Foundation Links And How They Can Help Your SEO?

For any link building strategy, we need to start somewhere, no matter the site or niche. And whether we consider building backlinks at the start of a new website or longer down the road, an essential layer of backlinks that will form the foundation of our site’s growth is needed.

This is what foundation links are all about.

 

Foundation links, what are they?

Foundation links are the fundamental links that form the core of your site’s backlink profile. They represent the essential and stable connections your website will need throughout time in the same way foundation pillars will support a house. They are the basis of your link building strategy that the rest of your backlinks can be built upon.

Foundation links are those links built never to change and are mostly future-proofed to several algorithm updates from Google or any other search engines. This is why they represent the core links of your backlink profile.

They should include Wikipedia links, branded web2 profiles, target online directory citations, and branded press release services.

 

Why should you use foundation links?

Foundation links are a crucial component of your website’s exposure since they’ll allow you to gain a head start on your competitors by having a core layer of links that will provide the initial boost it needs to get ranking.

Most of all, by building foundation links at the start, you’ll gain peace of mind knowing that you have a core set of links that will withstand the test of time and will provide your site with a base for ranking and organic traffic; no matter what.

 

What are the risks of using foundation links?

By definition and purpose, foundation links are built to be extremely safe. So, there’s no risk involved as they contain a great mixture of powerful backlink types and pillow links that come with everything you need. Basically, the philosophy behind the foundation link strategy is providing power, link authority, traffic, trust, and pillow links.

This is one of the core strategies large companies use as part of the growth, and therefore success, of their online presence since it allows their sites to gain the boost and authority they need.

 

When is the best time to build foundation links?

As soon as your website is ready to be launched, it’s essential to build a foundation link package that focuses on a wide range of backlinks.

The foundational link outreach should be primarily targeted toward all websites that will greatly improve domain authority and trust. The idea is to create a clean backlink profile that will remain safe from any Google Penguin penalty.

By focusing on increasing the domain authority at the start of our site’s life cycle, we will have a better and more stable ranking improvement. So, suppose you still have an existing website without a good set of foundation links. In that case, we strongly recommend you start building them or at least find an agency that can deliver a great foundation link building package.

 

Are foundation links the same as tiered links

Foundational backlinks are completely different from tiered links. Tiered links, such as tier 2 links, are built to pass link power to existing backlinks, directly targeting your domain or any pages within. So, the authority and traffic are passed through a multi-tier system. In contrast, foundation links are traditional backlinks that you get from other websites.

 

Are foundation links the same as pillow links

Foundation links contain a diverse mixture of many different types of links, including guest posts, niche edits, and some pillow links. So, foundation links are actually quite different since pillow links are just a part of your backlink profile used exclusively to diversify it.

Look at it as the two halves that every backlink profile should have. Guest posts and niche edits are strong links regarding link power, traffic, authority, and ranking. In contrast, pillow links are mainly social signals and blog comments that don’t pass the same kind of link juice. Having them helps diversify and legitimise your profile to avoid any Google penalty.

 

What are the benefits of building foundation links?

Their main benefit is having an all-encompassing set of links to help establish your new site in the search result rankings or improve trust and rankings for an existing one. They are considered the core links that any website backlink profile should have.

We can’t stress this enough. If you have a brand new site, foundation links will make the first links to your backlink strategy a powerful, stable, and trustworthy package that will remain relevant for a long time.

 

Types links considered a part of foundation links

There are several different types of links considered foundational backlinks. Actually, most links can be considered foundational links, as long as they’re built to complement each other and have high authority and trust as your primary target. These are the types of links you want in your link building strategy, no matter what.

 

Guest post links

Guest posts are one of the best types of links you can build. They give you the most authority and, given time, can direct a significant amount of traffic. To get the most out of guest posts and help boost your website, they should focus on topic relevance, and for your anchor strategy, you should go with reverse sink or swim.

They are one of the strongest types of foundational backlinks as they are stable, will be live for a really long time, and you can increase their power by further building tiered backlinks to them.

 

Niche edits or insertion links

Niche edits are very powerful backlinks that take less time to pass traffic than guest posts but not as much authority. To get the most out of them, you should focus on topic relevance and sites with very high authority; this means backlinks with huge domain authority and page authority to match.

They pass loads of power to your website in a short time, so they should definitely be a part of your foundation linking strategy and used to expand your site’s keyword ranking.

 

Links in directories

If your business has a physical address, directories are crucial to your online presence. They are a natural type of link that every legitimate business uses from the beginning of their internet presence and are considered by Google as a great trust signal.

Also, although they don’t give you any authority, directories pass traffic to your site via potential customers and users looking for a good service provider. So, make sure one of the first things you do is get your website information on the best directories available.

 

Blog comment links

Blog comments are a form of foundation link that helps legitimise your powerful backlinks and diversify your profile. They usually are not that expensive, so it makes sense to include them in your link building strategies.

They are a great form of pillow links, and on top of their usual benefits, they can direct traffic to your guest posts and niche edits to make them pass even more power. Remember, mixing pillow links, such as blog comments, with the other types of links makes for a great foundational backlink strategy for your site.

 

Social signals

Nowadays, social signals have become essential in maximising the chances of any business being seen as a trustworthy source of information by Google. Also, the adoption of social media has made it customary for all the biggest websites and brands to have a presence on them. It goes without saying that this shouldn’t be any different for your site.

If you don’t have the time to post on your business’s social media profiles manually, you can and will need to hire someone that can take care of your site’s social signals.

 

Press releases

Press releases are great backlinks that allow you to mix up your anchors. Also, as many sites pick up press releases, they can help gain trust and even direct some traffic to your website.

They are a very beneficial cluster of backlinks that complement your website’s linking strategy and maximise your chances of improving its rankings on the SERPs.

 

Links in Wikipedia

Yes, Wikipedia links are exclusively no-follow links. Also, Wikipedia is the most trusted source of information for any niche, topic, and search engine.

So, as one of the most established websites available, Wikipedia links are primarily built to pass trust rather than power, which offers a great opportunity to receive backlinks from a highly relevant page.

 

Internal Linking

We’ve left internal linking last on the list because they are the most different type of link within the foundation links strategy and the most important type of links you can build within your domain.

Think of them as a gateway for users navigating a specific page or blog post within your site towards important, related, relevant content or even product or service sections that will generate leads for your business.

Internal linking is an important part of any good website architecture. It allows you to evenly distribute link juice and the experience of users coming from your referring external backlinks.

This is one of the most important aspects of SEO that you should not overlook.

 

Closing thoughts

Foundation links are a crucial and valuable backlink strategy that will allow your site to gain on your competitors and improve your rankings from very early on in your site’s online presence. They also form a stable core of your backlink profile that will stand the test of time and multiple search engine algorithm updates.

They achieve this by striving for high trust and authority, coupled with a great mix of strong links and complementary social signals, blog comments, Wikipedia links, and press releases.

It goes without saying, foundation links massively help your link building strategy and are a must for any site that’s looking to increase:

• Rankings for their keyword
• Authority
• Traffic
• And more importantly, their trust

The comprehensive mix of a good foundation link package ensures your site benefits from all its types of backlinks and the added power and trust that comes with complementing powerful backlinks.

Getting your foundation links right can be tricky, time-consuming, and have adverse results, especially if you don’t hire professionals who understand your SEO and link-building needs.

Hopefully, this article can give you useful information on what your foundation links should contain, where each type of link should be aimed, and how to ensure you get the most out of all of them.

If you don’t have time or think you may need the help of an expert, just know that we can help you better understand the current needs of your site with our ranking blueprint. Also, you can check our case studies and customer review sections if you want to know exactly what we can do for your site.

Or better yet, schedule a free strategy call. Together with one of our experts, we can help you get an in-depth look at your site and the services we think can help you achieve your link building goals.