Garbage Linking

Some people still build links the old fashioned way – with their own two hands. If you are building links, by hand, avoid these horrible practices at all costs!

1.       When signing a blog comment, never use keywords instead of your name

2.       Never add lots of website URLs to your forum signature

3.       Never add lots of posts to a forum that say nothing but “great post!”, “i agree totally” and “yes, that’s a good point” – instant banning…

4.       Never create two profiles on a forum with the specific intention of asking a question about “XYZ Product”, and then answering your own post with a link to XYZ product… especially if its YOUR product

5.       Never post a comment on a blog if its not 100% relevant to the topic at hand

6.       Observe the rules of posting comments on blogs – you may not even be able to post URLs in the comment, therefore your post could be automatically rejected

7.       If in doubt – ask! When you are on another webmasters website, and you’re not sure what to put in a comment without looking spammy – ask them. This will speak volumes about your integrity, and any post you make will be approved quicker

8.       Never sign up to a forum with the specific intention of posting in an old thread just to market your own stuff

9.       If you are selling a product, and someone badmouths you, do not flame the thread – be respectful, and answer any support questions. If you are being searched on Google for the search term “your product+scam”, then you are MUCH more likely to come out in the top 10 as being a scammer

10.   Do not assume that your signature can be a certain length or include certain characters. You should check the signature rules, as they are usually different to the normal forum rules, and will have a separate section on the forum.