To the casual observer, search engine optimization sounds intimidating. Not only does this subject demand hundreds of variables of individual knowledge contributing to high ranks, it also involves risk. Improper practice of this strategy could end up causing setbacks rather than benefits.
Link-building is one key vulnerable tactic to possible setbacks. Engaging in manipulative linking or building too many bad links could cause you to become penalized by Google.
Getting a Google penalty from link-building has thus caused the creation of a stigma steering too many folks away from engaging in a campaign of link-building. On the other hand, since links happen to be the highest factor that correlates with getting a high rank, links are a must!
Two Options
There are two options you have if you want to do some linking. One is to start doing some link-building yourself. The other is to pray, hope or wait that people start linking to your page. This method is preferred by Google.
Let’s face it. No one wants to upset Google. On the other hand, there is an approach much more pragmatic for marketers that don’t have the luxury of hoping and waiting for others to begin linking to their site while the competition reaches top rank with the help of strategic campaigns for link-building.
Google For Real
In fairness, Google wants to provide users with the best possible content. These are how sites are ranks. In evaluating ranks, there are a couple of primary considerations. These are authority and relevance. In other words, a site’s relevance is measured by its appropriateness. For instance, if someone looks for DIY sushi recipes, naturally, Google favours sites that actually have recipes on how to make your own sushi. This is what being relevant is all about.
It is more complicated when it comes to authority. This is a measure of the trustworthiness of a site. For a page to rank, both relevance and authority are needed. To top it off, the best method of attaining greater authority is through linking.
On Who’s Authority?
There are two levels of website authority- the page level and the domain level. Page levels measure how likely pages rank on a search engine. Domain authority relatively measures from zero to one hundred, the likelihood of an entire site to rank in a search engine very well.
Where Do Links Come In?
So when do links come into the picture? Both page authority and domain authority are counted depending on the quality and quantity of links inbound to the individual page or to the whole domain.
From the perspective of a search engine, a link works by passing one’s site authority to another. For instance, if you build links pointing to your latest posts on your blog, this link transfers authority both to the overall domain and to that page. When a link rests on a page with higher authority, your site gets more authority as well. Thus, link building on sites that are more trustworthy is both harder but more valuable.
Don’t Make Google Mad
The way you build links needs to be natural to avoid the ire of Google. The penguin algorithm of Google is created to target and identify manipulative links. The bad news is that it does a really great job. Too many linking will be categorized as manipulative and you get a penalty that will make recovery hard.
Natural Is Best
This is why we believe that every link needs to be naturally earned. Others should be linking to your page without really having ulterior motives. While Google prefers that everyone think the same way, the reality is far from this.
What’s The Problem?
When you use link building naturally has a few problems that come with it. For one thing, you won’t be able to control the speed in which others link back to you. This is another problem with naturally earned links. You won’t be able to do any course plotting or natural scaling since you won’t have control where or how you earn links. Rather than increasing the authority sites you target, you are forced to depend on people’s whims.
Another problem is that it is inconsistent. You can produce the best content in the universe but still won’t be able to predict why others are going to start linking back to you. What you produce may get social shares by the thousands and even engage tons of people but still produce zero back links to you. On the other side of the coin, you could earn a few links without really a lot of engagement or social visibility. To put it another way, you can’t solely rely on this approach is you want sustained, predictable results.
The Best Method
What Google really does not want you to know is that the best method to build links is to do both link building and link earning. Build links manually to avoid any penalties from Google. For one, avoid link schemes that involve paying for links. This gets you penalized fast. Rather, link building through guest posts after you provide thoughtful, well-written content. Include relevant links within a well-written piece that point back to your website.
Do this process repeatedly and gradually you scale up your domain and page authority. This translates to organic rankings for your page. This is a reliable, albeit slower method of real link building. By prioritizing good quality and keeping the best interest of users in mind, there is nothing you need to really worry about. Remember Michael Jordan’s quote? He said something like, “Some folks want it to happen, some wish it happened while others make it happen.”
Don’t keep avoiding link building merely due to its possibilities of earning you penalties. When what you want is higher ranks in a search engine, what you need is back links. There are methods you can use to earn natural links. However, if you build links yourself manually, you get more consistent, reliable and effective links.
