Google never lets SEOs’ minds rest. All the algorithm changes make your most powerful tactics of the last few years useless, if not harmful for the rankings. Link building has become one of those dubious SEO tricks: Google’s updates have scared search engine optimization pros into thinking it is a risky method. So, is link building really dead?
If anyone could answer that question, it’s Matt Cutts of Google, and he did answer it in an interview. SEOs can relax: according to Matt, Google does not deem link building to be illegal. What matters though is that most optimization pros do it in a reverse way: instead of creating content that will get natural backlinks and shares, they try to build the links first and hope to get good rankings as a result.
Google’s main goal, as it has often been communicated, is delivering the best quality content to the users. So, to build links Google’s way, you need to focus on creating a useful website with content your visitors can’t help but pass on to their friends. Here are some golden rules that will help you get natural backlinks and ultimately rank higher.
Give Your Readers What Appeals to Them
Matt Cutts says it all goes back to the good old marketing: think about what your readers find compelling and give it to them. Content that answers their most urgent questions will be eagerly liked and shared. And that will give you backlinks and add to your website’s reputation.
Impress Your Readers With Unique Content
In the ocean of content, you want to attract attention with something unique and creative. Produce an unusual and funny video, or raise a hot and controversial topic, and your readers will find it worth sharing.
Don’t Be Anonymous
Being anonymous may prevent your content from getting noticed and appreciated. If you link it to your profile, not only will Google take into account your reputation when evaluating your website. But also the readers will start associating your name with compelling and valuable content.
Use Various Tactics and Resources
It’s difficult to say what types of content or social media work better for your rankings, as you don’t know what signals Google takes better. The smart thing to do is to use various channels of sharing your content and different tactics of building backlinks. If you limit yourself to Google+, for example, you may be missing out a lot of opportunities on other platforms.
On-Site SEO Still Matters
Optimizing your website still works, so don’t forget to use relevant keywords and produce meta tags and descriptions to introduce your page to the search engine at once.
As you can see, link building is not to be forgotten: it still works, but the trick is to adjust your link building tactics to the evolving Google’s algorithms. Anyhow, as long as you produce valuable, unique content, you’re on the right way.
How do you do the link building for your website? Feel free to reply in the comments.
