You’ve probably heard of the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and the multiple ways you can “SEO your website.” One way to do this is paying for link building services. It’s probably the area that is the most confusing for people and where it’s easiest to fall victim to scams if you aren’t informed.
In order for you to know that you are hiring a company that is providing trustworthy link building services, below are the top 3 worst services you could pay for that will greatly damage your ability to be found on the web and end up being a waste of money.
1. Copy Cat Template Website
In some industries like Real Estate, Financial Management and Medical we see business owners and professionals fall prey to imitation blogging. What’s an imitation blog? This is generally when someone is using a website template provided for a specific industry. The template includes written blog articles that you can add to your blog. These blogs are duplicated on multiple professional’s sites without any changes.
Imitation blogging is usually due to the professional wanting a website that is easy to get set-up, and very cheap. The websites are templates from a website provider in your industry, and you might get to change the colors, pictures, and minor design schemes. This is great if you’re not concerned with getting your business found on the internet, but when it comes to SEO it’s absolutely one of the worst things you can do. Template sites with auto-fill content and basic information are really just an expensive business card. Ready to be shocked?
Google knows when you are copying or duplicating another site. So if you are purchasing a template website that comes from a company who specializes in providing websites to other professionals in your same industry then odds are it’s just a copy. This flags Google and they generally drop your website listing off the top 100 search results, making it almost impossible for customers and new business to find you.
Tips to Avoid the Copy Cat Website:
Don’t take the shortcut. This is your business we’re talking about after all. Link building services can improve your website rankings in Google, bringing you new business. Blogging with fresh, unique content is one of the best ways to build links, but keep this in mind. If your blog is worthless, and a copy cat, why would someone link to it?
2. Auto-Adding Site-wide Links
Some link building services include adding links to your website footer. These links are then auto-added to every page of your site. Black hat SEO professionals (the not-so-good-guys) do this to populate sites with links, while assuming users won’t be clicking on them. One problem: Google caught on to this a long time ago. Google now assumes most footer links are garbage links. Wasting your money paying for services that include adding these links is a waste. There are much better ways.
3. Paying for Links
Link building is, by far, my least favorite link building services for search engine optimization. It’s time consuming, and there are no guarantees the links will actually cause my listing to jump 10 positions or even 1. They are in some ways a leap of faith, but the truth is they are important. They are like the crème of tartar that goes with my favorite snicker doodle cookies. Without it, it’s just a ball of dough. So when you’re presented with the opportunity to cut corners and purchase follow links from another website, resist! Companies that sell banner ads or text links on a website must tag these links as no-follow in order to abide by search engine best practices. Don’t let them fool you.
Unless you are doing your own link building, these terms may sound a little bit like Greek. So I’ll lay it out simple and clear, hiring an SEO agency is more than just paying $200 for someone to “SEO” your site. SEO should never be less than a 6-month contract, and should include a melting pot of both SEO and link building services. There are hundreds of companies offering scammy SEO services for less than $500 bucks a month, but there is only one Half a Bubble Out and we may be more than $500 bucks a month, but we perform SEO and link building services with our client’s best interest in mind, and never cut corners for a dollar.
If you are interested in link building services or hearing more about our company please contact us today!
