Can Link Building Hurt Your Reputation?

Backlinks—or links to your website from other websites—is a well known, important ranking factor. While most marketers know that paying for links or investing in quantity over quality often is not worth it, but, can even the noblest of link building efforts backfire? Let’s take a look at the question, “Can link building hurt your reputation?”

If done carelessly, yes, link building can hurt your reputation. First, commenting on blogs and including a link back to your website is a common way for both legitimate and spamming marketers. Therefore, instead of commenting on any blog post that is even tangentially related to your site or topic, but more mindful about the posts you choose to comment on and link from. This reduces the changes of your comment being flagged as spam.

Also, focus on building links on reputable websites. If using a blog or forum, ensure it is one that is well respected and has a good amount of authority. Basically, if you see a lot of other comments that look spammy, avoid this site or blog.

Finally, monitor your backlinks carefully. There are several tools you can use to do this. If you notice one you did not curate that appears harmful, disavow it, so that it does not hurt your site.

To learn more and schedule a free marketing consultation, call us at 206-973-7865 or reach out online via chat or contact form.