The Most Definitive Guide To Tiered Link Building (2024)
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A Reddit poll shows that most people voted against tiered link building.
Though the sample size was very small.
So, we can not judge the effectiveness of tiered link building merely based on the above poll. For that, you need to make an educated choice. This is where this article comes in handy. Okay, let’s start from the basics.
Basically, tiered link building is getting a backlink to your website and creating backlinks for that backlink and again.
However, the biggest problem with tiered link-building is the lack of knowledge.
Practical Advice By BloggerOutreach
Our recommendation is clear: Don’t go beyond tier-1 links. Because tier-1 links are those that come directly from external websites to yours – therefore, the link juice is not diluted.
So, apply guest posts and link insertions.
Because organic guest post links are directly coming to your website from another.
So, imagine if that link comes from an authority site…
…you will enjoy a good quality link juice.
Another key point here is link insertions. Reach out to authority sites and pitch them for organic link insertions.
The benefit? Like guest post links, link juice is not diluted. As a result, you will be able to enjoy the authority. Hence, you are more likely to enjoy higher rankings as well.
But if you want to go beyond tier-1, you must know the when and why behind the same.
What Is Tiered Link Building?
Tiered link building involves acquiring inbound links through 3 levels of tiers. In simple terms, it is creating backlinks for your backlinks.
Example: Imagine you have a website, ‘X’, at the top level of your hierarchy. Now you acquire backlinks from websites ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ that point to website ‘X.’ Next, you’ll garner links pointing to ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C (Second tier).’ And finally, you’ll acquire backlinks for the second tier.
The aim behind the tiered link building is to pass the link juice to the main website and push it to higher search rankings.
The workflow tired link building is as follows:
Tier 1 Links
Tier 1 links comprise links that are pointed toward your main website. This is why tier 1 links must be of the highest quality.
While collecting links for your tier-1 website, you must consider the context, quality, and authority of every link you’re collecting.
Examples:
- Getting editorial links from high-authority websites.
- High authority blog post that comes with contextual links.
- Colleges and universities offering EDU links.
- Authoritative links from government websites.
Please ensure that the links are from authoritative websites.
Tier 2 Links
Now that you’ve created tier 1 backlinks, it’s time to gain backlinks for the first tier and boost the authority of your original content. The aim behind collecting tier 2 is to improve the qualitative and quantitive aspects of the links.
Example:
- Links come from Web 2.0 articles.
- Social bookmark links.
- PBN links.
- Press release links.
- Profile Links.
Refrain from linking to spammy content that adds no real value.
Tier 3 Links
It’s the final level of your hierarchy, where you provide support for your tier-2 links. Keeping the relevance, authority, and context aside, your focus is completely on quantity. That is, you collect as many links as you can without wasting much time and empower your tier 2 links at the same time.
Examples:
- You look for blog comments and directory comments.
- Low-quality links from article directories.
Here many people leverage automated backlink collector tools to bypass the manual workload.
We highly recommend avoiding linking your tier 3 links to tier 1 or even the main website. They are only meant for your tier 2 links.
Is Tiered Link Building Dead?
Yes and No. But tiered link building will get you the desired results, given you combine it with other strategies. So don’t plan for capitalizing tier link building as your only link-building strategy.
(Also, we have shared our opinion above, read that again.)
With the algorithm changes that hit us last year many thought that tiered link building had become obsolete.
It’s no secret that Google will impose more restrictions on black hat SEO strategies like tiered link building.
So for the upcoming years, your primary focus must be creating a quality site with quality content. That, in turn, leads you to the number one spot on the search engine result page.
Don’t think that we are discouraging you. But especially after the 2024 Core update, this type of manipulative strategy can lead to stringent repercussions from Google. So, always focus on the user, search engines will love you.
So, When Should We Practice Tiered Link Building?
Only engage in tiered link-building if you have no other choice.
Please do not confuse this with the previous section which was about our stance as an SEO expert. Whereas, in this section, we are talking about tiered link building in general.
Anyway, you can do tiered link building if you are new. Because getting links from low-high authority sites (link juice) can give you the initial momentum.
Otherwise, if you already have those coveted top-tier links, there is no need to dilute the link juice.
Let’s quickly summarize. Our stance is clear – we do not endorse tiered link building. We like high-quality authoritative links for which people know us. Still, if you want to do it, go for it when you have no other choice left.
Benefits Of Tiered Link Building
Amidst the uncertainty related to tired link building, let’s understand the benefits of it.
1. Time And Cost Effective
Collecting a backlink involves much effort that costs you time and dollars.
The cost ranges from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars, which doesn’t even include the time you’d need to write and edit the post.
So it’s likely that grabbing high-quality backlinks is a cumbersome task.
An easy way to tackle this issue is to create several low-quality backlinks through tiered link building to your original backlinks. They’re super affordable and easy to make, so you can get loads of them quickly and amplify the impact of your original backlinks.
2. Build Backlink Profile
Tired link building is a great way to create a strong backlink profile without it looking like you’re link-spamming. It follows the same structure that Google’s algorithms look out for regarding organic backlinks.
Instead of just one layer of many referring domains pointing to the same destination, tiered links set up a web-like layer of directly and indirectly related backlinks. And it doesn’t end there – your profile will have links from authority webpages, no-follow and do-follow links, and even social media sites and discussion forums.
All this adds up to Google being happy with your link profile. If it looks unnatural, Google’s crawlers will pick up on it and penalize you.
Factors To Consider For Tiered Link Building
If you’re just starting tiered link building, there are checkpoints that you need to consider before you do it.
1. Relevant Sites To Target
You know whom you are linking to. Linking to any random site that comes your way is not something you strive for. Be strategic, and look for relevance. Otherwise, you’ll end up costing your rankings.
Monitoring the sites at regular intervals is also an important part of this process. Please ensure you’re doing it the right way.
2. Don’t Neglect Quality Content
People who are just starting often neglect the importance of content. But quality content is not a choice – it’s a must-have thing. It might take time, but it provides the necessary information while linking to it. You should also ensure your content is original, not a spinner one.
3. Combine It With Other Strategies
To make the most out of it, make sure you also capitalize on other strategies. Try your hands with guest posting, broken link building, etc., that adds to your tiered link-building efforts.
Tiered Link Building – Mistakes To Avoid
Optimize your tiered link-building strategy for long-term SEO success. You need a robust backlink profile to propel your website to the top of search engine results.
Overemphasizing Tiered Link Building
While tiered link building is beneficial, it’s essential to integrate it into a broader SEO strategy. Relying on tiered links overlooks the benefits of other tactics and limits overall SEO effectiveness.
Neglecting Content Quality
Quality content is key. Poorly written or plagiarized content won’t cut it. Ensure your content adds value, makes sense, and reads well to earn quality tiered links that boost rankings.
Ignoring Target Site Quality
Choose target sites wisely. Prioritize high-ranking, high-traffic sites relevant to your industry. Linking to low-quality sites can harm your rankings, so be selective in your choices.
Rushing The Process
Patience is crucial. Avoid rushing link acquisition, as it can trigger search engine algorithms negatively. Focus on organic growth and gradual link building for sustainable results.
DIY Approach
Managing tiered link building campaigns requires time and expertise. Attempting it solo can lead to errors and inconsistencies. Partner with an experienced SEO agency like BloggerOutreach for efficient and effective campaign management.
Final Verdict!
Tiered link-building strategies have evolved with every algorithm update. As we already clarified above, many people are practicing link building.
But it is not something that you’re overly dependent on. We are reiterating our stance: we do not promote tiered link building. Still, if you are doing it, combine it with white hat SEO practices.
And remember one thing: even if you’re going with tiered link building, you can’t afford to overlook the importance of content. The more you create high-quality content, the better the chances of acquiring link juice to your site.
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