Author Rank
Week 3: Reading Assignment
Video: “What are some effective techniques for building links”?
Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkLFlaWxgJA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
The Beginner’s Guide to SEO (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. : chapters 7,9 & 10
“Google Revises Link Scheme Definitions: Guest Posts, Press Releases, Advertorials Can Hurt Rankings”: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2285276/Google-Revises-Link-Scheme-Definitions-Guest-Posts-Press-Releases-Advertorials-Can-Hurt-Rankings (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
“The Dirty Little Secrets of Search” http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13search.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2& (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
“Why Quality Beats Quantity When Backlinking to your Website” http://stream-seo.com/quality-beats-quantity-backlinking-website/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
“Your Guide to Social Signals in SEO”: http://moz.com/blog/your-guide-to-social-signals-for-seo (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
“What’s Better: On-Page SEO or Link-Building?” http://moz.com/blog/whats-better-on-page-seo-or-link-building (Links to an external site.)Links
Week 3: Off-Page Optimization
Suppose you’re new in town and are searching for a place to enjoy Sunday brunch. As you walk along the street, scanning the menus, prices, and hours of the various restaurants on the main drag, you’re approached by one of the restaurant hosts standing outside. “Are you looking for a hearty breakfast? Might I recommend our little restaurant? In my opinion, we have the BEST Eggs Benedict, and our mimosas are to die for!” You’re not entirely sold until you see an article clipped from the local newspaper hanging in the window: “Voted the best breakfast in town, five years in a row!” Now they’ve got your attention. Just as you lean forward to check out the menu, you’re stopped by a passerby who implores you to try their hash browns—“Honestly, I’ve lived here all my life and have never tasted better potatoes….don’t pass them up!” And with that, you’re sold!
In this example, the prospective patron was intrigued by the host’s internal review of the restaurant, but it was the endorsements of two credible, external sources (the local newspaper article and the seasoned city-dweller) that convinced him that the restaurant was really worth his time. In many ways, this is how search engines determine rank: they consider all of the internal cues provided by a website—its keywords, title tags, internal links, etc.—however, it’s the credible, authoritative external sources linking to the content that help to validate its relevance.
The two operative words in this sentence are “credible” and “authoritative”. Links from numerous online directories, vacuous press releases and your friend’s obscure website will not cut it. Instead, search engines want to see is that a relevant third-party site (with clout and credibility) has voluntarily endorsed your content by linking to it. Does this mean that we should all court the major news organizations, local universities and government institutions in hopes of garnering that coveted, “authoritative and credible” backlink? Absolutely not! The constellation of your link portfolio will vary depending on your niche. What you should focus on is cultivating a natural network of high-quality inbound links—one in which the content is related to the site content and mutually complimentary. The good news? Your efforts should pay-off because quality backlinks are highly correlated with search ranking (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The bad news? Building a robust link graph takes time, which is why many businesses give-in to the lure of quick-fix link schemes (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
To help you stay on the straight-and-narrow and avoid these pitfalls, below is a simple list of “Dos” and “Don’ts” when embarking on a link-building campaign.
1. DO create content that is newsworthy.
The best way to generate a high-quality link graph is…to produce high-quality content. Wah-wah. While this is probably the most obvious piece of SEO advice out there, it’s also one of the most resisted. Why? Because creating quality content that maximizes your visibility requires strategy. What’s your niche? What can you deliver value? Where are the important conversations happening (digitally) and how can you participate? While these questions aren’t always easy to answer, they’re worth your while to consider. As the Search Engine Journal remarked in their review of the top SEO trends in 2012,
Google got much smarter, to the extent that it appears to be able to distinguish between content that adds real value and content that has been posted solely for SEO purposes. “Value” became an important subconscious factor — one that will dictate how Google perceives websites.
Here is the video from Google’s Matt Cutts gives you some specific tactical advice about building links by developing quality content. You’ll note that the resistance to this technique is even evident in the question submitted to Cutts: “Can you please list 5 effective ways of organic link building other than building great content.” Ah, resistance to the bitter end!
Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkLFlaWxgJA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Don’t buy or sell links. Just don’t! Again, obvious advice. But that’s not all. Google has recently extended its definition of link schemes beyond the most obvious offenses (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., to include “unnatural links”, i.e. links in advertorials, links with over-optimized text in articles and press releases, forum comments with optimized links, etc. The descriptions undoubtedly leave some gray area, perhaps intentionally so. After all, is it so bad if you pay to be listed in a specific niche directory if it actually helps a user find your website? Perhaps not. The point is, focus on what’s best for the user and you’re likely to stay in Google’s good graces. Read about JCPenney’s SEO debacle in 2011 for a cautionary tale on link schemes. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
3. DO cultivate a diversified portfolio of backlinks.
Suppose you’re browsing reviews for a new refrigerator. Which would you trust more: 20 glowing reviews from the same person OR 20 reviews from 20 different people, 17 of which are positive. I think I’d go with the latter because it seems more realistic. The same holds true for search engines when they’re evaluating your link graph. If all of your links come from the same website, or exclusively from web pages with a high PageRank, they’ll sense that something’s off and start devaluing those links. For that reason, you want to make sure that your backlinks come from a variety of sources—articles, blog links, local links, keyword/industry specific, social links etc. Doing so will help to demonstrate to the search engines that your popularity is authentic.
4. Don’t prioritize quantity over quality of backlinks.
Remember that not all links are created equal. The search algorithms assign more weight to links that come from trusted sites that are authoritative and relevant. In short, link juice from these web pages will be more concentrated than the link juice from spammy websites. This is why organic link-building yields a better ROI than over-zealous paid campaigns. As an article on Stream SEO (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. points out, “If you’ve ever analyzed the top ten rankings for a keyword on Google, you’ll have seen sites with 10,000 backlinks sitting below those with only 500.” Remember in the game of SEO, quality most often trumps quantity.
5. DO leverage social channels to increase brand awareness
There’s increasing chatter in the blogosphere that social signals (link-sharing, likes, retweets, +1) will overturn links as the most important ranking factor in the years to come. While Google has cautioned Webmasters against hastily writing off the value of links, it is clear that social signals will play an increasing role in the ranking algorithm. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Given this social trajectory, it’s critical that you not only have a seat at the “social table” but that you are actively participating in the conversation. While the direct benefits may improve search rank, the indirect benefits include an effective forum for cultivating brand awareness.
Social has been such a game-changer in digital marketing because it drastically increased the velocity with which information is discovered and shared. As a marketer, this means your article, video, or blog post could go viral overnight. It means you have a direct line to your customers, who have a direct line to their networks, and their networks…..you get my point. The echo effect is REAL. So set up that Facebook page. Post videos to your YouTube account. Nurture that customer relationship by delivering content of value. Because, as Moz’s Guide to Social Signals states, “Participating in social media channels brings brands closer to customers and potential customers. A brand's social media "voice" defines its image and distinguishes it from a distant entity to a hip, trendy, brand.” While you don’t actually have to be “hip” to successfully leverage social media—you do need to be keenly aware of how your brand is represented on these sites. Just because you’re not participating in the conversation doesn’t mean your customers aren’t talking. Better to help cultivate these social signals than to leave them to chance because for better or worse, the search engines are starting to take notice.
6. Don’t forget to iterate.
The web isn’t static and neither should be your SEO strategies. In order for a company to improve or even sustain a quality user experience (and thus a reasonable search ranking), it needs to have its finger on the pulse of the business goals and user goals, all in the context of a shifting digital landscape. Because of this, an effective SEO strategy can never be “set-and-forget.” In order to truly capitalize on your SEO efforts, you must continually evaluate what’s working and what’s not. Benchmark your search performance. See which referral sources drive the most qualified traffic. Monitor macro and micro keyword trends, and adjust your strategies accordingly.
When prioritizing SEO efforts, don’t think of on-page and off-page techniques as an either/or scenario. There may be times when you invest 70% of your efforts in on-page optimization and only 30% on off-page and vice versa. As Moz states in their article, What’s Better, On-Page SEO or Link Building (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., “…there is no one-size fits all solution…Long-term, everyone should pursue a mix of solid on-page structure, unique content, an authoritative link profile, and substantive social presence. Diversity is the best way to future-proof your SEO - if the algo changes or you hit a snag on one pillar, at least there will still be enough left standing to keep your roof up.”
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