Cast aside new backlinks creation and look into other approaches that drive traffic.
What is a Backlink?
Backlinks are created when one website links to another. “Inbound links” or “Incoming links” are also referred as Backlinks. Backlinks are integral to optimizing a website’s search ranking. Google’s algorithm has always taken into account the strength of backlinks and how they link to a website.
Why Effective Backlink Strategy Is Important?
Earning backlinks, also called “Link Building“, is a core component of off-site SEO. The value of some backlinks is higher than that of others. Therefore, the ideal backlinks to earn are the ones from popular, trustworthy and high-authority sites. Whereas, backlinks from low-reputation, potentially harmful sites are least desirable and not recommended. Backlinks aren’t created equal: some are worthy more than others. That also applies to your own links you give other sites.
Here is when an Effective backlinks strategy comes in. When linking out to another page, there are many choices you can make. This can either help or harm the value you have conferred by the linking.
The choices include:
- Page Authority, 2. Quality Content, 3. The Anchor Text,
- The Meta tag you use, etc.
How Google Views Backlinks
While most Internet marketers want to get as many backlinks to their websites as possible, Google’s latest announcement on its search algorithm may change that way of thinking.
Will Google significantly lower the amount of weight that it gives backlinks in search results, making it even less important than before?
In an Search Off The Record (SOTR) episode, John Mueller- Google Search Advocate, Lizzi, and guest Myriam Jessier, search marketing expert and SEO Trainer, shared insight into the process of SEO. They answered some pre-chosen questions at the event in this podcast. They discussed the topics such as which is better: subdomain or subdirectory, backlinks penalization criteria, and the pros and cons to templated content outlines.
The hosts discussed how Google penalizes backlinks, answering the following question:
“As an SEO, we are interested in backlinks. However, actively working on backlinks often becomes a gray area in terms of link schemes. What are Google’s main criteria for penalizing backlinks?”
–The question from Brighton SEO SOTR Podcast
Mueller gives his answer with a slight twist from the original question, after some wisecracks between the three. Rather than looking into how the penalties will be issued, Mueller discusses the ranking signal of backlinks and how it will likely not be a huge concern to SEO professionals in the future. Google’s John Mueller Discusses Ranking Signal—Backlinks
In response to the question the hosts answer:
“Well, it’s something where I imagine, over time, the weight on the links at some point will drop off a little bit as we can figure out a little bit better how the content fits in within the context of the whole web.”
“And to some extent, links will always be something that we care about because we have to find pages somehow. It’s like how do you find a page on the web without some reference to it?”
“But my guess is over time, it won’t be such a big factor as sometimes it is today. I think already, that’s something that’s been changing quite a bit.”
–John Mueller, Google Search Advocate
The Future of Backlinks
Backlink profiles can tell you how trusted the website is, who else it’s trusted by, and how much authority it has in the particular field. Howbeit, implying backlinks are only useful for understanding content. This disregards all the other information they convey. It is possible that this is a subtle acknowledgement by Mueller that it’s not worth worrying about penalties, because backlinks will be less valuable in the future.
Conclusion
Google is gradually changing the way it calculates ranking factors, and backlinks are one of them. Inbound links won’t be as crucial to Google’s algorithm, according to Mueller. This might be good news for SEO professionals who have not been able to get the results they want with backlink strategies in the past. However, this change is going to make it more difficult for businesses who rely on backlink strategy alone for their success. If you’re struggling with your backlink strategy right now, maybe it’s time you rethink your approach!
