Link-building Strategy: 4 Experts on Ethical SEO

When Google updated their webmaster tools guidelines on link schemes and link-building strategy in July, it sent a shockwave through the world of SEO practitioners. Okay, some SEO practitioners.

When Google refers to link schemes, they’re talking about efforts to manipulate search rankings through unnatural links, those that “weren’t editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s owner on page.”

The update specifically warned against “optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites,” as well as “large-scale guest posting” on blogs.

In the wake of the update marketing bloggers responded in panic, with some even going so far as to call it “the end of PR.” Why? Because many “pros” have long touted mass press release distribution as a great link-building strategy, using optimized anchor text links.

But when I spoke to a few of the SEO experts I respect most, they responded with a resounding… “so what?”

I could tell you why, but I’ll let them do it in their own words. I think you’ll find that their responses serve as a pretty great top-level link-building strategy guide for your own sustainable, ethical SEO.

Link-building Strategy:  4 Questions for 4 Experts

 

1. What was your knee-jerk reaction to the update?

Adam Franklin, Social Media Speaker and Marketing Manager, Bluewire Media
@Franklin_Adam

My reaction is the same as always, “I never worry about Google’s algorithm changes.”  Trying to manipulate the system is a mug’s game – you’ll never outsmart Google! So I only ever write for my readers and link in ways that are natural and appropriate for them.  This is in the readers’ best interest, and therefore in Google’s best interest.

I also only ever contribute to blogs that are relevant to my niche and usually have a subtle call to action link at the end. My posts are never littered with back links.

Andy Crestodina, Strategic Director, Orbit Media Studios
@crestodina

Let’s all take a deep breath first… OK, the conversation started around press releases, which was obviously not a serious approach to SEO. Remember, anything that’s easy/fast doesn’t work and shouldn’t work in SEO. It’s ridiculous that anyone thought that Google could be tricked so easily.

But you’re asking about about guest post spam and abuse, not press releases. Yes, some people are abusing it and Google may devalue certain links, but I’m not worried about it. A high-quality guest post is both hard to fake and a good indication that the author’s site is legitimate. So great guest posts and the links within them are great marketing and probably always will be.

Anything you do strictly for SEO reasons is likely to be devalued or even penalized eventually. But the things that are focused on both humans (readers, editors, etc.) and SEO are likely to be valued more over time. Focus on the people but be smart about search. That’s what Google is asking you to do.

(Read more of Andy’s take on Google’s anchor text updates at Website Magazine >>)

Sean McGinnis, Senior Digital Marketing and E-commerce Executive, Sears
@seanmcginnis

It should change nothing for anyone who is doing things well. This is industry over-reacting to a change they’ve known about for five years.

The answer is you should keep testing yourself and react based on the results you get. To have five optimized links all pointing back to the site was always bad practice.

Stop thinking about Google. The hardest challenge we have is learning everything we can learn, and then forgetting about it. You have to forget about it and keep your readers in mind.

Hilary Marsh, founder, Content Company
@hilarymarsh

I don’t pay much attention to any if this stuff – a lot of it has always reeked of spam tactics to me.

Good SEO is about making sure that you have content that addresses your audiences’ needs and that your organization is uniquely positioned to offer. Further, it has to be written in the language your customers use, not your organization’s jargon.

2. What does it mean for content marketers and SEO professionals?

 

Adam Franklin

I think it will continue to reward ethical marketers and SEOs, and punish the manipulators – which I’m all for!

If content marketers and SEOs spend all their energy focusing on publishing quality stuff for their readers, you can count on Google catching up and rewarding you in the long run.

Andy Crestodina

Focus on the sites that have social activity. Focus on the sites that your audience may read. Focus on the articles that these readers may love. Focus on the links that add value to the article. Focus on the relationships that may grow over time. Be real if you want to be relevant.

3. We’ve all been guest-posting for some time, so the warning here raises some flags. What defines “large-scale guest posting” and who is in trouble?

 

Adam Franklin

My interpretation of this is that submitting guest posts in a scatter-gun approach to anyone who’ll publish your content.  It’s very un-targeted and I can see why Google is against it.

Andy Crestodina

Guest posting takes a lot of hands-on work and relationship building. So I’m not sure if it’s possible to do it “large-scale” without automating it somehow. Anyone who spins content by using software to rewrite posts is trying to go big in a bad way.

These people are hoping to get hundreds of articles (and links) placed in a short period of time (hundreds of posts per year). Anyone doing the manual, high-touch, heads down work of writing, networking, submitting, editing and resubmitting isn’t really large scale (dozens of posts per year).

Sean McGinnis

Large-scale is taking one article and spinning it to 50 or 100 websites with slight tweaks.

Getting multiple articles out of one topic, however, is classic journalism. The issue is that people take things to extremes. They work with the assumption that more, by definition, is better. If you do nothing but eat tomatoes for a year because one is good for you, you’re going to be deficient somewhere.

The value of a link is inversely related to its scalability. And in the end, even if they do warn against it, and even if you do get punished to some degree, there is still value in writing a guest post that drives hundreds of targeted leads back to your site seeking a specific answer to a problem.

Hillary Marsh

“Large-scale guest blogging,” whatever its official definition, can’t possibly be a good use of anyone’s time.

4. What’s next – i.e., what’s your prediction for the next big SEO adjustment?

 

Adam Franklin

What’s next is Google just getting smarter and smarter at weeding out bad content and delivering better search results.

Andy Crestodina

Google is getting even better at ranking things that aren’t websites. Every day, there is more types of content appearing in search results. Google is giving visitors much more information before the click. Examples include rich snippets, info boxes and local search carousels. Adapt by taking full advantage of schema.org ‘microformatting’ and enhancing your G+ business page.

I heard a quote from Matt Cutts recently. He said Google is now less about ‘strings’ (keywords) and more about ‘things’ (universal search results). Brace yourselves and produce great content!

Sean McGinnis

The value you get for being number one is going to change. It means more traffic now, but as Google becomes increasingly personalized, that value will change because it will be specific to the person searching. Google is going to do a random shuffle of the number 1 spot, and they’re already doing that to some degree.