Link Building After Google Core Update. Traffic Correlation

Introduction

After a significant and volatile Google update in April 2024, a client approached us with a request for forum backlinks for a project in the health sector, specifically focused on olive oil.

Declining Traffic Trend

The client was concerned about the impact of the update on their website's visibility and sought help in improving keyword visibility and referring domains.

Solution with Forum Backlinks

Forum backlinks are well-suited for this task, as they allow for a diversified link profile with various domains, add natural citation to the site, and strengthen keywords, all within a modest budget.

Technical Specifications

• DR>20, traffic>300 according to Ahrefs.
• Dofollow/Nofollow ratio of 50/50 for a natural link profile.
• The thread must be relevant to the project’s theme.
• Only unique domains.

Since the site was not new, we advised the client to increase the link growth by 10-15% monthly for organic placement. However, the client declined due to a fixed budget. Therefore, we recommended maintaining a consistent link growth rate without reducing it. It was crucial to ensure a steady and gradual placement so that the links appeared progressively and naturally.

Service Details

Forum backlinks involve placing links on forums in topics relevant to the project's niche, even if the forum domain is general. The process includes writing a thematic comment of over 300 characters that organically fits into the relevant forum thread and includes a link to the client’s site.

Regular use of this method increases keyword visibility in search results, boosts referring domains, and makes the link profile appear more natural to search engines like Google.

Forum links can be a vital element of a link-building strategy and help improve search result rankings.

Work Process

Every month, we placed 50 unique forum backlinks according to the client's technical specifications. The placements were done over 14 days, with the deadline usually around 14-17 days. This time was spent selecting forums and finding relevant threads.

The cost of one forum backlink was $6. Over 3 months of SEO promotion with forum links, $900 was spent, and 150 links were placed.

Results

Predicting SEO results is impossible as it depends on many factors, regular work, and time. We have been working on the project for four months, and here are the interim results:

Change in key metrics from Ahrefs over the last 30 days

Increase in Google impressions

Examples of placed links scanned by Ahrefs

Growth in referring domains

Increase in traffic

The results of this project indicate the success of a consistent increase in referring domains and improving keywords visibility.

Remember, each project/site is unique, and replicating similar results is almost impossible. Therefore, when developing a link-building strategy, it is essential to consider the individual characteristics and realities of the project. If you encounter difficulties in building a strategy, feel free to contact us – we are ready to help.