After building 10 PBN’s (private blog networks), I’ve been able to rank several websites in a short week. However, some have performed better than others and I attribute the success to my “anchor” text placements within the content. Another element of success is the fact I was able to boost each PBN’s DA and PA by applying a few solid link building strategies. In short, I would build PBN’s spend time, ranking them using citations, deep linking, and content, then start linking them to my “target” website. Because I have around 5 different “main” websites, I’m able to do a several tests and have found some techniques work better than others. I would like to take this time to share some of the lessons I’ve learned over recent months about link building and how to implement keywords into content.
Link Building Lesson
When I started to build links, I made the huge mistake of using 100% EXACT match keyword. A few years back, this would have worked well, however, the search algorithm has changed and you need to diversify your efforts. You have to keep in mind, Google puts more emphasis on the user search experience so it’s important to start mixing things up. For example, when people are searching for something online, they’ll use the following:
- Long tail keywords
- Branded keywords
- LSI keywords
- Related keywords
- Phrases
- Others
Google knows when you are EXACT match stuffing so it’s important to start using a diverse set of keywords. However, you have many tools available that will allow you to find the right set of keywords. I’ve outlined my strategy below and it’s important to follow my keyword distribution pattern to achieve optimal results.
Keyword Distribution
EXACT Match Keywords (12%)
When building links to my “target” website, I ensure 12% of my links have EXACT match anchor text. This means you’re completely focusing on the main or target keyword. For example, if you are trying to rank for “immigration lawyer Toronto”, then it’s important to build links using this keyword.
PHRASE Match Keywords (15%)
Finding phrase matched keywords to add to your content is NOT difficult. This keyword distribution involves using the EXACT match keyword plus adding some other words relevant to your website. This will help you focus on those people who like to be more precise when searching. For example, you should use something like this “find the best immigration lawyer Toronto”
BRAND Match Keywords (5%)
When building links, this means including your brand name or domain name WITHOUT .com. For example, if we are focusing on JohnChow.com, then brand match would be “John Chow”. We know from this blog, the brand is obviously John Chow so we are simply using it going forward to build a link.
BRANDED Match Keywords (2%)
When you use this keyword distribution strategy, it’s important to include your brand name and some other keywords, but NOT your main keywords. This is NOT hard to do, but you need to focus when coming up with something creative. For example, here’s something that follows this strategy: “John Chow is the best blog online”
BRANDED KW Match Keywords (3%)
When building links, you have to include branded with your keyword in place. For example, above, I’ve focused on two keywords: immigration lawyer Toronto and john chow. In this strategy, you are simply putting these together. However, we know JohnChow.com is about online blogging so joining these two won’t make sense, but going forward, simply join these words together, making sure they are relevant.
URL Match Keywords (20%)
You don’t know how important it is to focus on URL keywords ONLY. This means to building links with www.example.com. It’s a great way to build authority to your blog and add value to your domain. Because your domain is responsible for trickling down domain authority, it will help add value to every page under the domain. This is why 20% of links should simply be your URL without adding any words around it.
Wrapping It Up…
If you want to diversify your link profile, then this is the safest way to build links and boost your rankings up the SERP’s. I’ve done very well by simply following this link building profile and seen a huge improvement since implementing weeks before.