The practice of building links is continuously evolving. Link building has gone through some major transformations within just the past few years, and it likely will continue to change moving forward.
In an upcoming Biznology webinar aptly named “Link Building: Past, Present, and Future,” some of my colleagues from Page One Power will be discussing how link building has changed over the years, how to build links the right way today, and where links are headed in the future. Update: view the webinar video here.
You can watch the webinar live through GoToWebinar on April 14th @ 11 AM EDT, but to give you an idea of what to expect this post will highlight some of the topics that will be covered.
Link Building Past
In the past, acquiring links for your website typically translated into manipulation.
Link building used to be a sheer numbers game where automation won out over manual efforts. In the early days of building links, quantity was much more important than quality. Generating thousands of irrelevant links with exact match anchor text was the primary method for manipulating the search results.
However, in 2012, Google’s Penguin algorithm emerged and changed things drastically. Not only did Penguin devalue manipulative and unnatural links, but the algorithm also aimed to punish sites using these spammy tactics. The Penguin algorithm helped deter black-hat SEOs and eliminate many of the tactics they used, leaving legitimate, white-hat linking methods as the only means for long-term success.
Link Building Present
Gaining links today involves much different processes and philosophies than in the past.
Following the introduction of Google Penguin, link building became less about quantity and much more about quality. While spammy linking tactics may still work sometimes in the short-term, search engines continue to advance and these unscrupulous techniques no longer present a viable long-term strategy.
Earning links the right way is more in line with “real marketing” than a cheap SEO trick. The best way to acquire beneficial links is through building relationships with real people and having content on your website that is worthy of links.
Link Building Future
The ways we obtain links moving forward will continue to evolve.
Links will remain at the core of Google’s search algorithm. However, Google will continue to tighten their algorithm to weed out sites that rank highly based on manipulative links.
As the search algorithms get more and more sophisticated, the importance of on-site content and user experience will keep growing. Therefore, Google’s algorithm will continue to be tweaked in favor of those engaging in practices that add value to the web, while punishing those who seek to manipulate the web through spammy link tactics.
Upcoming Webinar
Learn more about all of these topics by attending the upcoming Biznology webinar “Link Building: Past, Present, and Future.”
Along with hearing about these important topics, you can also bring your own link building questions and have our experts answer them for you. After the presentation, our panelists will stick around to answer any questions you may have.
Update: You can view the webinar here.
