If you’ve been around the internet for longer than 20 minutes or so, I’m sure you’ve run across a number of articles with titles similar to these:
“The 5 Best Link-Building Techniques”
“How To Boost Your Google Rankings Overnight”
“How To Spam Forums and Blogs for Backlinks Without Appearing Spammy”
A proper link-building strategy can seem a bit overwhelming, especially when you get started. Don’t worry, you’re here and you’re safe with me now! I am going to answer ALL of these questions, and most other questions you might have about the absolute best SEO technique. The only one you’ll ever need. Once you discover this amazing secret, you’ll abandon all your forums, all the comments you leave in blogs you don’t read and don’t really apply to the website you’re promoting and you’ll start making some real progress toward boosting your Google rankings.
But it won’t happen overnight.
And it’s not easy. At least, not as easy as buying X amount of links from a link farmed based in India.
Are you still with me? If you are, you probably know where I’m going with this. Here’s the secret to gaming the system:
Stop trying to game the system. If you aren’t trying to game the system, that’s good. You’re already halfway there! Start trying to provide real content. Start adding value to the internet. Start adding your own expertise, experience, insights and point of view to the internet.
The time spent trying to think of new ways to get around Panda (and the inevitable successor to Panda, and the inevitable successor to Panda’s successor) could be better spent writing blog posts about what you know, or what you’re passionate about, or what you’re interested in but don’t quite understand.
Search Engines Aren’t Stupid
Here’s the thing about Google. (The same holds true for Bing and Yahoo, but Google still reigns supreme, so most of my work is focused on ranking better in Google searches.) Google isn’t stupid. Google may be slow, and easily tricked, sure. But it isn’t stupid.
The people who refine Google’s search algorithms aren’t really interested in how many backlinks you have. They’re interested in finding the best, most efficient way to return relevant search results to the people who use Google. Spammy techniques like link farming, link wheeling, link purchasing and so forth and so on work because they trick Google, not because they’re valuable.
Don’t Waste Time on Black Hat SEO
I’m not against black hat techniques because I think I’m morally superior. I recognize they work, at least in the short term. But I’m a long-term thinker, and black hat techniques do not produce quality, lasting results. Remember when JC Penney’s black hat tactics got them in trouble earlier in 2011. Sure, maybe JC Penney didn’t suffer that much from the drop in their search results, but the principle holds true: black hat tactics are not sustainable over the long term.
To keep your rankings up, you have to keep buying more links, spamming more forums and blogs, building more link wheels and otherwise dumping more garbage onto the internet. What if JC Penney had spent the time, money and effort it used to post thousands of unrelated links on thousands of unrelated websites on providing relevant, valuable content instead?
Take the Time to Build Quality Links
If you’re taking the time to build links to your site, one of two things is happening: either you’re being paid by a client or you’re working for yourself. Why wouldn’t you want to make the best effort possible?
Do you think there’s a business in the world that’s interested in a short-term boost in search engine rankings followed by the inevitable sharp drop off once Google wises up?
Truth time: there’s enough garbage on the internet. If you’re after long-term results, start providing value. Be honest about who you are and what you represent. Because Google may be slow, but it isn’t stupid.
Makes sense, Tyler. This is especially true if you’ve invested a lot of time and money into a website. It sucks having to start over from scratch!
Ted
Absolutely, Ted. I really hate seeing sites wasting so much time and money on SEO tactics that aren’t lasting or sustainable.
wasting time on black hat SEO will just leave you with bigger consequences. This happens if you risk and do this act. Why not follow the basic and standard approach just to be safe. And to maintain quality is definitely the best move you can do.
I definitely agree. Black hat provides short term gains and long term consequences, so I don’t get why anyone would waste their time.
I agree that building high quality link building takes time. You might take lot of time to make a good link but surely that will reap benefits
Exactly. If the SEO is worth doing, it’s worth doing correctly.
Hi Tyler and a Happy New Year to you and yours.
“Once you discover this amazing secret, you’ll abandon all your forums, all the comments you leave in blogs you don’t read and don’t really apply to the website you’re promoting and you’ll start making some real progress toward boosting your Google rankings.”
So basically you tell me not to read and comment this article of yours?
Then on the other hand I see no other explanation from you on what else to do.
You leave an anchored link to an other article telling to submit articles and create Youtube video’s, but do you really mean leaving a comment here doesn’t help at all?
o_O
Regards,
Michael
Hi Michael,
The links you mention were added by the blog owner, and not part of my original point. And you should absolutely read and comment on this blog! I never meant to imply commenting on blogs should be abandoned, merely commenting on blogs just to build links is a bad practice.
Yup… you hit the nail right on the head! The big secret to website developing is to just quite trying to find a secret shortcut that will allow you to “beat” Google. People need to realize that Google is actually on their side, provided they focus on the the same priorities as them: user satisfaction.
I definitely think there’s a culture of “Us vs. Google,” especially among black-hat SEOs.
You seem to ignore the importance of SEO; yes, I agree with you that valuable content is perhaps more important, but SEO words will result in more hits by Google, no? In today’s internet, whose size we can only guess at, competition is ferocious. I discovered that I had 5 regular readers of my blog from Russia; so what, they don’t comment and they don’t click on the ads. How is a good blogger to survive? Any tips will be appreciated.
5 readers from Russia…
Chances are they are robots/spammers/hacker trying to harm you of one reason or other.
But on the other hand, i know several very nice people from Russia so they could be real visitors just the like. Truth is you really can’t know.
What you do know, however is, you can’t see or follow any activity of theirs . Your reaction is “so what”…
WHAT!!! You have 5 regular readers, and all you do is “so what”?
Have you ever run any kind of business before, online of offline?
I very much doubt so!
Instead of being offended by your potential customers absent reluctance to trade, you should instead enjoy, that they continue to visit your business.
You should reflect on why they keep coming back, and try to meet their needs. You must do at least something already, that have caught their interest.
Do you buy yourself, each time you visit your favorite store? Do you ever just go to see, if there is something new and interesting on the shelves?
In my belief, you have the wrong approach to doing business. But if you’re tired of your 5 Russians, just ask them to come over to me.
I’ll promise to take good care of them.
Jacques, I am definitely not ignoring the importance of SEO. Search engine optimization is how I make a living. My larger point is that black hat SEO is ultimately a bad idea, and SEOs would be better served focusing on white hat tactics, such as building quality content and adding value to the web.
I agree that there are plenty of good valid ways to build links and create bonafide connections and build real network alliiances without resorting to dubious tactics.
Absolutely! Building real connections is what good SEO is about.
Hey Tyler,
Awesome post today about link building loved it 🙂 I use this simple way to teach people that are looking for the quickest start and I think that is long tail anchor text.
Using long-tail link anchor text can also help you in that it confuses the search engine algorithm in a good way. For instance, if you combine two phrases into the same anchor text, the engine algorithm may mistake it for any number of search phrases. You will then get a boost in rankings for not only the keywords that you are optimizing for, but also in those similar keywords that you did not even know about.
Mike
Thanks for the comment, Mike! I’m with you on long-tail searches and I’m actually writing a post about the benefit of long-tail searches right now.
I was thinking this was the true way to get popular on the Internet (rankings, if you will). backlinks do help but they need to be ones from people that are truly interested in what’s on that blog. I guess Guest Posting helps. I haven’t written a post for another blog yet. I want the good ones I think of at my own and not giving out my best doesn’t sound right.