For the beginner the more links you could get from other sites to your site the higher your blog would be in search results.The higher you are in search results the more traffic you get which leads to more earning power.
But as we tried to stay a step ahead of Google they in turn implemented constant changes to the algorithm to block what was becoming a blogging community as thirsty for links as the Zombies in your favorite horror movie are for brains.Having the biggest search engine ranking pages on Links alone was a great idea until webmasters, bloggers and SEO's exploit this by buying, begging, borrowing and stealing links from everywhere and anywhere they could.
Trying To Change
Other signals were added to the algorithm over the years and Google often via Matt Cutts played down the importance of links.But their bluff was called as we pushed forward headstrong with only one SEO strategy - the tried and trusted link building strategy.
Enter The Google Zoo
A Penguin, A Panda and A Hummingbird.These were the names given to three major changes by Google to stop spam and un-natural link building.These changes have impacted many sites that used "Black Hat" link building techniques, the impact is major penalty's resulting in a huge loss of traffic.Google had finally delivered on their promise and finally found a way to curb the link building frenzy.
So There Is No Point In Link Building ?
Link building is still the major factor used in ranking search results but the Type Of Link is now much more important.Quality over quantity is how your link building should be treated in the future.Search Engine Land has a great article on good and bad links you should check out.
The key now is an end to some of the ways we might acquire links in the past such as Link exchanges, Buying Links, Spamming for links on forums/blog comments, Guest Posting links on unrelated blogs.Basically any link that was not natural.
Above I linked to an article Search Engine Land, I did this as the article I linked to is related to this post, helps the readers of the post and expands or explains the subject further.This is a natural link and really that's what Google want, people only link to a page they personally recommend.Never linking as a reward for a reciprocal link or for money etc...
Is This Bad For Bloggers ?
Quiet the opposite if Google can fully stamp out bad link building then we have a level playing field ! In the past a Blogger with the resources or connections could blow away their competitors with Vigorous Link Building.Now that Blogger must rely on their content attracting natural links like everyone else.Google want to link to the best most relative content, people searching want the best most relative results your job is to post the best most relative content in your niche.
The Google animals have not fully stamped out Black Hat link building but compared to just a few years ago they have gone a long way towards abolishing it.
Paul Crowe
I'm the owner and main author here on Brighter Blogs.I've been a full time Blogger and Web designer for over eight years.I have worked on thousands of projects and blogs over the years and I bring this information to you here on BB.Making every tutorial easy to follow for bloggers of all levels.
Its a deeply informative post. Thank you for sharing this.
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ReplyDeleteGreat Post.
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