Almost every SEO forum these days is littered with questions about “Link wheels”, and there seems to be a lot of misunderstanding around concept, implementation, and Google “legality” of using a Linkwheel, and lately even the occasional question from clients has been popping up too, and so being both helpfull and lazy, we thought we would summarise the subject and then just point people here, rather than have the same conversation over and over again. The first time we saw the actual term “Link wheel” used was by a young guy calling himself Lemonarian, who has since achieved relative fame around the subject, even though since the Pro SEOs got involved he’s not at the top of the charts for “Link Wheel” any more, but he was the first using the term we are aware of. However the idea of using a group of sites interlinked together for better rankings is not new at all, it’s just going under a different name and very much easier to do these days, it used to be known as a Mini net, famously written about by Michael Campbell in Revenge of the Mini Net
So What is a Link wheel?
A link wheel is basically a bunch of “sites” or you will also hear them referred to as “web 2.0″ properties” which actually just means pages hosted on other large, free-to-register sites. As above, you can see each “property” links one to the main site, and once to the next property, in a ring, like a wheel. If you envisage your site as the hub of the wheel, and each link in is a spoke, from a property on the wheel “rim” , that’s about it the strength of it.
Do Link Wheels Work?
This is a bit like saying “Do dogs bite?” Some will, some won’t, some might just nip you. The fact is, that done properly by people who know what they are doing, they can have a very positive effect on rankings for specific keywords, we have seen them used in various situations, and with varying measures of success.
Are Linkwheels “Black hat” SEO?
This is where the subject starts getting controversial, because as linkwheels become more commonly spoken about in general forums etc, lots of the public are starting to assume that they must be OK because everyone’s doing it. In our opinion, Link Wheels range from the “Not really White Hat” right thro’ to “Witchety Black Hat” depending on the intention and the methodology (automation) used.
“Not really white hat”, because the Google guidelines, while not actually mentioning them directly, (yet) do clearly state that anything done with the purpose of manipulating Pagerank, for rankings, rather than for the benefit of your visitors, is against their TOS and *may* affect your rankings.
Through to blackhat, whereby people are using automated programs to spin articles, and churn out interlinked wheels, sometimes using hundreds of properties, further using automation to submit the feeds from each to multiple RSS directories, and can put Link Wheels up from zero to done in two hours, well clearly that’s pretty black hat behaviour.
Will Google Ban Me for Using a Link Wheel?
Anything *could* happen, but the reality is that it in practice it seems very unlikely, simply because it is Google’s stated policy that it should be approaching impossible to hurt competitors by anything you do, so if it was as easy as just pointing dodgy link wheels at your peers and waiting for them to vanish, everyone really would be doing that. Also, circumstantial evidence perhaps, but we have never once seen a “Linkwheel got me banned” forum post, which is not to say there arent any, but we roam the SEO net all the time and have never seen one, which kind of suggests it doesn’t happen often.
It is far more likely and makes good sense for Google to attempt to detect and devalue link wheels, so the whole thing is a waste of time and effort, rather than any kind of direct penalty, as it’s impossible to actually say who built or commissioned the wheel.
Should I Get a Link Wheel Built?
This has to be a personal decision, based on your own individual needs. We do not recommend their use for clients, and especially so “proper” clients, who have any kind of brand or brand ambitions. If you are not on a super-tight timescale, or urgently need better rankings to improve sales, save your business from going bust and feed your family, then it’s probably better to play by Google’s longetivity rules. However, if you need a quick inexpensive boost to certain rankings are are prepared to maybe either lose them again further down the line, or possibly waste your money in the first place, then playing the slightly more risky and less bluey white game might pay off for you.
Should I Build My Own Link Wheel?
Again, depends on the individual scenario and your technical competence, although since things have moved on greatly since the basic closed linkwheel shown above worked, so if you want one that definitely works you would be better finding a good linkwheel supplier.
More Link Wheel Reading
- Lemonarian’s Ultimate Linkwheel FAQ
- Link Wheel Tips – How To Make a Linkwheel That Works
- More Linkwheel FAQs (from a helpful supplier we know)
- White hat Link Wheels – backlinks from forums and stay on Google’s good side.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Not really sure if this method is still worth it, given that it requires monotonous tasks to be implemented plus Google devaluing links coming from these channels, though it’s just my opinion. I think it’s still best to try and acquire natural content-driven links.
Link wheels have there place in SEO. However as said in the post above it is dependent on your situation and your ultimate goals. How the link wheel is setup also needs to align with your goals. For example if you are after longevity then you should consider building a wheel with high quality content, posted on only the top sites, with an open linking strategy. On the other hand if you are after something quick and in the short term you can use lower quality content, post on more sites and have a more closed wheel structure.
Link wheels may not pack the punch they once did, but with some creativity, certain niches can definitely benefit from the principle of using the outer part of the “wheel” to support both the main site and other sites that link to it. Say you have a site about investment banking and you can post articles on some other investment sites. Putting links to both your main site and your articles on investment site B in your articles on investment site A is a simple way to improve the value of all involved.
It is kind of funny how “grey” or black hat tactics, when used responsibly (meaning in a way that still provides value to the user) can still work very well. It is all about moderation, I suppose.
Link wheels, used properly can be very powerful. Like you say though, it does vary, I’ve had some sites rocket up through the Google rankings, but then I’ve also had other sites maybe move up just 1 or 2 spaces. Personal I build link wheels, but like everything else regarding backlinks, they have to be built over time.
Hay all, I would just like to say thanks to the author for a great post on link wheels. Its actually nice to come across someone that actually knows what there talking about. Have been doing a bit a research on link wheels lately and some sites left me more confused than when i started.
So thanks again to the author,
Dave.