SEO Link Building Tips for 2016
I am thrilled to be writing for SEO Information Technology, which I’ve followed for some time now looking for tips on taking my website to the next stage of its natural growth. They have some great articles, such as this one about planning your SEO strategy, which you should read once you’re done here.
The internet is rarely safe, and the blogging world has its fair share of dangers to navigate on your way to success. Scammers and cybercriminals make the task of link building difficult, but you must persist and find the gold hidden underneath the surface. Once you establish yourself, things get easier for you, but first you must know what to look for online and on your computer when it comes to cybersecurity. Only then can link building commence without risk or stress.
Here are the security questions you need to ask yourself as you build links for your website:
Is Your Computer Safe?
Your general cybersecurity situation starts with how safe your computer and other devices are. Are you using a security suite or other security tools on them? Do you have verification measures so only you can use the devices? Do you have a backup plan in case your hard drive fails, taking all of your current work with it? Make sure that your computer is well-prepared for an active life, and try to schedule regular checks so that you can know if anything is out of place sooner rather than later.
Are Your Accounts Safe?
The majority of your online assets and work is tied to online accounts, and it would be a disaster if any of these accounts were to be compromised. Make sure that you are using the strongest passwords and verification measures you can in order to keep your account safe, and make sure to never share any of your accounts with anyone. It simply isn’t worth the perceived convenience. Above all else, protect your email account. It links everything together, and if it’s lost, then all of your other accounts are in immediate danger.
What Networks Are You Using?
Once you start seriously building links, you will find yourself working around the clock to respond to messages and emails in a timely manner, and you’ll get the compulsion to check on posts to see how they are doing in terms of views or social shares. You have your smartphone and laptop for these purposes, but you need to watch out for public networks and the hackers that regularly lurk on them.
A hacker can easily intercept anything that you’re sending or receiving online, including sensitive data and private account information. Make sure that you aren’t doing anything risky on public networks, or better yet, avoid them altogether if you don’t have protection.
Do You Have Travel Protocols?
On a related note to public networks is the fact that you will still be working on and interacting with your blog as you travel, whether you intend to or not. You might run into regional restrictions or government censorship which prevents you from accessing your website, and the different situations you’ll find yourself in will mean that you’ll be in more danger than at home. The number of public networks you’ll have to use will be alarming in itself.
To protect yourself on public networks and gain access wherever you need it, getting a Virtual Private Network is a solid plan. It is a service that connects you to an offsite secure server using an encrypted connection, keeping you anonymous and safe online. People use it to access Netflix all the time, so access to your favorite link building tools shouldn’t be a problem. Its cost is nearly always worth the benefits.
Does Your Website Have Vulnerabilities?
Building links will attract more attention to your website, which is fundamentally a good thing. Yet more attention in general means more cybercriminal attention, so you need to lock down your website as much as you can. Use tools to determine is you have any XSS vulnerabilities, and close off any pages which aren’t being used anymore. Don’t give out more information on your website than your readers or customers need to know. Try not to link it to any other accounts with vulnerabilities. Try to get inside the mind of a hacker and do what they would do.
Are You Aware of Scams?
Scammers and other social engineers aren’t always the stereotypical foreigner with poor grammar offering you something impossible for absolutely nothing. The good ones are far more subtle than that, and they know that people hoping to build links for their website are a prime target due to the digital assets they hold. Do not share any unnecessary information with websites, and follow your gut if something seems suspicious. There’s plenty of internet to search, but one mistake is all it takes for you to lose all of your work or damage your reputation.
Is Everything Up to Date?
Many exploits and hacks used by cybercriminals take advantage of the fact that most people don’t update their programs and computer immediately when patches are available. When a security patch is released, it is because exploits have been found, and the release of the patch means that everyone can easily find out about the exploit. This means open season on computers that haven’t been updated yet.
The same goes for any tools your use on your website or plugins that you have integrated. If they aren’t updating, then you should probably replace them sooner rather than later. Your website and your link building efforts will thank you for it.
Building links is a necessary task for any website, but you can do so intelligently and safely. Taking a few minutes to ask yourself the right questions can save you hours and days of recuperation in the long run, not to mention the monetary losses from a cyberattack. You are highly capable, and you should have full confidence in your ability to protect yourself after you get the right tools and information.
Do you have any thoughts about protecting yourself while you build links? Have you run into any of the dangers mentioned above yourself? Do you have any interesting stories to share with your fellow readers? If you do, please leave a comment below so that the conversation doesn’t end here.
Cassie Phillips is a writer and blogger who specializes on technological issues and cybersecurity topics. She’s has a longstanding interest in SEO and link management and hopes that the information she provides helps readers remain safe while they build up their online assets.
Searches related to Building Links for Website
+
