# Link\-Building Techniques that Will Become More Risky in 2018 **URL:** https://www.singlegrain.com/episodes/marketing-school/link-building-techniques-that-will-become-more-risky-in-2018-ep-480/ **Published:** 2017-12-13 **Updated:** 2017-12-19 **Author:** Selena Templeton **Summary:** Which link\-building strategies will still work for you in 2018 and why should you always implement long\-term plays into your marketing strategy? Three Key Points to Keep in Mind Google\.\.\. --- ![Link-Building Techniques that Will Become More Risky in 2018_Single Grain](https://www.singlegrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Link-Building-Techniques-that-Will-Become-More-Risky-in-2018_Single-Grain.jpg) Which link-building strategies will still work for you in 2018 and why should you always implement long-term plays into your marketing strategy? ### Three Key Points to Keep in Mind - Google is continuously improving how well they track and catch PBNs. - Content marketing is a long-term play and if done right, will gain you the audience that will link to you. - Marketing plays will change significantly in 2018. ### PBNs Become More Risky I should mention the things that are gray hat/black hat, because even though they’re working right now, Google is catching on. PBNs (private blog networks) still work, though we don’t know for how much longer, so it’s easy to slot this into 2018. Google’s had a difficult time actually catching the people that make it work. They work for some big companies, but that’s because they’re smart about it. But overall, I think PBNs will become more risky just because Google’s continuing to get better. ### Guest Posting Not as Effective Same with guest posting. Although you’re not supposed to use this technique for link building, a ton of marketers are. And, sure, guest blogging is amazing, especially if you’re doing it on relevant sites that can drive you visitors and business. But it’s not going to be as effective for link building in 2018. Most of these popular blog networks, like the Huffington Posts of the world, have started no-following all their links. In addition to that, Google knows when they are contributor-based posts, and they’re not counting the links the same way. At least that’s my gut inclination. ### Link Spam Is Devalued Building on a whole example of PBN, link-spam will continue to get devalued, so you have to be careful there. Whatever kind of scheme that you’re trying to use right now, who knows how much longer it’s going to last for, right? I mean, you can always go for a short hustle — you can make some dollars that way — but if it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not worth doing. You want to focus on the concept of doing something for the long-term. It’s harder to do, but it feels right. ### Short-Term Win vs. Long-Term Scaling Up When you’re doing content marketing the right way, like value-laden blog posts, podcasts, videos, speaking at conferences, etc., you’re doing things the right way and that’s when you know you can scale it up. I’ve tried those other things in the past, like link wheels, buying links from these forums, all these other things, and they work a little bit, but they never work for the long-term, and you’re just better off thinking about the long-term. Yes, quick and easy techniques might help your rankings right now, but anything that is quick and easy isn’t going to last. Also, keep in mind, that you might be penalized for it in the future. So, don’t focus on anything that’s a quick hit. Focus on long-term strategies. For example, create amazing content, build your brand, create a community, partner up with other people and do joint webinars, joint podcasts, etc. That’s what will help you get an audience. That’s what will help you build your social profiles. And, eventually, great content and a reputable brand will cause more people to go to your site, and some of those people will decide to link to you. The post [Link-Building Techniques that Will Become More Risky in 2018 | Ep. #480](http://marketingschool.io/link-building-techniques-that-will-become-more-risky-in-2018-ep-480/) appeared first on [Marketing School Podcast](http://marketingschool.io/).