Should I Just Copy A Competitor's Backlinks?
-
Forgive the newbie question, but now that I have found SeoMoz and OpenSiteExplorer, should I just piggy back on my competitors backlinks? What would be the downside?
By way of explanation, I've never had the need to explore SEO before. Our site, Widgets.com has always ranked highly for all Widgets keywords because we have the keyword in our domain and our site has been around since 1998.
But out of the blue this summer, a site, let's call them WidgetsCircus.com suddenly began outranking us on widgets keywords, and pretty much every keyword we can imagine in our little widget universe.
Now that I have run OpenSiteExplorer, I can see how they've done it. They've pretty much spent the last year commenting on blog posts all over the place, editing wiki pages, etc., and built thousands of links for all these widget keywords.
So, I'm wondering: why shouldn't I just go down the list of links and do exactly what they've done? Where they commented on a blog, why don't I just comment right along side them. Obviously, this has worked for them! Wouldn't it work for us too?
Or is that too simple?
-
Actually, they're pretty easy to copy. Just a bunch of open blog posts and forum profile spam.
-
Should I Just Copy A Competitor's Backlinks?
With most competitors this is not possible because: 1) they control the sources of those links, or, 2) those links were awarded on the basis of merit and you probably don't merit.
You rarely win by mimicking a competitor. You win by doing something superior.
-
Yep. Direct message. I'll send you one now.
-
I am unsure what DM is, but based on the context I am guessing Private Message? If so you are welcome to do such.
-
Do you do any guest blogging to obtain links, I have found this to be effective for link building and it has increased my search engine results.
-
Thanks for the advice. I do have to say, all the spammy blog comment links are surrounded by like 200 others spammy links to other sites. Very rarely are they there all by themselves, except for when they've joined a forum to put a link in their profile page.
You willing to DM? Unsure if I want to publicly share URLs.
-
The best practice would be to be aware of your competitor's links and look for opportunities. Look for high quality pages where the competitor earned links.
Most blog commenting is very low value from a SEO perspective. If you are an authoritative member of the community which offers the blog, you are one of the first commenters and you share a quality reply with a link then it can have value IF the link is followed and the page is not stuffed with 100 other links. Most blogs which don't nofollow their links have almost no value as they are filled with spam and links.
You are presuming the site's links are the reason why they are outranking you and it is entirely possible the links are not the reason at all. If you would like more detailed feedback please share your site URL, your competitor's URL and a couple sample keywords where you are being outranked.
-
I know the usuals about creating valuable content. We've done that. That's how we've gotten where we are.
And actually, I can see in open site explorer which of the links are follow vs. nofollow. That's what I'm saying... they're very, very good at this. They've built literally hundreds of back links on random blogs with open commenting and follow links.
This is exactly the question I'm asking: I KNOW this is spammy link building, but I'm in the position of asking, since I can't beat them, why not join them?
-
Widgets.com was a generic example of our site. I didn't mean our site is literally Widgets.com. It was an analogy.
-
When I visit widgets.com the only thing I saw were advertisements... so I thought Content would be your main issue because with only a domain name you're not going to make it to the top of Google search results.
Then I went to your competitors website, but that just gave me an error page... maybe they block European traffic, but I doubt that..
Being a copycat can get you some results... maybe... but commenting on blog posts to get backlinks isn't the best technique to really get quality. If you use open site explorer, try to understand the metrics of a good backlink and only go after those. That's what I recommend, and then go on to build quality links yourselve, and not only on places where your competition is...
-
Hi Brian
This is an easy question to answer; "absolutely not". Please don't copy them, you'll end up regretting it.
How you've described your competitors' links makes them fall into the 'worthless spam' category; their efforts would have been for little gain, especially any long term gain, plus they've risked getting penalised for link spamming.
Links from blog posts are usually nofollow so will hold zero SEO value, there is only a small percentage of decent blogs out there.
To acquire some links that will actually be of benefit to your website, create some unique relevant interesting valuable Content for your visitors and Distribute this well. In turn, you'll likely be rewarded with some great natural links. Infographics with a text link built in can really help.
I hope this has been of some help to you.
Regards
Simon
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Are Old Backlinks Hurting Or Helping?
I have a ton of old backlinks for products that I no longer carry but I have redirected them to other pages within the site. I was told by an SEO expert that these links are hurting me rather than helping because people click on the links and then leave. These backlinks are from reputable blogs, news sources etc and my spam score is only 1%. Are these links really hurting me?
Link Building | | CatBoxer0 -
My backlinks are not showing
I have been building lots of backlinks to my website but when I decided to check them I saw just two. Please am I doing something wrong?
Link Building | | Briefwatch0 -
Backlink not index on MOZ
Hi All, help me... why backlink for https://gobiz.co.id/pusat-pengetahuan/aplikasi-kasir/ at https://aldhifajar.com/spots-aplikasi-kasir-simple-untuk-setiap-jenis-usaha/ not index at Moz? how it problem on web?
Link Building | | masirwin9180 -
Arrrg . . . Just can't seem to get there
http://www.electricianinperth.com.au is one site that me and my colleagues are constantly struggling with. It has a page rank of 5 which beats a majority of the competitors, but when it comes to Google Australia searches such as Perth Electrician and Electrician Perth etc etc, we just can't seem to get there and the rankings keep fluctuating and dropping. We backlink and update the pages on a regular basis Any ideas? - Could it be the custom Wordpress/CMS system?
Link Building | | lewisjosep70 -
Backlink Profile Cleanup
I have downloaded the domains that link to my website (550 domains) and I am going through the low quality (low DA) sites to ask them to remove their links to my website or I will disavow them. I have noticed alot of blogspot.in and blogspot.nl (SEE ATTACHED) Should I ask them for removal or disavow these? tJO50fQb
Link Building | | PartyStore0 -
Blogroll links vs. in author's byline
So, I have the following dilemma. I have certain amount on my budget and I'm thinking where to invest it better. Would you recommend obtaining blogroll links or focus on links that put in author's byline (for instance when you write a guest post). Could you also explain why you think so? 🙂 Thanks beforehand.
Link Building | | VinceWicks0 -
How would one get on the Huff Po's "Around the Web" list?
On the huffington post they often have lists of links related to the article, near the bottom just before the comments. This section, when present, is called "Around the Web". See this as an example: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/linda-bacon-phd-ma-ma/health-at-every-size_b_1314339.html Do the article authors choose these links, or are they auto-generated somehow? I had a relatively small competitor appear here, so I'm wondering if there are any tricks to gett included. Thanks! Edited to add hyperlink
Link Building | | AdoptionHelp0 -
April Fool's for Link Building
Is there a better day for link baiting than April 1st? The time has come for everyone to share their April Fool's Day link building campaigns! This is our second attempt at capitalizing on April Fools with the first attempt (2010) falling flat. http://bigfi.sh/aFd2011
Link Building | | RyanOD0