Link Building in 2016

Let’s start off with a hot topic – link building. Link building has become the red-headed stepchild of the SEO world. Everyone does it, but no one wants to admit it. Link building has become more of an issue in 2012 when Google released the Penguin algorithm. It continued to make iterative updates once or twice a year, and any SEOs caught buying links were caught in its filters. At work, the site owner received manual action that indicated that Google had reviewed the site and found that it was buying links.

After Penguin, you’ll hear many SEOs claim that link building is dead. Link building isn’t dead – it’s evolved. Instead of automating the process with directory links and article submissions, SEOs must look for opportunities within networks, brand recognition content, social signals, and content research.

Another change to link building has been anchor text and PageRank. Toolbar PR is no longer updated, so SEOs are unable to identify the true PR for any web page. Moz’s Domain Authority is often used to evaluate the value of a backlink from any particular site. In 2012, Google filed a patent that was later approved in 2014 for algorithm technology that identifies implied link. An implied link is a link that only mentions the site but does not have the hyperlinked code. This type of link still passes reputation of the brand, and some SEOs assume that this implies that no-follow links still count positively in link building.

When building a link campaign, it’s important to:

•     Identify targets that will help build a brand not just links
•     Find link markets that drive traffic and don’t just attract search engines
•     Obtain social media mentions for the brand
•     Perform outreach campaigns for guest posts on authority sites
•     Identify hot topics using competitor analysis for guest posts and content marketing

Content Marketing

Google recently announced its latest algorithm named RankBrain. RankBrain is an AI change that attempts to “understand’ the context of the content on any given site. It essentially eliminates the idea of keyword density, because the challenge is to understand the content and its value to search engine users.

There are two types of content marketing: on-site and off-site. Onsite content should be relevant and well-written enough to engage users and drive more social shares across multiple media sites. Google released an algorithm change that penalized sites for too many ads above the fold. It can then be assumed that the content should not only be well written, it must target real users (not bots) and can’t have poorly placed ads that interfere with user experience.

Years ago, it was common for an SEO to create 10 articles and post them to article sites such as Ezine articles. These links were seen as strong backlink signals, and most SEOs claimed that the method worked. With the release of Penguin, these links are toxic for any site. AI and the changes in Google’s algorithm have changed the face of off-site content marketing. Well researched guest posts that target the direct market are favored over article marketing. This doesn’t mean you should guest post on any blog. Blogs that could be seen as selling links would fall under Penguin or even lead to manual action.

For content marketing, always:

•     Curate your content into categories and keep related content available to users for better engagement
•     Network with bloggers and site owners in the industry or a related industry
•     Use competitor analysis and Google Trends to find the right search engine phrases for emerging markets
•     Upload branded content on sites such as YouTube and SlideShare