The Penguin update and subsequent updates have radically changed link building.
By now, we’re all familiar with the Penguin update, the massive Google algorithm update that refined how Google views and considers external links in the context of its ranking process. But the original Penguin update in 2012 has carried lasting effects, shaping the link building world and influencing other updates and changes to SEO norms.
Today, link building is a totally different world. Here are just five of the ways modern link building is different:
- Quantity doesn’t matter (much). The quantity of links you build is totally secondary to the quality of links you build. You can benefit from getting more links on more outside sources, but quantity just isn’t that important.
- Publishers are pickier. Publishers know the link building game, and they’ve gotten far pickier about what content and links they’ll accept. You have to be smart about how you publish and build links, or you won’t stand a chance.
- News sources have taken a dive. Press releases used to be amazing opportunities for link building, serving as shortcuts to get links from high-authority publishers. Partly as an overreaction to this trend, the authority of news sites has taken a general downturn.
- Anchor text has different standards. Previously, anchor text was a place for you to inject keywords. Today, you need descriptive, natural phrasing.
- Context is everything. If your link seems out of place in any way—on a strange publisher, in strange content, or not adding to the value of the piece—it’s going to fail. Context is everything.
If you want to be successful in SEO, you need an effective link building campaign, but modern link building is much more multifaceted and complex. If you need help getting started, contact Quez Media for help today!
