Link profiles remain to be an important ranking factor in SEO, despite Google’s announcement that social signals are not factored into the Hummingbird search algorithm. In fact, buying links still work, although not as effective as when someone writes something on your blog.

What makes a high quality link profile?

• It has to have a high value, high DA and high authority link-backs
• It mustn’t have any spammy links

But with all the possible link sources online, getting a link profile that will increase rankings can be quite challenging. There are solutions, however.

Create a link building plan

There are several free and powerful tools online that can help you develop a sound link building plan. Regardless of which approach you take, your plan must take into consideration your website, exact keywords, competition, your budget, and other elements that are most important to you.

Establish a sound foundation of links

This step is particularly important if you’re just beginning to build your link profile. Rather than accept any links being offered, reach out to partners or vendors, your local Chambers of Commerce, trade associations and other good directories. Because the source of the links contributes to the quality of a link profile, choose wisely where you link to. Another option is to write press releases that contain links to authority websites.

Build links gradually

Another factor that affects link profile is the way links are acquired. Slow and steady is the best way to go. Avoid aggressive link building as this could blow up in your face, especially if you overuse anchor text for backlinks. It’s important to grow your links at a reasonable percentage every month and use branded anchor text as much as possible.

Get unique backlinks

By this, it means links that use different, unique anchor texts and keywords. They have to look natural to Google as well. How?

• Different links must have a unique anchor text
• Anchors should include the URL or uses the URL alone
• Brand name or domain name should be used on at least 25% of anchor text
• Use multiple keywords for every link building campaign

Use signals to measure the value of a website and its link

Is the site popular globally?

If a website is very popular and important to Google’s eyes, it has more links that matter. This makes it a worthy link partner that will help you earn the trust and authority with search engines.

Is it popular to a specific topic?

Local popularity, as pioneered by the Teoma search engine, suggests that links from websites of a topic-specific community is more important compared to those from general or off-topic websites. For example, if a site sells running shoes, earning links from big brands, such as Nike or Adidas, has more rating than if the links come from swimwear or pet sites.

Does it use the right anchor text?

Based on the criteria of a good backlink listed above, anchor texts remain to be one of the strongest signals that search engines use. The more links that uses the right keywords, the better the link profile. This is because the website has higher chances of ranking for a targeted phrase used in the anchor text.

How fresh are the links?

Search engines value the freshness factor of a link through Fresh Rank. It judges a site’s links based on relevance and current popularity. To get a high-ranking link profile, you must get links from a website with fresh and current links.

Other signals being considered include social sharing, TrustRank and link neighbourhood.

By taking note of the information above, you can get valuable links and avoid being penalised, both of which can lead to high rankings.