In case you haven’t heard, Google has issued some new info in regards to link backs. This news has taken the SEO world by shock as it will force a lot of SEO experts to revamp their format a bit.
But let’s discuss the changes and break it down.
Linkbacks. What are they?
Traditionally, linkbacks have been at the cornerstone of any SEO plan. When someone links from their site to yours, google considers that endorsement and uses it to calculate your page rank. If a high ranking page links to you, it passes some “SEO power” to your site and increase your page rank. Consider it your online reputation or referral. Along with good content, links have always been one of the most integral parts of SEO.
And they still are important. Except according to google, you can’t look for them or try to obtain them! In google’s own words, “Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking may be… a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.”
Here are some examples of links that could be penalized.
1. Buying or selling links. This has always been penalized. Nothing new here.
2. Link exchanging. Mutual linking has been in practice for a while although it is less popular than in the past. Nonetheless, you might see a “Resources” page or “Friends of this website” page that would be considered link exchanging and could be penalized, even though no money was exchanged.
3. Guest Posting with keyword rich anchor texts. Up until now, this has been accepted as good SEO. It’s a way to get solid links as well as exposure. Not any more.
4. Directory or bookmark sites. Do you have a resources section? Links? Friends? Call it what you want, if it is obvious that it is only for linking purposes, you could be penalized.
5. Optimized anchor text. This one is throwing a lot of people into a frenzy. No longer can you add keywords and link them to external sites.
6. Forum comments with optimized links. Think of the footer or signature in a forum post. it’s been pretty common to add a link to your website in the signature if you comment on forums. It’s good business to talk about who you are.
Basically, anything that is obviously created for search engine optimization purposes can be penalized. So how then do we optimize? Do we have to be more ninja about it? Well yes, we just need to rework things a bit. In the meantime, it’s best to go over your own site with these new rules in mind.
