There’s been recent buzz that Google is rolling out a new algorithm change. When questioned about this via twitter, Gary Illyes of Google said that they make updates every day. Good answer!
Known for the funky names associated with their updates (Penguin, Hummingbird), Illyes joked that from now on, every Google update will be called “Fred.” As in, Flintstone.
While we can’t know specifically what is changing, we can observe the outcomes: which websites are dipping in search results, and which are climbing. Experts are concluding that the “Fred” updates are link quality algorithm updates. The websites doing extremely well under the updates are the ones with high quality backlinks.
If the phrase “backlinks” sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve written about them before! Check out a few of our articles to get up to speed:
- What are backlinks and why do I need them?
- How much SEO value do backlinks have?
- SEO: Backlinks vs. Outbound links
Why does Google value backlinks?
If you think about it, Google giving priority to websites with a solid network of backlinks makes perfect sense. After all, what does a backlink imply?
It implies that another website has deemed your content important enough to include it as a linked resource in their own content.
It’s brilliant, really. By valuing backlinked sites and moving them up in search results, Google is letting researchers, marketers, and content writers do the legwork of discovering the most valuable content out there.
Marketers are essentially polling the content on the internet, determining what’s the best stuff, and linking to it in their own content. The result? The linked site ranks highly.
It’s no surprise that writers and marketers link to popular resources: Forbes, Huffington Post, Wikipedia. Every industry has their own high-ranking resource site that they go to for the latest and greatest content.
These sites have prominent SEO for many reasons, but one reason is because they have tens of thousands of backlinks. Each of those links is a virtual voice saying “This site is valuable!” And Google takes notice.
What makes a backlink valuable?
It’s not enough to have a mass amount of watered down links. Having a handful of your colleagues include a link to your website is going to have minimal impact on your SEO. Backlinks have to be from quality sources to make a big difference in SEO.
The following factors all involve how Google determines the quality of a backlink. These factors all apply to the website that is including a link to your site. Seeking out quality websites to provide a backlink to your site is critical.
- Domain authority: is the website a high-ranking, prominent site?
- Site popularity: how much traffic do they get?
- Topic authority: how important, current, and valuable is the article topic?
- Relevance: is the linked article relevant to the article it’s linking?
- Link placement: is the linked text a relevant keyword phrase, or is it “click here”?
- Other links: how do the other links in the article measure up to the above criteria?
How can I build backlinks?
It’s undisputed that quality backlinks are the supreme ranking factor in SEO. The question is, how can a business go about getting valuable backlinks? This requires some legwork.
- First, you need to have solid content on your site. You need a blog, and it needs a full bank of articles in it. Once you have valuable content in place, you need to share it.
- Spread your content strategically and regularly on social media. Share your articles through email, and get people to think of you as a resource. This is an ongoing practice. You can only help yourself by creating and sharing content consistently.
- Knock on doors, so to speak. This is the part where you send personal inquiries asking authoritative sites to link to your site. This article is full of ideas on building backlinks.
Step three isn’t an overnight success. In some ways, it’s about old fashioned bartering…why should they link you? Be prepared to answer in your inquiry. Maybe you can provide them new exposure to a different audience.
Remember, link building doesn’t happen overnight. The longer your site is around and the more content you publish and share, the better your SEO will be. Links don’t happen by themselves, though.
To gain the links that make a difference, you need to be proactive. Know who the key online resources are in your industry. Share your best content with them, and ask that they link your article. Make sure they know what’s in it for them!
One last word of advice: don’t waste your money buying links. Google knows that game, and you won’t win.
If you know you need help in the content department, reach out to Sprout. We offer affordable packages that include blogging and social media. Start your content game first, then work on getting links!
Contact us to hear how we can help you climb in search rankings!