My dad has always said, “When all else fails, read the directions.” This advise always came at the peak of my frustration – usually after trying in vane to build a model airplane, electric car racing track, etc. on my own. With hundreds of pieces scattered all over the floor and some things working and other things not, it was always obvious that before diving into anything I should have “read the directions” first. Are we, as human beings, ever capable of heeding this advice 100% of the time? I think not.
On Christmas morning, I take great pride in proving to my wife and 2 boys that I am above “directions.” I puff out my chest, take a sip of my coffee, and usually say something like, “everyone step aside and let me put that tricycle together.” Then, after about a half hour and trying to jam a bolt into a hole that’s too small with 2 kids screaming in my ear, my wife delicately says to me, “Do you want the directions?” I then blame it on the manufacturer and say something like, “what kind of idiots designed this thing?” I then reluctantly grab the directions from my wife and proceed to start flipping through the pages of the instruction manual. Of course, I don’t start from page 1 (as I am far too smart for such ridiculously obvious instructions), so I choose to start from the last page of the directions manual and work backwards. This results in the tricycle getting done sometime in June or never.
How does this analogy relate to link building for SEO? Let me try to demonstrate in simple list form, here goes:
1. Nobody but Google truly knows the exact contingencies that the Google algorithm uses to rank any 1 domain for any 1 term.
2. The magnitude of contingencies that are programmed into the Google algorithm are more than any 1 human being can possibly comprehend.
3. Exactly how much weight the Google algorithm places on any 1 contingency is always changing and ultimately up to Google.
4. Google defines the rules – not us.
5. Teams of Google’s very bright developers instruct the algorithm – not us.
6. Google owns Google.com and the Google algorithm – not us.
7. Google developers can change the algorithm whenever they want – we can’t.
8. Google’s #1 objective is to provide it’s users with the best and most relevant search results possible for any 1 search term.
9. We need Google because it is the medium that people use to find “us,” and Google needs “us” because we provide the content.
10. It’s important to recognize that there are so many ranking contingencies that we will never know about.
11. It’s equally important to recognize that there are contingencies that will always be TRUE.
12. In very simple terms, Google’s primary objective is to find the best content for any 1 search term and rank the content in order of “best.”
13. So, it is logical to assume that if we focus on building GOOD/QUALITY content – Google needs to and wants to find it and rank it well.
14. So, let’s look at just 1 of the universally agreed upon contingencies that ‘everyone’ seems to agree upon as being an important contingency that Google uses to determine what content is good, quality, relevant, and worth ranking high in its search engine results. INBOUND LINKS.
15. The assumption (in simplest form) is this. If any 1 piece of content (website, web page, picture, video, blog post, etc..) has a lot of links from other domains pointing to it – it must be good/quality content. And if any 1 domain has a lot of INBOUND links, it must be good/quality content that people like – so rank this domain WELL for the all of the terms and phrases that this domain is targeting.
16. Think about it in this simple form; it makes perfect sense. Google must provide its users (searchers) with the best and most relevant results possible, otherwise people will stop using Google and use another search engine. Google WANTS to find and rank content from trusted sources on the web who are authorities on the subject matter at hand (search term). So, it is a safe bet for the Google algorithm to CHECK to see how many LINKS point to any 1 domain as means of determining authenticity, trust, and popularity. To some degree, popularity = people like it, and Google wants to provide its users with what they will like most.
17. Now it’s probably starting to make sense why you have gotten so many emails from all sorts of companies that say something along the lines of “We will get you 10 gazillion links for $9.99.” The “logic” behind this is simply: Google = Values Lot’s Of Links + You Want To Rank For Search Terms + Get Lot’s Of Links = You Rank Well.
18. That “logic” worked well for a long time, but don’t forget – Google owns the Google algorithm and can change the game any time. And, the Google algorithm is not stupid. If it were, there would be another Google. Someday there might be, but right now Google owns the smartest search engine algorithm available on the market.
19. So, as the Google algorithm continues to get smarter, it can better evaluate the nature and quality of the LINKS that point to your content. And, the Google algorithm can and does measure if and to what degree its users are satisfied when clicking on your content from Google.com search results.
20. So, one of the “easiest” and most logical things you can do in regards to “link building” is build good, quality content that people like. Ready for this? … If you focus on building value added, quality content that people like, other websites, blogs, etc. will WANT to link to your content. Google will find it automatically, evaluate it accordingly, and you don’t have to worry about all sorts of ways to “trick” Google and acquire manufactured links from other websites, blogs, etc.
Bottom Line: If you have spent money and time trying all sorts of creative ways to get more links through reciprocal link building strategies and paid link building services; you are not alone, and if it is being done correctly, and the work, time, and money is providing a return on investment – Great! The purpose here was merely to point out and demonstrate that one of the most overlooked and arguably the best thing you can do to build links is “Create unique and compelling content on your site and the web in general.” And, “When All Else Fails, Read The Directions.“
Tags: google link building guidelines, inbound links, link building, links, search marketing, SEO, web development best practices
