David Hodson-Whittle
This list will highlight black hat or outdated linkbuilding techniques to be avoided at costs.
Your article would be better placed on 1 high quality relevant site as opposed to 10 lower quality sites.
Never be tempted to buy backlinks. Sometimes it sounds too good an opportunity to miss, and maybe it will give you a quick boost, before it inevitably plunges you into the depths of Googles lower ranking pages. Don't do it. The introduction of Google's Penguin has resulted in penalties for websites who violate Google's webmaster guidelines - largely blackhat backlinking techniques. Google will now recognise the quality of links over the quantity. It should not be a quick fix solution, but rather an organic process. It will take time, but be assured that you will reap the benefits.
An old trick which is still unfortunately used far too frequently by some is to write spammy comments on blogs. Often comments such as 'good blog', or 'thanks', followed by shameless plugging of their own products, and a link back to their site, which for the most part is completely irrelevant to the blog post. Never be tempted to do this. It's spammy and unprofessional. If you wish to comment on a blog, or course you can do so, but ensure your comment is specifically related to the information contained in that blog, and only link to your site IF there is a good, relevant reason for doing so.
Forums certainly have their place in SEO. Good, well informed contributions to discussions can and often do lead to a drive in visitors to your site as well as increasing your company's profile and improving your standing in your field. Most quality forums will expect you to contribute a certain amount of times before allowing a link to be placed on your comments. However, there are some lower quality forums who do not police contributions, which inevitably leads to spammy comments which are often completely irrelevant to any discussion, with the sole aim of adding a backlink. Forums will ban people who are suspected of using this tactic, so beware.
There are thousands of directories out there, most offering a free link. However, beware. Dont be tempted to join them all. This is not to say that all directories are a no go area, just be selective. Join relevant, high profile directories. You will not reap the benefits of joining hundreds of low quality directories. As always, think quality, not quantity.
