.
- Then you contact the website owner and tell them about the broken link.
- You suggest your website as a replacement link.
- If they agree, then you have a new link. If not, you move on and find other opportunities.
5. Forum Link Building
Forum link building is finding forums related to your niche or industry and participating in the forums by adding value to the discussion and leaving a link to your website in your forum signature. This is a great way to get high-quality, relevant links.
It works like this:
- You find forums related to your niche.
- You can add a link to your website when ready in your forum signature.
- If you’re adding value to the discussion, people will click on your link and visit your website. Then you create an account and start participating in the discussion.
6. Resource Link Building
Resource link building is finding resources related to your niche or industry, contacting the resource owner, and asking them to link to your website. This is a great way to get high-quality, relevant links.
It works like this:
You find resources related to your niche.
Then, contact the resource owner and ask them to link to your website.
If they agree, then you have a new link. If not, you move on and find other opportunities.
7. Social Link Building
Social link building is finding social media profiles related to your niche or industry, connecting with them, and then asking them to link to your website. This is a great way to get high-quality, relevant links. In this particular link-building technique, you are not only building links but also building your brand and targeting your audience on the social media platform.
It works like this:
You find social media profiles related to your niche.
Then you connect with them and ask them to link to your website.
If they agree, then you have a new link. If not, you move on and find other opportunities.
So, These are the seven link-building strategies you should be doing instead of link farming. These strategies will work great if you’re link-building for the long term.
Google’s Point On Link Farming
Google’s John Mueller said link farms are bad. He said link farms could use link farms to inflate link popularity, which is a terrible thing artificially. He also said that link farms could get you into trouble with Google if you’re discovered to be participating in one.
Mueller’s comments were made in a Google Webmaster Central hangout on February 4th, 2015. His exact words were:
“Link farms, in general, are something we try to discourage because they don’t add any value to the web. They’re just sites that exist purely for link building, and link building is something we try to discourage because it doesn’t necessarily reflect the relationship between two websites.”
“So if you have a link from a link farm, that’s not something that would necessarily help your website. It might even get you into trouble with Google if we think you’re participating in a link farm.”
FAQs
1. What Is Link Farming?
Link farming is exchanging links with other websites to inflate your link popularity artificially. This is considered a black hat SEO tactic and can penalize your website by Google.
2. Is Link Farming Worth The Risk?
No, link farming is not worth the risk. This is because link farms can get your website penalized by Google. Link buying can also lead to manual action against your website.
3. Is Link Farming Legal?
There is no definitive answer, as link farming may be illegal in some countries and jurisdictions. However, it is generally frowned upon by search engines such as Google and should be avoided.
Conclusion
Now that you have understood what link farming is and why you should avoid it, Link farming is a short-term strategy that can penalize your website by Google. So, it’s not worth the risk. You can focus on other link-building strategies that will help you rank higher in search engines.
If you have questions related to link farming or any other link-building technique, feel free to leave your questions in the comment section. We will be happy to answer all your questions.
Please let us know which link-building strategy you will use in the comment section. Also, don’t forget to share this article with your friends.
Thanks for reading 🙂
