Quality Link Building

In the dynamic field of search engine optimization, it often seems that the only constant has been change.

The truth, however, is that the one SEO principle promoted and insisted upon by Google since shortly after its inception is quality. Although it seems that Google has often surrendered the field to black hat SEOs, the past three years have seen a more aggressive side to Google’s anti-spam efforts.

What about the other search engines? With Google accounting for nearly two-thirds of the search market, many are tempted to overlook the efforts of other search engines, such as Bing and Ask. Those search engines are still significant. However, most SEOs tend to agree that Bing’s and Ask’s anti-spam efforts haven’t come close to matching Google’s determined campaigns.

In other words, if it passes muster with Google, then it probably will pass muster with Bing, Ask and other search engines.

The Anti-Spam Call to Action

Panda has been the most obvious evidence of Google’s insistence on quality content. It has not been perfect, but many websites with lower quality content (to put it mildly) have seen their rankings drop precipitously… or disappear altogether.

It bears repeating that Panda makes perfect sense, when seen from the context of Google’s primary objective. Google and other top search engines don’t really care much about the concerns of website owners, ecommerce sites and SEOs. For Google, the overriding purpose of its search engine is to deliver the quality content that search engine users demand.

To put it another way, if search engine users have to go down to page 2, 3 or 4 to find what they’re looking for (because SEO spam sites have cluttered the top positions), Google will lose those individuals to other search engines — and lose revenue in the process. Google has no other choice but to combat SEO spam.

But Panda is only the tip of the iceberg. While many were focused on poor-quality content, Google had already been combating the proliferation of spam links and purchased links.

Yes Spam Links Do Work, But…

Here’s the dirty little secret that many white hat SEOs have a difficult time admitting: spam links still do work.

Bulk spam links, including comment spam, article “sphinning” and link buying, can still produce results. SEOs who use these spammy tactics will often point to the legitimate spikes in ranking they have produced to proclaim that their black-hat tactics do work.

But they simply don’t get it.

Spammy link-building tactics will produce higher rankings. Unfortunately, those SEO results are illusory and come with baggage:

Short-term results. These SEO results don’t last long. They require even more spammy links to maintain the rankings they’ve been able to achieve, and subsequent spam links tend to carry less weight: so you need even more of these short-term spam links.
Short-term thinking. Relying on low-quality link-building reveals a lack of “big picture” long-term thinking. It’s a risky gamble for many businesses, because if Google ever catches you, they can penalize your entire site — which could mean significant losses for your business.
Penalty magnet. Spammy link-building campaigns leave familiar footprints. By deciphering and then searching for these footprints, Google is now able to more easily spot websites using spam links — and effectively punish those websites.
Vulnerable to complaints. Even if Google hasn’t uncovered specific incidences of spam links, they don’t have to… especially in competitive fields. One of the quickest ways to move up in SERP rankings is to spot high-ranking competitors who use spam links and then report them to Google. When Google eventually acts on and confirms your complaint, that competitor site will soon see its rankings drop past the fifth page (or disappear from Google altogether). If you invest in spam links, you can be sure that a savvy competitor below you in the rankings will not hesitate to rat you out to Google.

For these and many more reasons, it’s important to couple your quality onsite content with quality offsite link-building. And Web1Media can show you how.