Natural growth of a backlink profile means that links accumulate gradually, from a variety of sources, and in connection with what the company does and publishes. A sudden increase of hundreds of links from similar websites in a short time is a typical pattern of artificial link building, and search engines respond by ceasing to take such links into account. A profile in which all links point to a single page, or come from a single type of source, is equally suspicious. A healthy profile contains links to the homepage, to content and to product pages, and mixes media, partners, directories and industry websites. For a company, it follows that link building is a long-term activity tied to content and relationships, not a one-off campaign.
See also: Linkbait, PBN and risky practices, Backlink profile.
