link building

Why Backlinks Still Matter

by SEO Savvy September 11th, 2014

In the wake of Google’s most recent algorithm updates earlier this year – which punished sites for aggressive link building strategies – the SEO community wondered if Google would kill off backlinks altogether, even the legitimate ones. However, despite the algorithm tweaks, Matt Cutts announced, “backlinks still really help in terms of making sure that we return the best, most relevant, most topical set of search results.”

So, do backlinks matter? The short answer: yes. Quality backlink building –creating the “good” backlinks that Cutts’ referred to in his announcement – can give your site a natural boost. Here’s what your business needs to know:

The Importance of Links

Despite the rumors of its demise, link building is still one of the best ways to improve search visibility and increase brand exposure. Amit Singhal, Google’s unofficial head of search, said, “Links are clearly an important signal about the importance of your content. They’re still very valuable.” The key, of course, is to have more “good” links on your site and fewer “bad” links.

Good v. Bad Links: What’s the Difference?

Links send positive signals to Google, which can help improve trust or quality signals for a domain. Link building also helps to create new relationships between businesses and websites. But not all links are created equal.

For example, years ago, SEO companies encouraged businesses to create keyword rich anchor text links. If you wanted to rank highly for “used car deals” then you would vary your links to feature these keywords as anchor text. These links are the perfect example of what not to do these days, as Google could penalize you for overusing keyword anchor text.

The same goes for the unrelated placement of links. It’s also important to think about what sites are linking to your website. For example, if you’ve got a lot of low quality links from directories that are not related to your industry or too many press release article links with exact match anchor text, Google may send you a manual action notification in Webmaster Tools.

Good Links: “Networking” with Peer Websites

Good links come from a related website that operates in the same niche as yours. Ideally, this site is an industry authority; it should already rank high in your industry, and be well known and trusted. When creating these links, do not use keyword rich anchor text. Instead, use your domain name or your company name as the anchor text and ensure the link is completely natural and makes sense within the context of the blog post or article.

For example, let’s say that your business is posting a short blog post on an industry website. The blog includes commentary on a major industry report, and your business happens to offer a service that is discussed in conjunction with this report analysis. It would be perfectly acceptable to link your business’s name directly to this specific service page. Based on both Cutts’ and Singhal’s commentary, this would be a “good” link that is completely natural and not spam – exactly the type of link you need to drive more traffic to your website and boost your trust with search engines.

How to Earn Inbound Links

by SEO Savvy June 17th, 2014

Is there still a place for link building? The debate isn’t necessarily whether link building is alive or dead, but what links mean from a marketing standpoint. As with all aspects of SEO, link building has evolved. And as our efforts are refocused based on algorithm updates and industry evolution, we shift our gaze to link earning rather than link building.

What does this mean? Link building is still an important part of SEO, but in order to make the most of your inbound links, the focus, as always should be on quality rather than quantity.  Building a brand with a link earning approach is a more traditional method that, when done correctly, will naturally produce inbound links.

Link building has evolved, and diversifying your link building efforts and tactics is absolutely necessary.

You can earn those links by:

• Interviewing industry experts and making yourself available to be interviewed, thus positioning yourself as an expert authority. HARO is an incredible resource: Sign up for newsletters for your industry, and respond to pitches. This gets your name out there, and can even act as a plug for your business. If you want to go a step further, sign up as a reporter to pitch queries yourself, and you’ll soon find yourself with industry resources available to you.
• Doing in-person networking at local events and building relationships that may lead to links. Networking isn’t just for sales staff and job seekers. Meeting others in your industry can bring about partnerships and collaborations. Go to events with an open mind, plenty of ideas, and a helpful spirit, and you may be surprised by the connections that you make. Others are likely willing to help you, if you’re open to it.
• Joining business and industry organizations, like the Chamber of Commerce, and ensuring that you’re listed in the online member directories. There are many reasons to join your local Chamber of Commerce, including making new connections, receiving publicity for your business, and increasing your credibility. This is possibly the simplest way to make yourself visible in the community, but the more you extend yourself and become involved, the better off your business will be.
• Updating outdated content and fixing bad backlinks. Where you want to earn links is always going to be a part of your strategy. Moz used competitive analysis to determine ways in which to build links on .gov and .edu sites. If you have information that is relevant and well written, you can help these reputable sites by letting them utilize your information. And if you have a history of bad backlinks, you can use these new, good links to fix your reputation.
• Creating compelling, relevant content. Links in the right context are still a valuable resource. Your inbound links should connect users to content of quality – YOUR content. By spending significant time and energy on your content, you’ll have content worthy of inbound links from other websites. When you’re truly writing content that’s geared towards your audience, rather than regurgitating bland facts, you’re much more likely to have luck earning links.

Although link building has evolved, it still plays an important role in your overall search marketing strategy. With recent algorithm changes at Google, you’ll just have to work a little harder to ensure that your inbound links are contextually relevant, add to a positive user experience, and highlight the high-quality content that you’re providing to your users.