Link building should only be done ethically.

That should go without saying but so many people look for short cuts on the internet that it’s worth re-iterating.

Google’s algorithm has a long memory and anything that you do to trick people will come back to bite you. Usually in the form of lower rankings and less traffic.

So what kind of link building is whitehat and ethical?

Essentially it’s any link that builds value for potential visitors to your site.

A YouTube video that gives help about whatever you promised in the title is a good example.

A YouTube video that’s just a slide show with some cheesy music from a dodgy 70’s film and a “buy now” link at the end doesn’t cut it.

If the video happens to have a link for people to find out more then that’s whitehat and ethical.

The same logic goes for articles and guest blog posts:

Give people an answer to their question.

An answer that allows them to go off and actually solve their problem is excellent.

Years ago, Mike Filsaime said the process was along the lines of tell them what to do but not how to do it.

And that’s probably a good line to follow but I’m not convinced it’s the best.

Often I’ll go further and tell you how to do it as well – albeit without the depth that you could get from following a series of videos.

After all, there’s only so much you can fit into a blog post or article versus a product that might take an hour or two to go through.

I do it in some of my sales letters: I outline the complete process.

Does it hit sales?

Most of my offers don’t have enough traffic to run a statistically significant split test so I don’t know for sure.

But I’m happy enough with the results.

That’s digressing to an extent but it means that you shouldn’t be afraid about giving away too much information.

Think about it: there are videos on YouTube for near enough anything.

I just did a quick search and there are videos about how to repair your iPhone screen.

The top one lasts over 30 minutes and has had over 660,000 views at the time of writing.

But I bet that doesn’t stop people taking their iPhone into a repair shop and if the video was produced by a local repair shop, chances are you’d use them over and above someone else.

Why?

Because they’d taken the time to explain what goes on behind the scenes.

To my mind, the best link building strategies add value.

Read that last sentence again!

And then apply it as a test for any new links you attempt to build.

Most blog comments that make it past the spam filters on my blog still don’t get approved because they don’t add value.

It’s about a 2 to 1 ratio.

And that means that the of comments that get past the spam filters in the first place, two thirds still don’t make the final cut.

So if you’re doing any form of blog commenting as part of your link building – and it can be a good strategy if you do it correctly – ask yourself whether or not you have something to add to the conversation.

Because if you can’t add something, it’s not worth your time or anyone else’s.

The same goes for forum posting.

If you can’t add to the conversation, don’t post a comment.

That’s the approach I take on the handful of forums that I’m a regular member of.

I’ll lurk and read quite a bit.

But I’ll only answer if I feel I can add to the conversation. And obviously my answer will include a link in my signature.

That’s whitehat – it’s in the forum rules (otherwise the link wouldn’t be allowed), I’m adding to the debate, it’s win-win.

There are lots of ways to build links ethically.

You just need to apply yourself to them.

Simply asking yourself whether or not what you’re about to do is usually the best way – your first reaction (so long as you pay attention to it) will almost certainly be right.

Which means those Fiverr gigs offering thousands of backlinks for the $5 fee are worth avoiding.

They’re not whitehat, whatever the gig description tries to tell you.

They’re also more likely to hinder than help you.

Because Google’s algorithm has enough data to know that as well.

Which means it can apply logic to the links you build and add or subtract things to decide where you should be ranked.

Which brings us back to what are the best whitehat link building strategies?

Because I’ve talked around the subject but other than links below videos or in articles/guest posts I haven’t really said much.

The answer is to keep your eyes open and your wits about you.

Notice what other people are doing.

Model your link building on the ones that appear to be doing a good job – links that you yourself follow and don’t begrudge the click.

Actually, that’s a good test.

If your target audience wouldn’t begrudge the click then it’s almost certainly an ethical link.

If you’d like to know more whitehat link building techniques, click here.