It is almost impossible to predict whether or not your links will be in place in the future. Many professionals like to browse through websites they’ve worked with in the past. This inspires them to compare past and present metrics. They also get benefited by the following information:
– Live old links with host page loaded with new links (which wasn’t the case before)
– Pages that once ranked higher have failed to make a mark at present.
– Articles with links that were not added originally.
– Things are the same, but results aren’t!
A lot can be achieved by determining the look of a website in the past and compare it to the present site. It helps you observe many changes, including redesigns (good and bad), removal of articles, and deleted links. Sometimes, you will also notice de-indexing the entire site in Google.
Due Diligence:
You need to focus on going through some steps or implement “due diligence” when starting a link campaign. This can be done by using guidelines and checklists established by you. Although it isn’t possible to assess each page, but you must try as far as possible so that nothing goes unnoticed. Listed below are some of the issues you must check for:
– Presence of spammy hacks on a website that haven’t been fixed
– Indexing of site on Google
– Presence of contact info on the website
– Ranking of website for its brand and major keywords
– No ads and links on the site for drugs, gambling, porn, and payday loans
– Ranking of page for its title when you place a link in existing content
– Originality of content (it should not be copied or scraped)
– Link that’s a natural fit and get clicked
Now the question is how you would forecast what’s going to happen once you finish working on a specific website?
Is it possible to know the webmaster or SEO experts won’t overload the website with spam, allow the domain to expire, sell the domain, or sell the website to any private blog network?
You can just read the signs – Good and Bad.
Here are the signs to look for:
Bad Signs:
Some of the red flags to look for while negotiating placement for link include:
Let’s assume the webmaster provides you with a list of around 50 brilliant sites he has. Have a look at it carefully. You might also have one on these lines. Now the webmaster will ask if you agree that he passes your info to “friends” who own similar websites. You need to watch out for heavy interlinking with the acquaintance websites. It is possible that these sites are actually owned by the same person using aliases!
Another bad sign is a major dip in traffic on a website in the past, despite the amazing improvements in the present. In case, the decline was around five years ago and things have been good since then, it is definitely OK to see several tips, particularly in the past few years. This may be a sign that a new drop will occur soon.
Third bad sign is an open advertisement of selling text links. Consider this as a big red flag. It is definitely not wise to work with a site that’s demanding a Google penalty.
Noble Signs:
There are a number of factors that distinguish websites serving as long standing abodes (almost 5 years) for links. Everything about these looks great. The traffic to these websites is fairly stable or even continues to increase through the years. There are no major inclines in traffic flow. All articles are original, relevant, and well-written. The sponsored or guest posts are identified. These don’t seem to be loaded with someone else’s links.
It is a little disappointing, but a list of good or noble points is shorter than the bad list. The reason behind this is one’s inability to know what will happen next. Will everyone get hit eventually with consistent changes in the algorithm? May be or may not!
The Disown Lunacy:
Yes, some people tend to disavow insanely. And this is not about disavowing single webpages, but entire domains as they find the process easier! Many experts are even aware of websites that wish to disavow more than 75 percent of their links despite not having a penalty or not impacted negatively by algorithmic transformation!
Fairly, anything can happen when links are concerned. It isn’t easy to predict when exactly a website will be penalized. It is also possible for links to get trapped in a wide net which they actually don’t deserve! Unfair penalties are not uncommon. Also, these sites can face sudden drop in rankings. Sometimes they even fail to get back to where they actually were at point of time. All of this can happen even if they aren’t at fault.
In a nutshell, it isn’t possible to predict what will happen in SEO or link building. All you can benefit from is some refined guesses.
Read More:
- How To Generate Web Traffic Except SEO
- Top 10 Google Chrome Extensions for Modern Age Web Developers
- On-Page SEO Practices For Newbie
Manoar Molla is pro blogger who is passionate to write anything that is related to SEO, business and marketing. He has written and published many articles on different blog