10 Unexpected Tier 2 Backlink Tips
Backlink Tier - The Hierarchy of Backlinks That Scale Your SEO Campaign
The Backlink tier is the structure of backlinks you construct to increase the effectiveness of your SEO campaign. Each level adds an additional layer of protection against Google harassing you with penalties.
Tiered link building takes lots of time and effort to get things right. That's because Google takes weeks to discover new backlinks and evaluate their quality on a per-link basis.
First-Tier Links
These links must be of a high quality and dofollow from trusted websites. These links are referred to as Tier 1 backlinks and act as the foundation of your link building strategy. They provide a guarantee for your website page, thereby giving it the domain authority needed to be highly ranked on search results pages. If, for example, your blog post was published on HubSpot and contained a tier-one link to SearchEngineLand's compilation of Link Building Statistics then SearchEngineLand’s web page rankings will benefit from the link equity that HubSpot handed over.
The second tier is more diverse and contain low-quality backlinks like spammy forum posts or low-quality bookmark sites and directories. Tier 2's main goal is to create content of high-quality that links back to your first-tier links. This is because quality content will enhance the article it is placed within, and not make it stand out as an addition for SEO purposes.
In order to build a successful tiered link building campaign you'll need to invest in the creation of quality content and invest in tools like RankerX or GSA. The time and effort spent manually performing a tiered campaign is well worthwhile if you intend to see the increase in rankings of a well constructed backlink pyramid.
Second-Tier Links
Tiered link building is designed for users to navigate through other pages and then reach your website. It is essential to select relevant second-tier backlinks sources that are relevant to your business and your website for this to work. Blog posts from guest bloggers are more effective than account profiles as they offer content that is valuable and users will want to consume.
You should be cautious about using Links in tier 2 on forums or other sites that aren't of high quality. Instead, use high-quality pages for articles in the industry or guest posts. These links will appear more natural and will have greater impact on your ranking in search engines. In tier 1 backlinks , they're more likely to be acknowledged by Google as passing link equity, which could boost their value in SERPs.
If you are planning to build tier two links with the intent to improve your SEO ranking, you need to be aware that it is difficult to get these types high-quality backlinks by hand. It could take a few months to pitch guest posts to top-tier publishers, and even longer them to be published. It can also take weeks to see the results when it's time to create new traffic and converts onsite.
Alternatively, many SEOs turn to automated tools to help them build links that are second-tier. However, this technique can violate Google's Webmaster guidelines and can result in a penalty.
Third-Tier Links
This level contains a huge amount of links, some that are borderline spammy. They are shared on social media platforms and on user-generated content websites like Quora. They are used to index links of tier two but they do not pass link equity to the resource that is promoted. They are typically nofollow links. In this phase marketing, the focus is more on quantity than quality. They use tools to post a huge number of hyperlinks in forums, the comments section of articles and blog posts, in directories and in other similar places. In this situation tiered link-building can be considered a gray zone that is in violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines.
Tiered link-building strategies require an enormous amount of time and effort to succeed. It could take days or even months for Google to rank a single backlink, and it could take weeks or even months to be able to see a significant impact on SEO. Marketers should be patient, and employ a meticulously-planned content strategy.
Marketers should also be wary of using too many automated tools for this kind of linking. These tools can break the rules of search engine optimization and lead to penalties. It is preferential to select the links manually and place them on relevant websites for donors rather than using automated services such as GSA or RankerX. This will stop the search engine from penalizing the campaign by removing links of poor quality.
Fourth-Tier Links
Tiered link building is still an effective method for gaining higher rankings for websites. Since Google has made significant efforts to eradicate "black-hat" SEO techniques, tiered link building methods have been slowed down.
They are classified as gray-hat SEO techniques and may be penalized for their use in a fraudulent manner. Tiered links are backlinks created on various levels of a pyramid. The primary goal of these backlinks is to boost the ranking of a promoted resource in search results. The website that is promoted will rank higher than its competitors and will receive more organic traffic.
The quality of the backlinks in this tier goes a step down and they are generally nofollow. Additionally, this tier can comprise low-quality social directories, media profiles, and article networks. These links can be built naturally or by using strategic automation solutions. However, they must remain diverse in terms of domains, niches and their relevance.
In addition to their low-quality, nofollow nature, they can also cause problems if not adequately diversified. Google has a group of hounds that are well-trained and are always looking for patterns and strategies in backlink profiles. If they are found, not only could the link-building team be penalized but also its clients.