One of the hot rumors of 2014 is that a “linkless SEO” is coming in the future, but that’s not going to be a reality anytime soon. While some professionals are leaning more on other SEO tactics, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of good links in your overall strategy.
A solid link-building strategy is still considered by SEO algorithms as an integral part of your online performance, and having “bad links” will get you penalized. Until that’s no longer standard, you should pay strict attention to them.
Links are used by search engines in order to weigh how relevant your site is. Granted, nobody knows exactly how they’re used, but years of experience has shown SEO experts that links do make a difference, for better or worse.
When you’re weighing the value of a link and how it relates to your website’s profile, quality counts. But will links someday go the way of the dinosaurs?
Appeal around the world
With global appeal, designers know that the more popular a website becomes, the more the links from that website will matter. For example, Wikipedia boasts a seemingly endless amount of links that direct people to it from other sites.
The site has earned authority as well as trust with every search engine. If you provide relevant links to Wikipedia from your site, your rankings should improve.
However, local links also matter. Take a look at the Teoma search engine, which was the first to note “local popularity.” If you’re in the business of selling vegan cupcakes delivered via bike in Portland, Oregon, getting local links from places such as the local nonprofit bike recycling center can make a huge difference in your SEO rankings.
In fact, LSEO (going local) has become a huge trend in 2014.
Proving yourself
Anchor text is still a big part of your rankings, so you need to stay on top of it. For example, if numerous links point in the right direction and boast the same keywords, that anchor text is going to rank well.
Think of calls to action (CTAs) such as “click here” that actually link you to the right landing pages. Inbound links matter just as much as outbound ones.
You should also keep in mind that TrustRank is still a biggie for search engines. Spam links are common online, and some experts say that up to 60 percent of incoming website traffic is actually automated bots.
To make sure you get to relevant sites, search engines use TrustRank. Trust is often measured via a link graph. The more links you get from trusted sites, the better TrustRank you’ll have. Some of the most trusted sites include .gov, .edu and .org sites.
