What set Google apart from the competition over 20 years ago was that a ranking factor was the links to a website. By letting the community vote on the value of a website, Google returned amazingly relevant results. It is like a popularity vote.These links to websites gave them authority from the linking website. We now call them backlinks. It became a major factor in Google rankings, highlighted in their whitepaper on E.E.A.T. Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust.Through the years, Google started to update its algorithm to defeat spam created by marketing agencies. Below are some ways Google has combated spammers and link building.
Content Quality:
In the last 12 months, Google has released two helpful content updates. They are now looking at the quality of the content. Agencies would tell their clients, “don’t worry about the content, it’s just a link.” That is not true anymore. Marketers need to contribute to the Internet Ecosystem instead of making it worse, and Google is helping that by devaluing low-quality content.
Link Quality:
Years ago, marketers figured out how to create large numbers of websites for the purpose of link building. These collections of websites are called Private Blog Networks( PBNs). Google has released many updates over the last ten years to combat this. The latest blow to PBNs came with the Google December 2022 link spam update. The quality of the website with the link has to provide value. Not every backlink is treated the same.
Publisher Quality:
How do you determine the quality of the publisher? Moz has long been one of the most popular metrics marketers have used. They publish a Domain Authority Score (DA) based on a number of 1-100. The higher the score, the better the site. However, we have found that the DA isn’t always a good metric to follow. It can be manipulated by spammers very easily. Don’t always rely on one metric; validate with two. Because of inconsistent metrics, search traffic is an excellent 2nd metric to use.
Validate with Search Traffic:
The best way to see if a site has value is to look at the traffic they are receiving from Google. Google will only send traffic to quality websites so that traffic can be used to validate third-party metrics. SEMrush is another company that publishes metrics with an estimated quality score based on current keyword rankings. DA and search traffic combined will give you the best insight into a quality website.
Guest Blogging:
The best link building marketing effort for rankings is through Guest Blogging. By providing helpful quality content, the publisher will reward you with a backlink to your website as a reference to the content provided. The process of picking the right content to write about, writing the content, searching for a publisher to provide a backlink, and getting them to publish your content can be a time-consuming task.
Liftmyrank.com is an easy online ordering app for backlinks through Guest Blogging. The backend is powered by Red Canyon Media’s technology and fulfillment services. Because of Red Canyon Media’s Technology and process-driven services, you can rest assured that you will get consistent quality. To understand the process, check out our website.