With search engine updates and a transforming digital marketing climate the subject of linking seems to have become increasingly erroneous and confusing, leaving some small businesses and marketers wondering what tactics can legitimately provide positive, long-term goals for their search engine optimization efforts and which efforts are merely in vain. Understanding which tactics can have a negative effect on one’s site is one of the most important tools that can prevent business owners and managers from falls for less-than ideal marketing plans promoted.

Duplicate Content And Multiple Submissions

Content has always played an imperative role in search engine optimization and online marketing, offering visitors quality reads while answering questions and creating a sense of authority among competitors. Although quality, frequently updated content and ideas are an important part of SEO, submitting content to multiple sites can be equally detrimental to efforts by creating duplicate content across multiple sites, despite the fact that such content was created uniquely. Instead, good content is much more effective when it is simply unique to one place. Gaining links from such an article submission can often be more valuable than hundreds of poor quality links from the duplicate content that has been spread across the interwebs.

Re-writing Content

Fresh, unique content is imperative. But what makes quality content a great part of any SEO plan is the authority that is associated with fresh ideas. In addition, new content shows visitors that a company or writer is a knowledgeable front-runner. By copying content and simply re-writing the ideas of others, the uniqueness that draws readers to consumer content, share and interact (all valuable parts of linking and SEO) is no longer there. Instead, visitors have seen such content and ideas before. There is nothing really that special about those kinds of ideas.

Ineffective Guest Blog Posting

Long hailed a positive method of gaining links from quality websites, guest posting, when used incorrectly, can do little to improve search engine optimization and may actually hurt efforts. Quality guests posts that are meant to actually add to a website and make it better or share ideas and knowledge can be powerful. Guest blog posts, on the other hand, that are comprised for mere links are simply a waste of time.

Ignoring the Power of Internal Links

Despite the importance of links from other authoritative websites, linking internally within one’s blog and website is a valuable aspect of link building and SEO that may often be overlooked. Using one’s own social media channels and community to share such internal links and content can be equally important.

Establishing Overzealous Link Building Expectations

Link building, more so no than ever, is a process that takes time and commitment. The fruits of link building efforts are not often seen on the short-term level, making patience and quality tactic important. Falling for options and tactics that promise improvement and ranking from link building over night may be a recipe for disaster that can have serious repercussions for a business and website over the long-term.