Proof that Manual Link Building still works!
December 10th, 2008 | 59 comments
The traffic chart above is from a site I refer to frequently here. It’s of my Germany Travel Website http://www.EverythingAboutGermany.com/ which was the second site I ever created, back in 2004. The data begins when I put the site on my new server in March of 08.
I like showing you this site because it’s proven several SEO myths that are taught by so-called SEO experts wrong. One of them is that manual linking is no longer effective! 98% of the links pointing to that site are a result of some form of manual linking! If you do a link check, you’ll see that most of the links are from:
- web directories
- article directories
- Reciprocal Linking
- forums and blogs
- my own sites
And what’s really cool about this is that I haven’t touched that Website for over a year! I haven’t built links, added content, nothing! Some of the content on the site is duplicate content too. The only thing I have done is something most SEO “Experts” will tell you is a bad idea and that is changing the template of the whole site. I changed the template of the entire site, so it looks better, several months ago and the typical traffic pattern stayed the same.
So does manual link building still work? 5,000 unique visitors per month tell me it does 
—————–
later addition
—————–
Just to be clear, when I say “manual linking” I’m referring to anything you do manually, which results in an incoming link. The opposite of manual linking is natural linking, which is when others link to your sites and pages because they simply like it.
I’m not saying natural linking is not effective. Natural linking is the best kind of linking!! BUT, for some sites you just need to give them a push and I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with doing this, as long as it’s in moderation!
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10th December, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Great example.
Why so many nofollows on the index page to pages that have good content? I noticed these same links were followed through other pages on the site.
I’m guessing you are just trying to push more PR to the pages you want?
10th December, 2008 at 3:55 pm
one really interesting point is that your very first month seems so strong!
Care to give any details of what you include under the term “manual link building”?
Alex
10th December, 2008 at 3:57 pm
What’s strange is that you went from zero to 2620 in the first month. That’s a pretty big jump for a new site. Actually that would be considered big.
10th December, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Cool stuff Josh!
I like it when someone has actual proof of what they do works. Thanks…keep it up!
Stuart Stirling
http://TurnkeyCashKits.com
10th December, 2008 at 4:04 pm
@ Brent – I just did that on the index because contextual links are always better, and the same exact links I nofollowed in the navigation menu, appear in the text without the nofollow attribute. I’m not sure if Google assigns twice the authority to a link that is linked to twice on the same page, so I just do it in case… I would rather the contextual link count if only one is going to count.
@ Alex & Mike – That’s just when I put the site on my server. When you move a site from one server to another the awstats start over.
10th December, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Hi Josh,
It seems the older a site gets the steadier the traffic becomes, that’s if you don’t do something stupid like link to the wrong site, the traffic should carry on. The links are off course thought articles article marketing, blogs and forums.
I take it you came back to your German site and added more links to it a while back and just left it?
10th December, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Hi Alex,
There are lots of ways to get great traffic in a hurry. The best way I have found is to go after the long tail keywords that have decent search engine activity. Then it’s just a matter of building a mini-net of related linking websites and blogs that are promoted via RSS, article submissions,video submissions and social site bookmarking. Sounds like a lot to do but I can do it all in under an hour and have the top spot in Google and unique traffic that contiues to grow within 3-4 hours. Of course, I still do some manual chores to gain links but most of it can be handled with one software application. I choose to automate anything that I can and gaining search engine rankings is one of those.
John
10th December, 2008 at 4:12 pm
What this tells me is that you should do some decent keyword research and create sites as fast as you can, build some links and sit back and wait for them dig in.
I have looked at this site many times, and I am still amazed by the value of it compared to the time and effort invested.
Regards,
Mark
10th December, 2008 at 4:13 pm
What so-called seo expert is saying manual linking is no longer effective?
10th December, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Hey Josh,
I like following your blog. You always have great information. I have not done very much manual linking for my sites…like the concept…do you have a report or ebook on the different manual linking strategies? Or if not can you refer me to a good one?
Deb
10th December, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hey Josh,
Good info as always. Roughly how many web directories have you submited to in order to achieve these results?
Do you manually submit your sites, or is there any software you recommend that can ease the pain a little?
Myles
10th December, 2008 at 4:21 pm
@ Robert – I built links to it for a while when I started it, then I moved on to other things… so no, I didn’t come back to it and build more links, aside from a handful of articles, which make very little impact… just the initial link building when I started it. btw, I had to pull you out of Akismet, you may want to email them.
@ Mark – Yep, it’s a misconception that you have to constantly build links to hold rankings. That’s the case only in really competitive niches and even then it’s not always the case. Thanks, it still amazes me too
@ Kevin – You’re right, I should have said “self-proclaimed” or “forum guru” because no real SEO expert would say that. Nonetheless, just dig through some SEO forums and blogs and you’ll find many people saying it’s old news.
@ Deb – Glad you like it… thanks for the support. No report on it, although I’ve been thinking about writing one.
@ Myles – hmm it’s been so long I honestly have no idea. You can do a link check and see all the links though. Software would be fine, just don’t overdo it.
10th December, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Hi Josh -
Hey thanks, this is really timely! Jackie (my membership site partner in crime) is just developing a linking .doc to offer to our members – and yeah we’re pretty keen on manual linking still. e
Especially when you’re just getting started, I think it helps people to understand how it all works together.
Thanks for the post!
Andrea
10th December, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Josh
This is the very same linking startegy we use for some of our niche sites. We build links over time via blogs and sites and this works great.
We have tried using software and networks, but we achieve better results when the links are done manually.
To your success
JJ
10th December, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Josh, why do they say changing your template is such a bad idea? I don’t see why it would matter which template or theme you use as long as you have solid content.
10th December, 2008 at 4:35 pm
@ Mike – I didn’t say changing your template is bad… I said some people say it is
Some people believe the SE’s will drop your rankings once they notice your site has went through a major change, just in case you’re doing some kind of bait and switch tactic. In my experience it’s not true though.
10th December, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I get about 30,000 hits a month…I’d say 80-90% is from search traffic, which is really nice for Adsense
The rest comes from repeat visitors who type the domain in directly and from a few articles I wrote on Associated Content. I didn’t do a lot for link building, I think just from commenting on other blogs has contributed the most.
10th December, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I agree that manual link building definitely does still work. I have done some form of manual link building with almost every new site I have built since I started doing internet marketing back in 2003. It hasn’t failed me yet!
10th December, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Josh, I love links! But was I told wrong that blog post comments are links each time a comment is made?
Jay
10th December, 2008 at 6:12 pm
@ Chelle – That’s impressive, great job with that. The site looks great.
@ Jay – Obviously it depends on the blog, as bloggers do what they like when they’re own property, but most do allow links. Most allow links, but include the rel=”nofollow” attribute so SE’s will not assign authority to the linked site. They do this so they aren’t linking to spammy sites that could get their blog penalized. Then there are some, like this blog, which remove the nofollow attribute only after people have left several legitimate comments.
10th December, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Hi Josh,
I have been having problems viewing your website. The font is all messed up and the font size is miniscule.
I like the content you put out, but have not been able to read your stuff for the last couple of messages. I get your feed via email.
I’m viewing it in firefox.I do not have this problem with any other site.
10th December, 2008 at 6:17 pm
@ SEO – Sorry for the trouble and thanks for the heads up… I’m about to send you an email.
10th December, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Nice Post Josh,
A good product would be how you map out your process- give people a plan to follow, and an understanding to what to expect (most site owners don’t realize how much work is involved in an exchange links campaign and stop doing the work, which is really the key!)
Many have said exchanging links doesn’t work any more- if you do it wrong, ask the wrong sites, don’t do it the right way- then it doesnt
Paul
Love your “make it real” advice….
10th December, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Josh,
I while trying to monetize one of my sites I was experimenting with different ad publishers. What I noticed is that with the exception of Google’s adsense, the others don’t seem to have ads relevant to the subject matter of my site. Can you make any recommendations?
10th December, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I think that this proves that constant action has an effect. There are so many ways to get links, many highlighted above, that a bit of effort every day should pay off in the end.
10th December, 2008 at 8:51 pm
Josh, thanks for the article. It’s nice to see real examples of marketing that works, rather than just theory or someone’s facts who are afraid to post examples for fear of giving away their “secrets”.
10th December, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Hi Josh,
Thank you for the info. About how many links do you have for this site? When you link from your own blogs do you just do it in the post or do you use a blog roll?
Do you know if squidoo lenses and hub pages give links?
Thanks for your help. Great content as always.
10th December, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Nice piece,
I just started up a new blog which will be manual linked up the wazoo. Manual linking certainly works. I have a few Bans sites that give me regular income and they have nothing but manual links.
10th December, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Thanks for this info. It is specially valuable for newbies lik me. I like your site about Germany. It looks very neat! Are you using wordpress? Can I use wordpress for a minisite like that? Does it affect SEO?
looking forward for answers
11th December, 2008 at 1:20 am
Hey Josh,
I am a huge manual linking fan and it’s nice to see that it is working well for your Germany Travel site.
Where is your traffic coming from? Is it mostly big G or from people following the links on the sites/ directories they were submitted to?
Thanks,
Steve
11th December, 2008 at 1:33 am
Josh,
That is truly excellent advice. I for one believe whole-heartedly in that philosophy. While I am not aggressive in my link building efforts, I know over time it will have a very positive effect on my website’s SEO, because of manual link building efforts. Then the traffic generated from that link building will naturally create the natural link building on its own.
Dennis
11th December, 2008 at 2:24 am
Josh,
Thanks for sharing – very helpful as usual. I had a PR4 site that has dropped to PR2 because I stopped actively linking to it manually, but has stayed there for some time now. The majority of the linking has been done manually.
Kind regards,
Barry
11th December, 2008 at 2:26 am
Several interesting things going on here, it seems. Is it fair to suggest that a manual push is necessary to get the ball rolling, but once a site gets some momentum and visibility, then the natural linking kicks in (followed by natural increase in search traffic too) and then not so effort needs to be put into manual linking?
11th December, 2008 at 2:46 am
This proves again that link building in not dead, i use all the methods you showed and i too am receiving some handy results. It takes time to manually find links but well worth it in my opinion.
Jason
11th December, 2008 at 3:30 am
Hi Josh
Thanks for that data – I have been about to give up because the manual linking process is so tedious and time consuming. I have just crossed the 100 link point to my site, but I guess I just need to keep plugging away. My focus has been on directories, but now I should focus on niche blogs a bit more probably. Propeler.com did wonders for my ranking – Google picked it up in about 2 hours.
Thanks again
Rob
11th December, 2008 at 4:59 am
Hey Josh,
You are getting some traffic to your German site from your plugs here. I have been on the site a couple of times. I am still blown away that we can use wikipedia information directly on our site.
I have gone back to the simple link strategy of posting for links. I have seen direct results.
Thanks
Rick
I do not agree with your Nofollow procedure but it is yours.
You are obviously checking all the comments for sp*m. So why not give the people that are adding to your content the link? Also I have left a few comments with a different website address and they are not added.
11th December, 2008 at 6:10 am
I like this article because you have the proof of your success. But Can you clarify some of the points please:
1) You implemented nofollow and you still getting success.(Your Previous article)
2) You added duplicate content from wikipedia as it is, and still you are having success.
3) This time you implement manual linking from even mybloglog.com, and still you are good traffic wise.
You are having your site’s listing at yahoo directory. And may be it would be in dmoz too.
So what is your final verdict on ranking? What is required for ranking?
In fact you are implementing Pure White hat technique without any doubt.
Do your site getting benefits from high level directories or is there something really different?
Looking forward for you answer.
Thank you.
11th December, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I think regularly reviewing your site, and maintaining those important links, and building them to build the profile of your site and help you to make money.
11th December, 2008 at 6:18 pm
@ Agward – You won’t find a CPC ad network that pays better or serves more relevant ads than Adsense.
@ Andy – You can see the links by clicking the link in this post with the anchor text “link check” I usually insert a link into the blogroll or footer because those are sitewide, but contextual links are always better. I’m not sure what you mean by …do squidoo lenses and hub pages “give links.”
@ Alex – Thanks, glad to help. No, I’m not using WordPress for that site, but you can certainly use it for a similar site. Just use this WordPress theme and yours will look identical. No it doesn’t affect SEO. You can get alot of answers in my coaching forum http://www.CoachingWithJosh.com/
@ Steve – Mainly organic traffic from Google.
@ Haven – Yes, depending on the site.
@ Prepaid – You’re right, I’ve received 620 unique visitors from this blog in the past 6 months… that’s not much compared to the overall traffic, but good point.
Before complaining to someone who is giving you live links, you may want to read their comment policy! I’m being nice leaving your link intact, even thought you’re going against my comment policy by not leaving your name!
Using nofollow in blog comments isn’t just about spam… it’s about the overall linking structure and retaining authority. If I give too many followed links my own pages will rank lower than they should, as they’ll be passing too much authority to commentators sites, which could have went back into my own pages. However I do like to “give back” so I set the limit to 9 comments, so only loyal followers will get the live links and not 1-time commentators. Why complain to one of the few bloggers who still gives followed links?
@ James – Thanks, sure. Are 1, 2 and 3 questions? I didn’t pay for the Yahoo Directory listing, they just added it and it hasn’t done much in regards to traffic or rankings. DMOZ just has one page in their listings and it hasn’t done much either.
You have some very broad questions there and as much as I’d love to answer them, it would take an hour to give you solid answers. You may want to think about my coaching forum.
11th December, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Good post, and I agree that some article marketing and the “traditional” ways of building links definitely still works and can be huge in ranking high for that search engine traffic. thanks for sharing!
12th December, 2008 at 12:52 am
Hello Josh,
This is a nice little study that you’ve shared. Thanks.
I don’t like your term manual links. I would call them either artificial links or built links. I would call the whole process “link building” or if you like “manual link building”.
As a tip, I’d add that one reason the site has taken off is that there are a few quality links from sites like this one. MIx and match is the best way forward.
Too much salt spoils the soup, no salt makes for dull gruel.
12th December, 2008 at 1:48 am
Manual Link Building sounds best to me. Artificial could be equated to “Fake Link Building”.
If you need politically correct term for it, you can call it, “Un-Natural Link Building”. But IMHO, “Manual Link Building” sums it up best. A manual process used to build backlinks to a site.
Somone call Webster’s. We will get it added before years end.
14th December, 2008 at 12:45 am
Hi Josh,
What I like about this post is that it provides concrete undeniable proof that webmasters don’t necessarily have to add or update content regularly or do frequent link building in order to maintain a decent level of traffic after the initial work and promotion has been done. Static websites can still do well without being worked on all the time.
Good stuff.
Dean
14th December, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Hello Josh,
Thank you by the way for the links that just went live. A couple of points. I did read you terms and you will find my name in all of my comments
Rick
Having a different opinion is not complaining. I really do like your blog and I have sent several friends to it.
Your blog is one of the most useful that I subscribe to.
14th December, 2008 at 5:26 pm
@chelle, No wonder you get so much search engine traffic. For that niche you have a great domain name.
14th December, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Ha ha, you are so right! I was just talking about this with someone, my blog is page 1 no quotes for a competitive keyword, ALL manual links, took three months to get there!
15th December, 2008 at 10:23 am
Manual linking does work, it worked for me for several sites. I`d have one question thou.. How would google ever know if it`s you building the links or they`re natural (organic). Pretty impossible.
The domain name matters when it comes to ranking high.
15th December, 2008 at 4:09 pm
@ WordPress – Sorry you don’t like the phrase, I do
Thanks for the tip, but the links from this blog were added much later and have make little impact on the overall traffic.
@ Dennis – haha that’s right
I have them on the phone now.
@ Rick – Sorry about that! I completely missed it. And you’re absolutely right. I have no problem at all with different opinions… I was a little disturbed thinking someone who didn’t even read the comment policy was complaining about it, but you’re absolutely right and I’m sorry about that! Thanks for support and comments, greatly appreciated!
@ Affiliate – No, not impossible at all. You don’t think Google can see if most of your links are reciprocal… come from web directories, article directories etc.? Yeah, they can, but it’s still working, so obviously they don’t have too much of an issue with it.
19th December, 2008 at 6:16 am
Also your commitment to regularly answer blog questions is pretty cool.
I haven’t seen but maybe just didn’t see. Do you have a list of bloggers you are following?
20th December, 2008 at 5:04 pm
[...] several email, tickets and comments from my last blog post on manual link building, requesting a similar report I decided to get started and release this [...]
25th December, 2008 at 7:25 am
Josh, are the articles you submitted to article directory unique? And how many articles directory and how many articles did you submit in each individual article directory? And how many forums commenting did you do?
26th December, 2008 at 12:44 pm
@ Rick – Sometimes I get behind, but I try
No I don’t… I don’t follow many blogs. Mainly just friends of mine.
@ Weightloss – You might want to take a look at http://www.articlemarketingdomination.com/
29th December, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Great Job Josh!
Do you have plans to offer your backlinking blueprint as a WSO?
29th December, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Thanks Kelly. No, I’m not a big fan of the Warrior Forum these days. Too many fakes and frauds. The WSO forum used to be a gold mine. I remember doing $5k WSO’s… now it’s full of useless reports created primarily by people who make little to no money online, trying to teach others how to make money online… it’s just ludicrous!
30th December, 2008 at 1:15 pm
You know what happened don’t you? All the trolls from DP forums came over to WF just as soon as the platform changed.
Dennis
3rd January, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I think the momentum of your site is partially to do with it also. Your site is old in it’s niche and has momentum with keywords in that niche.
This is probably not a competitive niche so even without much added work you are grinding away up on top.
Thank you for actually showing a niche. Most im guys don’t want to let anything out of the bag.
Rick
6th January, 2009 at 8:13 am
Thanks Josh. Interesting data here. Manual link building remains a time-consuming chore, but as long as you do it consistently, you will see big dividends, as you have found.
21st January, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I am a big fan of building links manually. I like using comments on relevant blogs. I like seeing actual results of others.
Thanks
Rick
25th January, 2009 at 10:38 pm
I totally agree with manual link building. I often read articles like this and learn something new and leave a comment. Even though it is a totally different niche I find the links show up in Yahoo and I learn something and besides knowledge I get something in return.
thanks-Molly