Top 7 Link Building Mistakes In-house SEOs Make & How To Avoid Them
Nov 22, 2018
10 min read
Table of contents
Higher the number of backlinks a website has, higher will be its authority and rankings on SERPs. It has been proven time and time again.
While many SEOs are aware of this fact, not many care about the fact that it has to be done in the most natural way possible with strict quality control.
If you care about building a backlink profile for your company that Google will love, this post is just for you!
Being a link building company ourselves, we care about the link building services we provide to all our clients and actively use the best link building techniques to do so. It was about time we let you in on some of them as well…
But there are many ways to build backlinks for your business. You could approach other websites, industry influencers and biggies with your content and ask them personally to feature your content on their website for a backlink or you could create remarkable content that people and publishers would love to link to without asking.
Either way, here are some mistakes most SEOs commit that does more harm to their backlink profile and SEO in general than good. Let’s have a look at some of them -
1. Getting most of their backlinks from irrelevant websites
In their pursuit of getting as many backlinks to their website as possible, most SEOs tend to derail from their website niche and start acquiring backlinks from wherever they can, without looking twice at the website they are getting a link from.
Getting a backlink from a high quality but irrelevant website is equal to acquiring a low-quality link. For example, If you sell premium hair care products, getting a high-quality backlink from a publisher in the IT industry will do you no good. But if you get a backlink from an authoritative blogger that has a decent reader base and actively blogs about the best hair care services and products in town, it could prove to be pure gold for the authority of your website.
Try staying as close to your industry niche as possible when it comes to acquiring backlinks from other authoritative websites and watch your Google position rise up.
2. Going for automatic link building schemes
Automatic link building in any way is bad for your website.
But still many SEOs every year make use of ‘automatic natural link building’ tools found on the web. While many of these tools may give you an initial push in your rankings by publishing your website link on link farms and low authority web 2.0 sites, Google, sooner or later, catches up to them and may even penalize it for indulging in such practices.
The essence of link building is in providing relevant content to websites related to your industry and automatic submission kind of kills it completely because you never get to know on which website your links are being posted on. A big no-no when it comes to natural link building.
3. Building backlinks for just the homepage
Think about it for a minute. Obviously, no publisher who is looking to provide the best information to their readers would want to link to a services page, unless it’s a paid promotion of course. But if you are still putting links of your website’s homepage in all your guest posts with no informative blog of yours to accompany it, it will turn off readers, and eventually Google.
You could try internal linking for building the authority of your homepage but when it comes to guest posting, try only linking your blogs in it, that too if they are super relevant to the topic you are writing for.
4. Imitating competitor’s link profiles
In the fast-paced world of SEO, it is normal for SEOs to spy on the backlink profiles of their competitors and completely copy them to their last link. While doing this is a great SEO strategy to surpass them in SERPs, do it without your personal touch and you’ll never be able to outrank them.
It’s totally fine to copy your competitors backlink profiles, but do your own market research as well with it and try digging out opportunities that your competitors don’t have the slightest idea about. You’ll obviously have to do a little extra to gain that edge in website rankings over your competition.
5. No personal touch in outreach
Working on the way you outreach your content to authoritative publishers can sometimes make all the difference but sadly not many SEOs stress over it too much. Using the same outreach template for each and every outreach request can get your awesome content rejected without them having a look at it and most of the authoritative publishers can smell a template from a mile away.
Try adding your own personal touch to all your outreach requests. Be as personal as you can and write clearly how your content piece can help their readership and why are you approaching them in the first place. Doing this makes them interested in your mail and your chances of getting published increases by folds.
6. Building links too fast
Google keeps a close check on the number of backlinks a website acquires over time. Do it too fast and they might even penalize you for good.
Usually, if a website acquires too many links in a day or two, it’s because the webmasters are using a tool that is automatically doing it for them or they are posting their links on link-farms, which are both red flags for Google.
When done naturally, you would be able to gain 10-20 backlinks for your website at max and that includes commenting on various blogs in your niche, posting on social media, posting on social bookmarking websites, syndicating your blog to a high-authority publisher and all the other things SEOs do to acquire links.
See it from the eyes of Google. If a website is getting 1000 backlinks a day, doesn’t it reek of something fishy? Sounds spammy even when I say it, let alone doing it and getting away from the clutches of Google.
7. Not keeping a check on the current backlinks
Most of the SEOs build links and completely forget about it. But the task of building an authoritative backlink profile for your business doesn’t end when you acquire a link, it also includes making sure that the link stays active as long as possible.
It’s common for websites to delete certain blogs after a certain point of time, making sure that a proper redirection link is placed on all your backlinks if something like that happens to your publisher’s website is as important as acquiring that link.
Also, the domain authority of websites keeps fluctuating from time to time, so going through your backlink profile and making sure that your link stays authoritative and contributes positively to it is what SEO’s need to focus more on when it comes to staying on top of their game and gaining some valuable places on the SERPs.
While there are a ton of bad link-building tactics being put to use by SEOs every day out there, these 7 are the most prevalent in the SEO world of today. Stay away from the above-mentioned pitfalls and you’ll do just fine.
If there are any other link-building tactics you think hurts your SEO more than it does good, do share it with us in the comments.
5 Must-Haves for the Best Marketplace Customer Experience
The e-commerce space is getting vaster and wider by the second, necessitating more and more customers to shop. One of the primary contributors to customer retention is a good customer experience. Customer experience in an e-commerce business is what regular servicing is to an automobile; it sustains the latter. Customer experience is the manner in which the brand communicates with the customers during their buying journey. This is reflective of a lot of things; your brand identity, ideology, and attention to detail. It determines how you present your company and product to the masses and is a key factor in successfully transforming a potential customer into a sale. An ecommerce website development agency can help you boost your customer experience in the e-commerce segment by implementing the following 5 simple techniques. 5 Must-Haves for a Better Customer Experience on E-commerce Marketplaces Conversion rates are determined by several factors, but one of the primary ones is customer experience. Incorporating these 5 pointers will help you greatly. 1. Customer is King The most generic saying in the marketing world is actually the truest advice for most of the problems one can have in the process. Keeping the customer at the center of the solution makes it easier to come up with a plan that will be well-liked and received by them. According to a Harvard Business Review survey, a 5% hike in your customer retention shall shoot up the profits by 25%. Organizations that understand the importance of custom retention work towards providing a seamless and break-free customer experience. Rewarding systems can help you with making retention easier. Some techniques to help you are listed below; Loyalty points or discount coupons for old customers. One great practice that a lot of small businesses have adopted is the practice of sending handwritten and/or customized thank you notes. It adds a personal touch and encourages the customer to shop again by setting a tone of gratitude. Referral systems help greatly in getting word of mouth and subsequent conversions Gifting to loyal customers is also a great way to encourage more people to shop frequently. 2. Surprise Element The best part about online shopping is the impromptu sales and the pizzazz. A surprise element can be a great method to enhance a customer’s experience. Free shipping is a great way to delight your customer with low effort because shipping costs are always a bust when it comes to online shopping. A simple gesture like waving off the logistic costs can be simple yet effective. Always remember that a happy customer is the best form of marketing you can have. When dealing with cart abandonment problems, a cute customized email can do wonders. Subtle things are often the best way to handle such challenges. 3. A Close-Knit Community Community building ensures loyal customers and a good customer retention level. Brands like Nike, Adidas, Oh Polly, etc., have built up communities that represent their brand identity and simultaneously keep fans loyal to them. Nike and Adidas have increasingly become a part of pop culture itself with their iconic designs and marketing. A similar approach is a smart one because, in the end, everything you do is to represent your brand and what you stand for. A loyal community shall advocate for your services and/or products. Word of mouth is the most effective form of marketing because it involves honest feedback from the users. It increases faith in the brand. This is more than what any form of marketing can do for you. 4. Social Media and the Power of Humour Social Media is a powerful tool to aid community building and marketing. Especially in industries like e-commerce, social media is an important aspect of brand identity and communicating with the masses. Companies like Durex have excelled in the art of moment marketing and employing humor as a method to pump up their engagement. People engage with their content in great numbers and share it, providing great word of mouth, aiding brand recognition, and increasing brand visibility, all at a nominal cost. Devote some time and resources into building your social media presence and employ tools that help you connect better with your target audience. Segregate time to interact with the followers and engage with the given feedback. 5. Be Strategic With Your Content Content is crucial in e-commerce marketplaces because it helps shoppers make informed decisions and can ultimately drive sales. Product descriptions, images, and customer reviews are all examples of content that can greatly impact a shopper's purchasing decision. Product descriptions should be detailed and accurate, providing shoppers with the information they need to understand the product and its features. High-quality images can also be extremely influential, as they allow shoppers to get a better sense of the product's appearance and features. Customer reviews, meanwhile, can provide valuable insight into the product's performance and quality, helping shoppers make more informed decisions. In addition to helping shoppers make decisions, content can also help e-commerce marketplaces improve their search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, making it easier for shoppers to find the products they're looking for. This is particularly important for marketplaces with a large number of products, as it can be difficult for shoppers to find what they're looking for without a robust search function. In summary, content plays a critical role in e-commerce marketplaces, providing shoppers with the information they need to make informed decisions and helping marketplaces improve their SEO efforts. With high-quality product descriptions, images, and customer reviews, e-commerce marketplaces can create a more engaging and effective shopping experience for their customers In Conclusion E-commerce is a great space to thrive, but you need the right formula for it. Saffron Edge provides a comprehensive range of e-commerce services to help businesses establish and grow their online presence as Saffron Edge is best ecommerce website development company. From website design and development to digital marketing, they offer a wide range of solutions that can help businesses increase sales, improve customer engagement, and streamline their operations. Whether you're a small business just starting out or an established business looking to expand your online presence, we can help. Reach out today! ...
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Why Facebook Ads Are Perfect For Raising Awareness Of Your Dental Practice
Facebook is a social media platform that needs no introduction. With over 2 billion monthly active users , it’s a no-brainer that you absolutely need to market your dental practice on the platform to gain new patients. Imagine being able to reach new patients on the platform they trust and are already spending their time on… yeah, that’s Facebook. Since trying to get new patients is the number one problem modern day dentists face, Facebook Ads can be a powerful tool and an untapped resource for dental practitioners in search for new patients, if used correctly. Now, the traditional methods of media advertising for dentists induced a lot of cost with minimal results. But Facebook has turned the digital marketing sphere for dentists upside down. How? With Facebook Ads, dentists can choose their specific target audience and it’s size according to their own budget. Also, as your ad is shown only to a relevant audience, you get improved results. A win-win, for both dental practitioners all over the world and Facebook itself. But what is a Facebook Ad? Facebook offers two forms of advertising: Ad Campaigns and boosted posts. Facebook Ad campaign is where the gold is! You can run your ad campaign as long as your budget allows and the people clicking on your ad will go straight to your website. But the best part about a Facebook ad campaign is the varied audience targeting options it has, which I don’t think any other social media provides at such a depth as Facebook. Facebook lets you target your audience on the basis of demographics, interests, your connections, user behavior and you can also create your own custom audience using mobile numbers, email addresses or Facebook IDs A boosted post, on the other hand, is something entirely different as it focuses only on your current following and their family and friends. Facebook lets you ‘boost’ your status update to make sure it is viewed by your followers and their friends and family so its best to use this form of advertisement to push an offer to your existing followers. And it’s cheap, you can boost a post for a day for as low as $1. When advertising through a Facebook Ad, it’s important to make sure that your ad contains a nice copy, stunning visuals and an irresistible offer to get results. But the real power of Facebook Ads for dentists is your ability to showcase your ad in front of a highly relevant audience selected by you. Optimizing your Facebook Ads You can target whoever your heart wants with Facebook Ads with its intelligent, data-backed targeting options. Here are some of the targeting options you can use to unleash its full potential for your dental practice Target your current patient list Targeting your Facebook ads to the people who already like and trust you is a great way to begin with your marketing efforts on the platform. The engagement you’ll receive on this form of targeting will be the highest as you’re targeting patients who already trust you with your services. Target your email subscribers Use the custom targeting option on your Facebook Ads and add all the email addresses you have in your database to target these people on Facebook as well. You’ll get high engagement rates on this type of targeting as well because people who already have taken the action to submit their email addresses to you will have no problem in taking action again. So, start targeting your email subscribers on Facebook as well along with your regular email campaigns to raise awareness of your dental practice. Target your site visitors Using Facebook Ads to target your site visitors is another great way to gain some traction as they’ve already connected with you before through your website and Facebook Ads is a great way to connect with them again. Use the custom audience targeting option to target people who’ve already visited your website in the past. Target people who have relevant interests on Facebook A simple way to increase your audience and raise awareness for your dental practice is to target people who aren’t already your patients, are not on your email list and are not your Facebook fans by using a combination of demographics, interests, or behaviors. There are unlimited combinations of interests that you can make for your target audience, depending on your dental practice specialty or goal for your Facebook ad. The possibilities are endless. To get an idea of how setting audiences on Facebook Ads work, here’s a quick summary of the targeted audience of a Facebook Ad campaign we did for our dental client in New Jersey - Once you click ‘Edit’ under ‘Audience Details’ of your campaign, you can customize almost every aspect of your targeted audience including their gender, age, location, connections or you can explore some detail targeting options, here’s how it looks like - Facebook also very conveniently displays a summary of your selected audience preferences in the top right corner to give you a quick idea of where your audience targeting efforts is heading towards. When you run a Facebook Ad Campaign, you have full control of choosing your own audience which you think will bring the best results to your Facebook Ad Campaign. Facebook and its advertising platform have opened a whole new world for dentists where they control who they market themselves to, completely unheard of in the dental industry before. So, using Facebook Ads to unlock the true potential of Facebook by targeting the right people for your posts based on their demographics, interests and user behavior is highly recommended for dental practitioners. ...
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Email Marketing Automation Workflows: Benefits, Set Up and Examples
A lack of email automation means your marketing team could miss important opportunities to nurture and engage your target audience and contacts. One of the most impactful tools available to marketers today is email automation. According to Radicati , the global email user base totals 2.6 billion, with Facebook accounting for about two-thirds of that number. Adobe's research indicates that we're dedicating 17% more time to our inboxes this year than last year. Automating email workflows can significantly enhance your email marketing strategy by delivering personalized, timely, and relevant messages to your subscribers. This blog post will explore email workflows, their benefits, how to set them up, and some examples of automated email workflows that can boost your marketing efforts. What is an Email Marketing Automation Workflow? An email marketing automation workflow consists of emails automatically sent out based on specific actions or conditions a marketer determines. Essentially, it’s a predefined set of emails designed to nurture leads, engage customers, or drive specific actions based on user’s interactions with your brand. This email marketing workflow is tailored to guide subscribers through their customer journey, maximizing engagement and conversion rates. For example, suppose customers sign up for your newsletter. In that case, they might receive a welcome email as the first step in a workflow, followed by emails providing value, promoting products, or encouraging further engagement. Unlike traditional email marketing, where each email is sent manually, email workflow automation enables you to schedule emails automatically according to user behavior, preferences, or other predetermined criteria. This ensures that every email is relevant to the recipient, boosting engagement and conversions. Incorporating marketing automation services can help streamline the process of personalizing content and segmenting audiences effectively. The Benefits of an Automated Email Workflow Automated email workflows offer numerous advantages for businesses seeking to streamline communication with their audience and optimize their marketing efforts. By leveraging the power of automation, companies can deliver timely, personalized messages while nurturing leads and driving conversions. Let's see how email automation can benefit marketers: 1. More Seamless Workflow Email automation enables marketers to efficiently send emails to their customer base, freeing up time for other responsibilities while meeting customer needs. According to 49% of sales and marketing professionals , time saved on repetitive tasks is one of the top three benefits of automation. Additionally, 45% listed enhanced efficiency and return on investment as another advantage. 2. Better Customer Experience 43% of marketing professionals believe that the primary benefit of employing marketing automation is improving customer experience. Automated emails efficiently send customers engaging content, including incentives, useful reminders, and introductory information A well-structured customer onboarding workflow can further enhance this process by ensuring new customers are effectively welcomed and educated through automated email sequences. Consistently engaging with your customers fosters improved relationships, enhances retention rates, and generates additional leads. 3. Improved Email Segmentation Email marketing automation simplifies categorizing recipients according to their characteristics, actions, and interaction levels. This boosts engagement, the rate at which emails are opened, the conversion rate, and the rate at which recipients click through the content. 4. Fewer Errors Mistakes can still happen even when using copy-pasting or templates for your emails. Email automation allows you to map unique user variables to appropriate template sections and instantly dispatch personalized emails. 5. Improved Personalization Automated workflows enable businesses to deliver targeted and relevant content to segmented audiences based on their behavior and interactions, enhancing customer engagement and driving higher conversion rates. 6. Enhanced Efficiency Email automation workflows save time and resources by streamlining repetitive tasks such as sending welcome emails, follow-ups, and personalized messages, allowing businesses to focus on more strategic aspects of their marketing campaigns. 7. Enhanced Lead Nurturing Automated email workflows are pivotal in lead nurturing automation by intelligently delivering personalized content based on subscriber actions and interests. Businesses can effectively guide leads through the sales funnel by automating the delivery of relevant information at various stages of the customer journey and by maintaining ongoing communication with existing customers through targeted email campaigns, ultimately increasing the likelihood of conversions. 8. Data-Driven Insights Automated email workflows provide businesses valuable data and analytics regarding email performance, subscriber behavior, and overall campaign effectiveness. By leveraging these insights, businesses can make informed decisions, optimize their email marketing strategies, and tailor their content to better resonate with their audience. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call How to Automate Email Workflows? Setting up automated email workflows might seem daunting initially, but with the right tools and a strategic approach, you can easily automate your email marketing. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up an email workflow automation: 1. Select Email Automation Software Choosing the right email automation software is the process's first and most crucial step. Numerous email marketing automation tools are available, each offering unique features and capabilities. For this example, we’ll focus on HubSpot’s Marketing Automation tool, but depending on your needs, other options, such as Moosend, Versium Reach, and Mailchimp, are also worth considering. 2. Identify Your Audience Before setting up your email workflow automation, define who you want to target. Segmentation is key here—you might segment your audience based on lifecycle stages, behaviors, or specific actions they’ve taken on your site. Conduct market research to understand industry trends, competitors, demographics, and behavior patterns. Define your ideal customer by creating a detailed profile including age, gender, location, interests, priorities, and challenges. Analyze customer data to identify demographics, purchasing behavior, and interest patterns. Refine your ICP (ideal customer profile) based on analysis and develop targeted messaging and outreach strategies. Utilize segmentation and personalization for more effective communication. Marketing automation tools such as HubSpot enable audience segmentation so that each recipient receives the most appropriate content. 3. Define Your Email Campaign’s Goals Understanding your campaign goals is essential for creating an effective workflow. Defining your goal helps craft messages that guide your audience toward the desired action. Also, ensure your automation setup can adjust when a goal is achieved—for example, unenrolling a customer who has already purchased. Here are the key questions to ask yourself to define your email campaign's goals, informed by the information retrieved from the search results: What do you want to achieve from your email campaign? How does the email campaign align with your marketing goals and business objectives? What are the appropriate metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your email campaign? How can you personalize your messaging and segment your audience to align with your campaign goals? What past performance data can be used to inform your email campaign goals? Determining the goals and objectives of emails with the help of a marketing automation specialist is essential for success. 4. Set Enrollment Criteria Enrollment criteria determine which contacts enter a specific workflow. Depending on your tool, you might set criteria for new subscribers, abandoned cart users, or customers who have clicked on specific links. For example, HubSpot allows for multiple triggers, including form submissions, page views, and contact properties. Leveraging the best email marketing automation tools can significantly enhance marketing automation strategies . 5. Choose Which Processes to Automate Sales process workflows can be highly customizable. Decide which actions you want the software to automate, such as sending follow-up emails, updating customer information in your CRM, setting reminders, and more. These automated processes ensure seamless and consistent communication with your audience. 6. Create Your Email Campaign Assets Now that you have a plan, it’s time to create your email assets—this includes drafting the emails, creating compelling subject lines, designing templates, and adding CTAs. Ensure all content is aligned with your campaign goals and provides value to the recipients. 7. Test Your Email Workflow Before going live, always test your workflow. This can assist you in identifying some of the mistakes or inconsistencies that may impact the campaign's success. Test everything, from the content and links to the sequence of emails and triggers, to ensure it works as expected. 8. Launch and Monitor Your Workflow Once you’re satisfied with the setup, make your workflow live. Monitor its performance closely, looking for any anomalies or areas for improvement. Email automation is not a one-time setup—it requires continuous optimization based on performance data. Working on these steps in marketing automation integration is essential for maximizing the potential of SaaS marketing automation tools. 10 Email Marketing Automation Workflow Examples Here are a few practical examples of automated email workflows that can help you achieve different marketing goals: 1. Welcome Email Workflow Trigger: When a new subscriber joins your email list. Objective: To introduce your brand and set expectations. Details: Send emails that welcome the subscriber, share your brand story, and highlight key products or services. You can also include a special offer to encourage a first purchase. 2. Lead Magnet Delivery Workflow Trigger: When a user signs up to download a lead magnet (e.g., eBook, whitepaper). Objective: To deliver the promised content and nurture the lead. Details: After delivering the lead magnet, follow up with educational emails that provide additional value and guide the lead toward the next step, such as booking a demo or consultation. 3. Free Trial Sign-Up Workflow Trigger: When a user subscribes to your website or downloads your product or service for a free trial. Objective: To guide the user through the trial period and encourage conversion to a paid plan. Details: Send onboarding emails with tips and tutorials, followed by emails highlighting the benefits of upgrading to a paid plan before the trial expires. 4. Re-Engagement Workflow Trigger: When a subscriber has been inactive for a specific period (e.g., 3 months). Objective: To re-engage inactive subscribers and prevent churn. Details: Email a compelling offer, such as a discount or exclusive content, to reignite interest. If there’s no response, follow up with additional emails to re-engage or gracefully unsubscribe the inactive user. 5. Abandoned Cart Workflow Trigger: When a customer has selected products but doesn’t complete the purchase. Objective: To recover potentially lost sales. Details: Send a reminder email shortly after the cart is abandoned, offering assistance or a discount code to encourage completion of the purchase. Follow up with additional reminders if necessary. 6. Replenishment Workflow Trigger: When a customer’s product is likely to run out based on purchase history. Objective: To encourage repeat purchases. Details: Send an email reminding customers to reorder their products before they run out. Include a convenient “one-click” reorder button and a special offer for loyal customers. 7. Lead Nurturing Workflow Trigger: When a lead engages with specific content, such as visiting a pricing page or downloading multiple resources. Objective: To nurture leads through the sales funnel. Details: Create emails that provide additional information, case studies, and testimonials relevant to the lead’s interests, gradually guiding them toward a sales conversation. 8. Onboarding Workflow Trigger: When a new customer makes their first purchase or signs up for a service. Objective: To ensure a smooth and successful onboarding experience. Details: Send emails introducing the customer to your product or service, providing training resources, and offering support. This helps reduce churn and increases the likelihood of long-term customer retention. 9. Upsell/Cross-Sell Workflow Trigger: When a customer completes a purchase. Objective: To encourage additional purchases. Details: Based on the customer's purchase history, send personalized recommendations for complementary products or upgrades. Highlight how these additional products/services can enhance the customer’s experience. 10. Post-Purchase Follow-Up Workflow Trigger: After a customer makes a purchase. Objective: To build customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. Details: Send a thank-you email and a feedback or review request. Later, send emails with related product recommendations, loyalty program invitations, or special offers for repeat customers. Conclusion Automated email workflows can greatly benefit businesses aiming to enhance their email marketing strategies By leveraging email workflow automation, you can deliver highly personalized and timely messages to your subscribers, improving engagement and driving conversions. At Saffron Edge , we offer customized marketing solutions that meet your business requirements, including setting up effective email marketing automation workflows. Our team will help you develop and enhance the procedures that align with your business goals and create tangible outcomes. ...
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