Many web masters know that there are several key elements that go into proper website development and maintenance – search engine optimization, content creation, aesthetic appeal and intuitive layouts are just a few of these components. In previous years, the layout and design of a website was more focused on access and less focused on appeal: as long as users and search engines could find and index said content, many people were not as judgemental on the way your site appeared. With revolutions in technology, however, more businesses and websites are reluctant to provide backlinks to websites that look less than phenomenal. If you have encountered this during your link building approaches, then continue reading to find out how you can establish backlinks regardless of your site’s design.

Choose Your Domain Name Carefully

While this may not be possible if your website is already in existence, a domain name carries a lot of authority and virtually everyone will judge the quality of your website based on this selection. Many webmasters will be reluctant to provide a backlink to a website that has a spammy-looking URL (for example: www.we-buy-used-shoes.com), for fear that pinging to Google such a URL from their own site could hurt their rankings. Any URL that reeks of keyword stuffing will set off alarms for most web masters who are concerned about their own rankings in search engines. Any domain name should strive to be as simple as possible and exude a sense of authority – do not pick a long or keyword-laden alternative.

Eliminate Any Spam

In the pursuit of better search engine optimization practices, many websites have abandoned the more controversial and potentially negative elements such as keyword stuffing and spam linking. If your website is currently less than thrilling in the aesthetics department, then you must rely upon quality content to persuade readers and webmasters alike. No one will want to link to a website that is laden with low-quality attempts to game search engine rankings, as it will ultimately come back to bite them. If you have any questionable SEO tactics in place or have created dozens of low-quality pieces of content, then eliminate them as soon as possible in order to improve your website’s long-term appeal.

Combine Evergreen and Fresh Content

A good metric of any website is the amount and quality of the content it produces, but you do not want to limit yourself to one particular style. Evergreen content (commonly thought of as how-tos and other “timeless” pieces of information) can go a long way in bringing new traffic to your website on a consistent basis, but fresh content also alerts potential linkers that your website is consistently updated and active. When you use fresh content and evergreen content, the message is conveyed that you not only provide valuable information that will remain useful, but that you also understand that current events help attract new visitors. As all of this content is pinging to Google and other search engines, you will also experience a boost in search rankings due to the diversity.