Want to start off by apologizing for no blog post last week. I try to get at least one out each week but unfortunately had a fall and still experiencing concussion symptoms, though they have diminished a bit now. Wasn’t in good shape for putting thoughts on the blog last week. With the big news of today, I thought I would play with the eclipse a little bit.
Links have always been an important, if not the main factor for ranking with SEO. Though Google will tell you that user experience is the top factor, that incorporates many different individual factors such as speed content, etc. Link strength is at the heart of your ranking strength. This is sometimes the hardest thing for business owners to wrap their heads around. I want to outline below a few of the logical real world reasons that links are important to getting your page ranked. By deconstructing the Google algorithm a bit, it helps people understand. I will try to do a few posts in the coming weeks on deconstructing the algorithm.
Online Referrals
If another site is willing to send visitors to your page, that is viewed as a vote in your favor to Google. At a high level, links from reputable and relevant sites are like votes for your page to be important. The more of these you have, the more important Google views your page. One of the best sources of business is trusted referrals from friends and happy customers. This is the search engine version of that. It is very important.
Signals
Google looks at links to see how your business is relevant and active in the real world. You can write beautiful content and have a nice site but that is all controlled by you. These are all important, but if you want to seem like a real business to Google, there has to be evidence that you interact with the rest of the world. Links are signals to Google of that interaction.
- Local Signals
- Though links from other local businesses, chambers, or charities may not be the most powerful and high-traffic sites, they are strong signals to Google that you are a member of your local community and active within it. If you are a local business looking to rank for local search terms, having these local links is an important differentiator.
- Industry Relevant Signals
link building” width=”300″ height=”180″ />
- Links within your industry are tremendous signals that you are an active participant in another community. Not your geographic community, but your industry. This shows to Google that you are respected and active here. Links from articles talking about your industry or what you do or on blogs or sites specific to your industry such as associations or newsletters are great signals to Google that you are active and appreciated within your industry and worth ranking.
- Powerful General Signals
- General news sites with high traffic are also great ways to build up your strength. They may not be as specific to your industry or location, but they show to Google that you are seen at a high level and if the site is general but the article itself is talking about what you do, this is another combination of strength and relevance that helps boost your page.
Gaining links can be difficult I work with clients to help them make sure they take care of their offline relationships and try to convert them online, but after over 10 years of doing this, I have generated relationships online that can help clients get access to editorial sites and charity sites that they may not have access to or relationships with, or just never thought of. Though links are hard and frustrating for small businesses, they do have a reason. Don’t let your competitors eclipse you in the rankings. Let us help you with link building.
Leave A Comment