Google SERPs are like a mosh pit at a heavy metal music festival – not only is it crowded, it can also be brutal. It may seem impossible to work your way up the results pages, especially when you operate in a competitive or niche space, however, it is possible. We’re going to jump right in and teach you about the top 4 reasons your website may not be ranking high on SERPs and what you can do about it. Continue reading →
Rick Grimes probably wasn’t pondering backlinks in 2021 when he said, “We don’t kill the living” in AMC’s The Walking Dead.
Oddly enough, Grimes’ quote can be applied to backlinks today. It beckons the question: Why kill backlinks if they’re still alive?
Don’t!
Backlinks aren’t dead – and there’s certainly no reason to squash them in 2021.
Backlinks, “inbounding links” or “incoming links” connect webpages through incoming hyperlinks and are created when websites link to each other.
Backlinks signal greater Google (and other search engine) authority, upping search engine rankings. Backlinks can be a leading benchmark performance indicator of stellar content marketing and SEO strategy.
In fact, the number of domains linking to a page was the top factor in correlating the highest rankings in Google, according to Backlinko.
Backlinks for the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2021? Fingers crossed.
The positive correlation coefficient between authoritative backlinks and website ranking is real: As your website develops authoritative backlinks, Google recognizes that and boosts your ratings. Your website is power-hungry for king or queenship as the top #1 spot on Google, right? Finding cutting-edge ways to maximize quality, authoritative backlinks to improve SEO can only help. Hard-earned backlinks can bolster a site’s ranking position and search visibility with Google.
Google’s algorithms are a beacon of constant change – but backlinks remain.
Sure, business owners may hear about the mélange of options to boost SEO in 2021. This may give the impression backlinks are not in-vogue, wandering aimlessly in Myspace forgotten-land.
Not true – backlinks are alive and well.
Backlinks remain one of Google’s top three ranking factors. Link building and backlink maintenance will continue to be a part of a successful SEO strategy heading into 2021.
There are many reasons why backlinks aren’t dead in 2021.
‘Yes’ votes still count. Backlinks represent “votes” for specific pages, according to rankings for Google and other search engines like Bing, Baidu, and Yahoo. They’re a signal to search engines that other web pages “vouch” for your content. It makes sense that more backlinks equal pages with boosted organic search engine rankings. Linking one website to another is still perceived by Google as votes of confidence and authority. Well-earned backlinks coming from topically relevant, authoritative websites remain beneficial.
Public relations still benefit from backlinks. Backlink development from websites with high authority such as Search Engine Journal, Wine Enthusiast, and Forbes Magazine certainly isn’t a one-recipe-fits-all situation, and it may require some top-level groveling from the public relations department. Leveraging public relations is all about offsite SEO building in this case. You can build brand mentions through your business connections or become a source for bloggers and publication writers, for example. Provide value to clients you want a backlink from.
More resources, more backlink potential. As resources grow, your resource backlinks must keep pace. Resource link building adds value to the audience by asking, “How can I help my audience?” Resources can change, expand, be modified, or even be eliminated. If you’re a private entity, think about relevant outside resources for your client, as well as the plethora of business associations in your local area that you might be able to network within.
Backlinks still establish relevance. With tons of websites competing for Google’s top search results, it’s evolutionarily advantageous to stand out amongst “unverified” sources. Keep two qualities in mind. First, seek backlinks from quality, authoritative sites. The degree of technicality in your field can oftentimes dictate whether it’s a common-sense decision or one worth investing in researching. Second, seek backlinks with a solid contextual connection – there are more now than ever before with the wide variety of businesses springing up. Relevant backlinks aren’t easily attainable. Supercharging SEO strategy with the correct backlinks can start with identifying ways to earn these authoritative backlinks – think of human networking potential as a valuable backlink commodity.
Business-related services need backlinks. Many local businesses provide professional services that need backlinks. If you’re a business servicing the public with medical, legal, financial, engineering, or science-related services, having quality backlinks is important as your search results will likely be narrowed according to a specific field of expertise. Specificity demands specificity in this case. For example, a medical products manufacturer in Ventura, CA may have a very limited demographic scope of potential buyers keying in on “silicon-based medical products,” so the power of backlinks that connect relevant sources within that field is even more relevant today than ever.
Backlink analytics can help you. Edging out the competition requires knowing the competition. A thorough analysis of your competition’s backlinks’ performance can offer key insight into how to adjust backlink strategy to match performance – or how not to make the same mistakes. Traffic analytics will remain a steadfast portion of the diet of every business looking to capitalize on organic website traffic from backlinks. Curious how to build backlinks with authority? Analyze competitors who do.
The fact of the matter is that it’s all interpretation, as the exact logarithmic equation of how Google ranks content is a moving and complex target. Despite what some may say to the contrary, most internet marketing experts agree that backlinks will remain a ranking factor you should pay attention to – at least for the near future. There also appears to be an overarching consensus pointing to original, quality long-format content as a driving force in backlink potency.
Read ‘em and weep: Backlinks aren’t dead, according to data collected from many authoritative online sources for SEO and SEM. Here are some statistics that speak to their importance:
By the numbers: Backlinks
2% of content generates links from multiple websites (Backlinko)
92% of respondents said links will be an algorithmic signal in five years (Aira)
69% said links will be an algorithmic signal in 10 years (Aira)
69% believe buying links can positively affect Google rankings (Aira)
71% said Google still relies heavily on links for ranking (Aira)
52% expect organic search engine ranks to stay constant in the future (Aira)
77% said it takes 1-6 months to observe any changes in organic rankings after a link-building effort (Aira)
You have now heard the “why.” It’s time for the “how.” How exactly do you improve backlinks in 2021?
If backlinks aren’t dead, then it’s in your best interest to feed the monster. Be sure to stay up-to-date with SeoTuners’ blog for more information on how to improve your backlinks.
If you’ve seen The Walking Dead, you know Rick Grimes drove his friends to survive against all odds during the apocalyptic, zombie-infested cult classic. If you think about it, maybe Rick was onto something – maybe it is best to let backlinks walk amongst the living.
Small, medium and large businesses alike can benefit from a thorough analysis of backlinks. At SeoTuners, we understand the difference between quality and quantity, and our custom link building and outreach approach can help you earn high page authority. Based in Ventura, Calif., SeoTuners is proud to also service the greater Los Angeles County area. Contact us today for a consultation at (877) 736-1112.
Everyone is trying to make a website that is search engine friendly in order to rank higher. It’s a no-brainer that people get in the SEO game since it’s still the number one way for a business to be seen. However, if you want to rank higher, you have to play by the search engine’s rules.
The more links you have coming into your site, the more people refer to you for something you’re good at. Your number of links is how Google can see how valuable your site is to searchers. The truth of the matter is that even if you have a lot of amazing content if you aren’t being linked by other people, search engines won’t acknowledge your site as valuable.
A backlink is a reference from another web page to your own web page. This is very different from the “outbound” or outgoing links from your page. Do not confuse the two. A backlink is also called an inbound link (IBL) and these links are very important in determining the popularity (or importance) of your web site for search engines.
It is better to have fewer high-quality links, than thousands of links that bring no value to your backlink profile. Weak or risky backlinks won’t help your rankings at all. It can even hurt you as these links can get you a Google penalty!
Because not all links are created equal, you need to be very careful when you start a link building campaign. Build links for your business, for your customers, make them relevant and associate them with great content. Your users will be happy, and Google will keep you in the search results causing your business to grow.
Here are some guidelines to keeping your backlinks beneficial:
Make Sure The Link Comes From An Authoritative Site
Search engines want to see links that come from high-quality sites that are associated with the outbound link given. Therefore, if you have a link from a completely unrelated site, it won’t be as valuable as a link from a related site.
For example, if you are a flooring business and you are getting links from an internet forum about baked goods, something would seem off to the search engine. And rightly so! Why would a forum discussing the types of cupcakes available want to link to your flooring company? It doesn’t make sense to users and it won’t make sense to the search engines either.
Make Sure The Anchor Text Is Specific
The anchor text for your backlinks is extremely important. Hyperlinking to a page with clear, specific anchor text is a big win for both the user and search engines. Constantly throwing sites the same anchor text will not help you. Google wants to see organic links being built and any attempt to trick the search engines will be frowned upon and isn’t worth the risk.
Make Sure They Are Relevant To On-Page Content
Backlinks aren’t just there for no reason; they serve as an SEO metric and they should enhance a reader’s experience. Backlinks need to be relevant to the content they’re in and actually provide supplemental information. Think of it from the reader’s perspective—backlinks won’t add any value if they’re bringing readers to completely unrelated sites.
Google aims to provide users with helpful, relevant content that answers queries. Unrelated and distracting backlinks get in the way of that. Google considers relevant backlinks to be much more valuable than a backlink from a random, unrelated site. A dermatology clinic site that links to a used car Q&A forum would probably send a red flag to Google (and also confuse readers browsing the site).
Make Sure They Don’t Come From One Site
Having a variety of sites that link to your site is a productive goal. If a site has a lot of backlinks, but they all of them come from one site, this will look spammy to Google.
You should actively strategize to build strong backlinks from a range of relevant sites.
However, Google has no problem with websites linking to each other for legitimate reasons. It is a natural occurrence on the web if a news story on the BBC cites an article on CNN, then a few weeks later CNN cites a story from the BBC.
This is technically a reciprocal link, but should Google penalize for it? No, because there are genuine reasons for these websites to link to each other and they are doing it in a natural way that is good for users.
Make Sure You Are Selective About Hidden Or Paid Links
A hidden backlink is exactly what it sounds like; it is invisible to a user and the search engine. Sounds sketchy, right? It is. A backlink that is hidden—whether by manipulating text and background colors or hiding the link in a punctuation mark—is a “black hat” SEO strategy that clearly defies Google’s best practices.
Paid backlinks are a grey area in the SEO world because certain methods of paid links are viewed as legitimate, while some aren’t. If a link has been paid for that doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad. Since this a grey area, you should be picky with paid methods. If the site’s content is related to your industry, you won’t be penalized for paying for ad space. Paid directory business listings are also fine, as long as they’re reputable.
The best directories are the ones that also provide useful information for your customers. The directories that provide no real value to the internet user are to be avoided.
Make Sure Your Backlinks Are Not Spammy
Spammy backlink tactics can cause real harm to your domain. The longer you allow the spammy techniques to continue, the more work you will have to get those spammy links removed. If you notice that your current SEO service is building spammy backlinks, you should notify them immediately and discontinue service. These tactics will harm your rankings!
Spammy backlinks lnclude:
Article Marketing Spam
Poorly Executed Guest Blogs
Single-Post Blogs
(Paid) Site-Wide Links
Linkbait and Switch
If you’re interested in improving your website’s search traffic, get in touch with us today. SeoTuners can offer an affordable solution for your business to increase exposure and SERP rankings with organic SEO strategies like keywords. we’re confident we have a solution for all your marketing needs.
