In the SEO industry, people are constantly debating how much backlinks weigh as a ranking factor in SEO. Some SEOs say that backlinks only matter as much as what you’re linking to and others insist that high-quality backlinks can have an enormous impact on your search engine rankings. We aim to clear up this question once and for all, by showing you how to outweigh backlinks as a ranking factor in SEO and show you how to do it right.
One of the most common questions asked by SEO experts and business owners who want to rank better in search engines like Google is what do you have to do to have backlinks count as one of the ranking factors? If you are asking yourself this question, then let me explain first what backlinks are and why they are considered one of the ranking factors in SEO in the first place. Then I will tell you some effective ways to outweigh backlinks in SEO.
Google Algorithm Updates
Many people believe that Google has updated its algorithm and it doesn’t weigh backlinks heavily anymore. However, that isn’t the case, there are many ways you can outreach and link build your way to some high-quality, organic backlink growth. Plus, it never hurts to take a page out of everyone’s book who is good at link building (or guest posting) and do it for yourself. Link outreach might be something you have never done before but with some research and patience, anyone can succeed.
Linking Root Domains
In an ideal world, you could trust that backlinks alone would always be enough to help your site rank. That being said, we live in the age of link building, and there are too many people trying to game the system. The best way you can have high-quality backlinks is by utilizing outreach and working on quality link building with guest posts and other forms of content marketing. This way you can have links coming from your domains which will weigh more than any outreach or guest post.
Number of Links from Different Domains
Google uses backlinks from other websites to assess how valuable your website is. They track how many links point back to your page and make an estimate of how many quality backlinks you have based on the popularity of the site that is linked to you. While you can’t manually track this, there are ways for you to get more backlinks, which Google will then take into account when ranking your site higher. One thing that is essential for achieving better rankings is building up link equity. Link equity refers to the number of quality links pointing at a site as well as factors like reputation, popularity, and relevance. Essentially it’s just a numerical estimate of how popular or important someone thinks your website might be so they link it in hopes that others will come by and see it too.
Strength of Links from Different Domains
Ideally, you want backlinks from higher domain trust networks. For example, the New York Times or Harvard University will not be of the same value as a blog post on Tumblr. Generally speaking, if you want links from authoritative domains, it is best to create high-quality content that attracts them organically. Links are also weighted by how recently they were published; there is more value for a new link on your site than an old one.
Link Volume Data
Recently, there have been some studies done on the importance of backlinks. This led us to ask: just how important are they? If you have 2 backlinks and I have 10, will your site rank higher than mine? Will I get more traffic?
Domain Age and Trust Flow
You have likely heard that backlinks are still one of the top-ranking factors. For example, Domain Age and Trust Flow are both ranked as moderately important ranking factors. These measures will help you improve your site’s trustworthiness. This is one of the main reasons that backlink building should still be included in your SEO campaign. However, you don’t want to forget about other techniques like targeting long-tail keywords or writing blog posts on topics related to your niche– they’ll also help get your website discovered by people searching for specific things online.
Page Authority
A major component of Page Authority is linked domain authority (LDA), which essentially quantifies the power that a page wields on linking websites. Linked domain authority is a measure of how powerful an individual page is, or how much weight it has on other websites. The higher the DA, the more important the content is and should be treated with higher respect by other sites and by Google.
The final element of Page Authority considered for ranking purposes is link quantity and quality. Each time another site links to your content, their DA rating is divided among any sites linking out; this number will decrease as more links are made from it, providing a baseline for how much weight that particular backlink brings with it.
7 Surefire Ways to Get High-Quality Backlinks
As search engine algorithms continue to evolve, content marketers are tasked with staying one step ahead of the game to remain competitive and relevant in their niche market. Many of the long-standing traditional methods used to obtain backlinks are no longer guaranteed to boost your rankings, and savvy content marketers are on the lookout for new ways to get high-quality backlinks that will help their sites rank well in search engines. Here are seven effective strategies you can use to get high-quality backlinks in 2020 and beyond.
1. Focus on Quality
It’s become all too easy for sites that don’t deserve the high rankings they hold, to climb the Google ladder and gain authority. If you’re just starting, you may have seen articles about something called SEO guest posting but never thought it would be an option for your business.
Backlinks are an important part of any search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. They are links from other websites that Google considers to be votes of confidence that your site is high-quality and user-friendly.
2. Focus on Long-tail Keywords
It’s now more important than ever before to get high-quality backlinks. The way you go about doing this might be a little different now that Google has put so much weight on user experience and relevance. One of the most effective ways is to create content that provides longtail keywords with information that they can’t find elsewhere, then contact them directly with your piece as an offering. You can also offer other people’s content if it offers any value or ties in with your topic of expertise.
3. Increase Your Chances by Using Influencers
Utilizing influencers is one of the easiest ways to get high-quality backlinks. An influencer can provide a new angle for your blog post and make it much more interesting or applicable to their audience. However, it’s important not just for you but also for them as well. If you want people on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter to share your link then offer them a shootout in return.
4. Guest Blogging has Gotten Harder
Guest blogging was the easiest way for a business to grow backlinks when search engines were first created. Until now, most businesses use guest blogging as a way to generate links that allow their content or site more visibility on the web. However, Google has been cracking down hard on this strategy over the past couple of years and penalizing sites that have abused this strategy. That’s why if you’re looking for ways to start earning backlinks, it’s better that you focus on quality rather than quantity.
5. Link Building Doesn’t Stop
This decade is just getting started and this means that 2022 isn’t going to be the same as 2018, either. With a new year comes new technologies, trends, and opportunities for internet marketers who are ready for change.
For external backlinks, various sources will help to gain some link juice and relevancy.
- Forum Profile Links
- Guest Posts
- Wiki Links
6. Track Your Results
- Use Medium – Create an account and publish quality content relevant to your target audience.
- Ask Influencers for a Link – Connect with influencers by sending them a quick message or Tweet, you could ask them for a link. Influencers are more likely to engage with you if you send a note of introduction and share some of your work first.
- Guest Post on Other Sites – Reach out and submit articles as guest posts on other sites that are related or have an overlapping audience.
7. Google Authorship is Dead, but Social Media Posts Can Do Well
Marketers all know that links are key to a good SEO strategy. To do well on Google, links need to be credible and from reputable sites. But there’s also an old technique of adding links with keyword phrases just for the sake of getting some words on the page and hoping for a backlink—and it can work in the short term. The reality is, however, that search engines are cracking down on these types of posts.
