How to Get a Better Do-Follow/No-Follow Ratio.
Having too many do-follow backlinks is not inherently bad for SEO, but the key is ensuring these backlinks are natural, diverse, and high-quality. A disproportionate number of do-follow backlinks—especially if they come from low-quality or irrelevant sources—can trigger search engine penalties. Here’s how to address and balance your backlink profile:
1. Audit Your Backlink Profile
- Use Tools: Use SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console to analyze your backlinks.
- Evaluate Quality: Check for:
- Links from spammy or low-quality websites.
- Overuse of exact-match anchor text.
- Irrelevant domains or industries.
- Assess Diversity: Ensure you have a mix of:
- Do-follow and no-follow links.
- Various anchor text types (brand name, naked URLs, generic text, etc.).
- Links from different types of websites (blogs, directories, forums, etc.).
2. Disavow Harmful Backlinks
- Identify Toxic Links: Look for links from spammy, irrelevant, or low-authority sites.
- Disavow Process:
- Use Google’s Disavow Tool in Google Search Console to tell search engines to ignore these harmful links.
- Only disavow links when you are certain they are damaging, as this is a last-resort action.
3. Increase No-Follow Backlinks
- Sponsored and UGC Links: Ensure paid or user-generated content links (e.g., in comments) are tagged with
rel="nofollow"
orrel="sponsored"
. - Social Media Links: Promote your content on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Most links here are no-follow but contribute to a natural backlink profile.
- Forum and Q&A Links: Engage in forums or Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit where links are typically no-follow.
- Directories and Listings: Many reputable directories provide no-follow links, which are still valuable for visibility and diversity.
4. Focus on Content That Earns Natural Links
- Create Link-Worthy Content: Publish high-quality, engaging content such as:
- Industry studies or original research.
- Infographics or visual data.
- Local guides or niche-focused content.
- Promote Your Content: Share your content across multiple platforms to attract natural backlinks.
5. Diversify Anchor Text
- Avoid Over-Optimized Anchors: Too many exact-match keywords can look spammy.
- Use Variations: Balance your anchor text by using:
- Branded text (e.g., “YourBusinessName”).
- Generic text (e.g., “click here,” “learn more”).
- Naked URLs (e.g., “www.example.com“).
- Monitor with Tools: Use tools to track anchor text distribution and adjust your strategy as needed.
6. Encourage Natural Mentions Without Links
- Brand Mentions: Focus on building brand awareness through partnerships, PR campaigns, and community engagement. These mentions may not always include links but still build credibility.
- Content Sharing: Encourage people to share your content without linking back every time.
7. Avoid Unnatural Link-Building Tactics
- Don’t Overdo Link Exchanges: Reciprocal linking (e.g., “I’ll link to you if you link to me”) can look unnatural if excessive.
- Beware of Link Farms and Networks: Avoid services or schemes promising a large number of do-follow backlinks, as they can lead to penalties.
8. Build a Balanced Backlink Profile
- High-Authority Sites: Focus on getting backlinks from trusted, high-authority domains even if they’re no-follow.
- Geographical and Industry Relevance: Target links from sites related to your industry or location for better contextual relevance.
- Link Source Variety: Gain links from blogs, news sites, forums, directories, and more for a natural profile.
9. Regularly Monitor Your Backlink Profile
- Set Alerts: Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Search Console to track new backlinks and assess their quality.
- Benchmark Progress: Compare your profile against competitors to identify gaps or over-concentrations.
10. Leverage Internal Linking
- Strengthen Your Own Content: Build internal links between relevant pages on your website. This improves user experience and reduces over-reliance on external backlinks.
By focusing on quality, diversity, and natural link acquisition, you can address an imbalance in do-follow backlinks and maintain a healthy, search-engine-friendly backlink profile.
If you have any questions about backlinks and how they work to affect your SEO and Domain Authority, contact Local Presence SEO, LLC today at 919-302-8849.