If you look closely, you will discover that Google’s page rank algorithm is reliant on backlinks.

And it is the same technique by which it governs website ranking in the SERPs ( Search Engine Results Page ). As a result, people’s faith in Google has grown to such a degree that they instinctively refuse to visit the second page to discover better information than the first page.

Doing link building appropriately is a difficult process, and most newcomers make major blunders that can cause damage to their website.

Normally every blogger talks about how to build backlinks however, today I will talk about how not to build backlinks.

There are a few distinct methods by which you should not generate a backlink. It might cause significant issues for your website and lead Google to penalise it.

Inappropriate Techniques To Create Backlinks (Link Building)

As we all know, Google was not the first search engine built by developers, yet according to Statista, it still holds around 92.47% of the search engine market today, owing exclusively to backlinks.

Google was not the first search engine to notice the number of backlinks to a website.

History of Backlinks ( Link Building )

Before Google, its creator Larry Page was working on another search engine where the search engine used to count HTML links as part of the repeated links existing on a website.

This link counting occurred in 1996, and he went on to build Google in 1998.

This brief history of link building will assist you in understanding the importance of backlinks in Search Engine Optimization and how to avoid the most common mistakes associated with them.

Components of SEO

On-page SEO and off-page SEO are the two primary components of SEO.

On-page SEO is the technical aspect of SEO in which everything has a defined parameter.

For example, speed of a website. We often use GT Matrix to run a test on the website and fix all of the issues that show underneath it to improve its performance.

Off-page SEO, on the other hand, takes a more personal approach.

There is no hard and fast rule stating that a website may only have a specific amount of backlinks. And any more backlinks beyond that will not be considered.

If you ever work for an SEO agency, you can see that every firm has a particular approach for building backlinks. And this strategy is generally determined by the type of business of a client.

Backlinks that are harmful to your site have some similar features that you should avoid. Several of these are already out of date, while others are incorrect.

However, individuals mindlessly follow one another to form such links, causing issues for themselves.

So, let’s take a look at the types of backlinks you should avoid.

Types of Backlinks (Link Building) You Must Avoid

1.   Expired Domains

These domains are used by someone else at some point in time. Therefore, individuals are buying such domains and taking all of the backlinks from them.

Yes, there are few .net websites whose sole purpose is to distribute backlinks.

But there are few reasons why this is not a good thing.

Some of the reasons/disadvantages of such backlinks are.

The history of a domain name never gets erased. It stays with it even when you or someone else buys it.

It will stay along even if it appears that you are building a new website with new hosting.

Google will not consider it an entirely new website if it was banned because the domain was spammy and did not follow Webmaster rules.

And if for some reason, the domain is on the blacklist, you have to suffer equally for its misdeeds.

It is why you should conduct thorough research before purchasing any expired domain.

Expired domains are also good, but for new SEO techniques, it is best to rely on the expertise of an experienced individual. So, before proceeding, conduct an extensive study.

2.   Unbalanced Link Building

Backlinks are created not only in the form of text but also in the form of an image, a form, a frame, or a video. Yes, you may create these sorts of backlinks as well.

Furthermore, depending on the type of your website, you must include backlinks that will keep the backlinks of your website in a balanced state.

A related picture, graphics, infographics, slideshow, and YouTube videos may help you produce backlinks. As a result, your website can have backlinks in a balanced order.

3.   Discounted Link Building

Google considers discounted backlinks quite differently.

You never know which of your discounted backlinks will be considered spammy and which will not.

Understanding such essential laws and regulations needs a great deal of expertise, and you must be fully aware of the implications if something goes wrong throughout the procedure.

    4. Unrelated Events Link

A commercial event, trade fair, or local event would usually mention the event’s of its sponsors on its website, which is a simple and effective technique to get backlinks.

However, Google has said that if all of this is a lie and the website is simply promoting it in exchange for a large sum of money then, it will penalise the website.

     5. Misleading Link

A backlink has two parts: the URL and the Anchor text.

Where the anchor text describes the context of the backing, i.e. what topic the link refers to.

Many times, SEO agencies would place backlinks on unrelated websites with different anchor text that has nothing to do with the website.

Assume your website is about hardware while you have a backlink on a toy website for children. Of course, the search engine will not anticipate seeing a hardware-related website on a children’s toy website.

These kinds of irrelevant links are both ineffective and harmful.

       6. Blog Comments

Google has already prohibited such backlinks in blog comments. The “rel=nofollow” type of link helps prevent spam links in the blog comment area.

       7. Press Release

This is also an old technique of backlinking. Google has formally rejected this kind of backlinks.

Even Google is aware that the website does all the press releases.

If you already have such a link on your website, don’t worry about it, simply discontinue making such types of links. It is of no use because Google already ignores these sorts of backlinks.

        8. Free Themes And Widgets

It was a common approach back then when individuals provided free well-managed WordPress themes with a link to the owner at the bottom.

These links served as backlinks for the sites that offered these themes since the current theme owners were unable to remove them. 

        9. Forum Post

Forum posts are a method where a blogger establishes an account in a Forum and inserts its website URL in its profile.

Their profile enables them to make repeating comments in many forums, resulting in an automatically generated backlink, each time they remark.

However, in today’s world, this type of link is unnecessary because it is irrelevant. Such hacks are well known to forum administrators, who promptly remove such remarks.

       10. YouTube comments

When people post comments on YouTube videos, they leave a link behind them.

They believe it will help in the creation of a backlink.

YouTube will usually remove such comments on its own. However, if the owner of the channel has enabled moderation under its comment section, he/she can easily filter out the remarks.

As a result, you must cease doing so, as your YouTube account may be labelled a spam account.

Conclusion

These are the 10 types of backlinks(link building) that you should avoid using because Google typically penalises such websites.

You may believe that the greater the number of backlinks from your competitors, the more beneficial they will be to you. But what’s the point of having a backlink that doesn’t work?

Creating such backlinks is almost a waste of effort.

Therefore make systematic wise decisions while creating backlinks for your site.

I hope this helped you gain a basic understanding of backlinks. Do share your thoughts about backlinks in the comments section below.