Backlinks are the lifeblood of any online business and the foundation on which search engines evaluate your website’s value. A high-quality backlink service can provide your site with exactly what it needs to secure its place at the top of search results and attract new customers from all over the web. Here are 5 ways to spot a good backlink service provider in your industry.
Table of Contents
1) Check if they are indexed by Google
Perhaps one of the simplest ways to judge whether or not a site is trustworthy is by checking if Google has indexed it. If you search for their URL on Google and it’s been indexed, chances are you’re dealing with a trustworthy site; if it hasn’t, well, then there’s your first red flag. Don’t just take our word for it. Try searching for their URL yourself.
There are several tools you can use, including Moz’s Open Site Explorer or Google Webmaster Tool. If these backlink-checking tools have not indexed your site, it may be because you do not yet have a website up and running.
2) Find out how old the site is
How old is your backlink source? Sites with track records that span multiple years are more likely to be reputable, as are sites that have been updated consistently. You can do so using an online backlink-checking tool such as Moz’s Domain Authority or Ahrefs.
- Find out if they engage in link-building: Does your site feature links that have been built by you? If it does, you can use backlink monitoring tools such as Open Site Explorer to determine if your site features backlinks.
- Find out what domain age they have: Is your backlink site a standalone site, or is it part of an entire network? A new domain that’s been registered recently is less likely to be a good source of links than an older, more established domain.
- Find out how many other sites link to them: Your backlink source may have great domain age and be updated frequently, but if no one links to it, there’s no reason for you to either. Sites that are linked by many other sites with good reputations are likely safe choices.
3) How many sites link to it?
It is common knowledge that backlinks are a vital part of search engine rankings, so always make sure you are monitoring your backlinks. You can’t know if your backlink strategy is working properly if you don’t have any data about what links point to your site and where these links are located. Use tools like Open Site Explorer or MajesticSEO to monitor your new backlinks as well as check for lost or broken links.
4) Check their social media profiles
Social media is an excellent indicator of whether or not you should trust your prospective website partners. If they have no presence on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, be wary that they may not be in business for long. However, if they’re active on these channels without fail every day (and engaging with their followers), it shows you that they’re both dedicated and professional.
5) Think about the niche content
Knowing what kind of articles you’re going to be producing, that is, your niche content is crucial when it comes time to choose which sites will receive backlinks. High-quality sites typically have high domain authority and experience success in their own specific niche. This can make them ideal targets for your backlinks. A good strategy would be developing relationships with these types of people or companies by guest posting on their websites or commenting on their blogs.
Conclusion
With these 5 tips for backlink monitoring and strategies, you should be able to figure out whether or not a site is worth your time. As you gather more experience in SEO, you’ll begin to make more of your own conclusions on whether or not someone has created a valuable site but don’t forget that there are also some solid backlink checkers available online that can help spot flaws with your sites.
If you want to start monitoring your own links and improving your backlinking strategies, check out infiniterounds.
