This year has been quite very significant with the successive releases of the Google updates in its algorithm technology. The giant search engine released its major algorithm updates called the Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird which took all webmasters in an array of frenzy updates to keep their website more Google algorithm compliant. It is inevitable for the search engine optimization fanatics to wonder what to expect from SEO in the year 2014. The issue on link building was raised as an issue whether it is considered dead or no longer relevant in as far as Google algorithm is concerned for building one’s site ranking in Google.
Link building remains relevant – Only amplifies your effort in building organic links
The release of the Google algorithms called Panda and Penguin motivated webmasters to focus their SEO efforts in developing high quality content and links. The Penguin update in particular is designed to drive SEO strategies in building organic and relevant links. By using organic links on your website, you are giving your SEO campaign a better drive of getting more relevant and quality traffic that can influence your site ranking on Google.
Link building remains to be relevant for the simple fact that Google Penguin requires webmasters to focus in restructuring the links available on their site as organic and relevant. Thus, links remains to be an essential element that is considered by the Google algorithm for ranking websites. The only difference in the coming years is the more stringent requirement of Google Penguin that to be relevant for search ranking, websites should amplify their efforts in building natural links to their site in order to gain better credit for website ranking on search. It is designed to strike down link farming and other black hat SEO used to build links to attain a higher rank in the search result.
Utilization of links in your marketing arsenal remains relevant
If link building is dead it can significantly impact your online marketing campaigns. Marketers engage in email marketing, social media, paid search campaigns, content marketing and social advertising. What drives traffic to their business are quality links that are embedded to their ads and content which is essentially needed in order to direct your potential customers back to your business site. Thus, in effect it can be deduced that links have become a valuable tool in SEO even in years to come.
The use of links is part of digital marketing. You cannot acquire leads without link and you cannot drive traffic to your business website without providing links for online users to use. Even the Panda update requires providing useful resources to your readers in order to qualify in Google search rank. You can do this by providing high quality links to useful sources that can further widen your content reader’s understanding about your topic. This is sufficed to say that you need to use links to point your readers to relevant sources for further readings.
Link building is never dead
Link building is not dead as contrary to the speculations of some. By the year 2014, link building remains to be a valuable SEO tool that webmasters can use in improving their site ranking in Google. However, with the Google algorithm constant updates it is best to embrace yourself for more stringent regulations and requirement that will demand more organic or natural link building that may be integrated with the social media marketing tactics that will be connected with Google authorship and high quality content. Making your online marketing strategies more algorithm update-proof will certainly help your efforts to retain its significance in the constantly changing SEO industry. Here are some ways to make your link building strategy more Panda and future proof:
- Audit your links. Keeping a regular audit on your links can help improve your link building efforts. Remove links that are not indexed by Google, unrelated links to your niche or web page content, links from websites where the possibility of a malware is being suspected and links coming from websites that offer link exchanges.
- Your link should always be relevant. This is a way of making your link tactics more future proof because the Google algorithm always prefer links that are relevant and coming from authority sites that are related to your website niches. The relevance of the links that you use to your website is used by Google in gauging trustworthiness and authority to your links.
- Explore press release strategies. Press release is a powerful tool that you can use in building links. It is an online marketing channel that you should explore to find relevant links and make quality connections to your online marketing schemes. Great sources of links from this channel include interviews and editorial opportunities.
- 4. Be creative in using social media as your link sources. The algorithm always prefers human interaction especially when building links and the social media channel is the best platform to comply with this Google algorithm requirement. Make sure to create your own social media accounts where you can directly market your products and services and start sharing high quality and relevant contents that social medial users will find highly relevant to link to.
About the Author: Kelly Willson is here. I’m a freelance writer specializing in blog posts and web content for online businesses.
Rizky Pratama says
hy
I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed! Extremely useful info specially the last part I care for such information a lot. I was seeking this certain info for a long time. Thank you and good luck.
Oscarliving says
I always make link building for example like this comment, thanks for sharing
Ainul Zakira says
I think link building still needed until now, so its very useful for SEO it self… it can make our serp in search engine has increase…
Ajinkya says
Im just starting to be in the blogging area. Im a web developer by profession. I hope I will do better soon 🙂
pls contact me if u need any free web development fix in return u can give me a backlink to my website 😀
Kamalesh says
Hi Servando, Firstly thanks for giving us a new hope that link building is still having an impact. However, do you think that traffic drive from social media will impact on keyword SERP’s ? Please clarify… Thanks
Servando Silva says
It will help, even though Google denies it.
But won’t help as much as backlinks nowadays.
wiktopia says
Hi Servando,
It is so amazing ideas and I was thinking that the links are of no use now but your ideas seem great and if using the social signals with the unique quality content it makes us perfect for getting the best user base. Dealing with the VPN services for SEO professionals and the digital marketers I can learn the best things good for the ranking purpose. thanks for your valuable views.
what says
Okay i tried really hard but i couldn’t understand a word of what this article is saying, it says links are important then that they are not important and basically a lot of stuff about panda and hummingbird.
No offense but this is the worst article i have read here and your posts are always helpful and shows they are written with effort Servando Silva. Not this one.
Link building is never dead and never will be. Press releases can help but yeah right, good luck with getting your article featured for a business or a client and of course you want to audit your links.
The only links that never get indexed by google are absolute spam and if you have links like that coming to your site, STOP your link building right there because you are hurting your site.
The only good thing this article mention is having quality links but thats about it. I could have written a better guest post that would have been helpful than this, i am not picking up on Kelly Willson but seriously, this seems just like an article written for Google and not humans because you lost me right after the first paragraph.
Just to let you know i am not a spammer, i am not even going to add my website. Just an advice Servando mate, if you want this place to be still the best it is right now follow your own advice and only allow quality content instead of just boring unhelpful content. If you want me to show you a sample guest post that i can write on this exact post, let me know and i’ll send you so you can see what i am talking about. This is a very rich topic that you can write about without boring everyone to death.
Servando Silva says
Hello there (what’s your name?)
Thanks for the feedback.
Actually, I changed my guest post requirements lately and i’m trying to improve the bar. So, hopefully, the latest guests posts will give you much more value as I no longer accept anything except guides and case studies from personal experiences.
If you want to have a guest post published here, have a look at the requirements at the top bar 🙂
Again, thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it.
Marian says
Great content and social media can do wonders to your site. Just make sure to create content that your readers or customers want to read.
Servando Silva says
True that 🙂
Targeted traffic is super important, of course.
sutopo says
thanks Servando Silva share information to effective link building 2014..
I like your post , and next time wait your post…
Regards
sutopo
I am from Indonesia
sorry if I messed up the language
Vibha sharma says
Very helpful article sir,
We have to act hard on our capacity and make it useful for our consultation and create organic links only then we can get our page rank high.
Thanks !
Hemant says
Hi Kelly,
This is a helpful article for me, I really appreciate you efforts 🙂
amin says
Hi
Is there no use of link building now days
I m building link but not yet indexed …but my site is showing in Google & yahoo for some the key words
Servando Silva says
Link building is still important. Don’t worry about it. Your pages will be indexed sooner or later. Are you using Google Webmaster Tools?
Jonthan James says
After the release of latest Google update, we used to get a lot that the SEO is dead and it won’t work anymore, but that’s not correct, the only that thing that died after the release of Google update is the manipulative SEO or Black hat SEO. Link building still works, but now it’s all about Quality not quantity. Social media can be a great link resource that can bring great web traffic to a website, To know what’s going on social media marketing, Please click http://www.cueseo.com/whats-going-to-change-in-social-media-marketing/
Servando Silva says
Trust me. Not even grey or black hat SEO is dead. In fact, I think with the latest updates is more alive than ever.
Steph Riggs says
Where everyone is talking about SEO in 2014, some people are providing helpful tips for successful SEO campaign in this year. No doubt all the old methods of linkbuilding are now useless but relevant links are still important for high ranking. Natural links on relevant websites, unique contents and sharing on social media is the generic way of improving your ranking on search engines. Great article to read and best for those people who consider linkbuilding dead in this year.
javier says
his is a great article.
To expand on the content portion a bit: It’s important to diversify your content based on user-intent and target keywords. For example, create three different article for “how to use Widget X”, “where to buy widget X”, and “what is widget X”. This is the “hummingbird way” and will make it easier to track rankings by monitoring individual page traffic.
Also, use the Paid & Organic report when it makes sense. Test mobile-only campaigns (bid $0.05 for desktop/tablet then index mobile up 300%+) and let Google tell you where you rank for mobile.
With Google placing more and more advertising above the fold, it’s more important than ever to try and dominate those top 3 spots and diversify your content to rank for “how to” type queries with less advertising competition.
Servando Silva says
Hello Javier.
I actually think you’re right, but I can see you’re linking to a keyword for a contest 😉
Try another blog 🙂