Backlinks
Backlinks are an important factor in search rankings, as they display trust and authority to pages on a website. However, there are a number of best practices that need to be adhered to, including ensuring links are relevant and not seen as spam. Below, we’ve compiled a list of key takeaways and SEO best practices for backlinks from Google’s regular SEO Office Hours sessions.
For more on optimizing your website’s links for search engines check out our additional resources:
5 Internal Linking Strategies to Boost SEO and Drive Organic Traffic.
Value of Backlinks Changes Over Time as Sites Grow in Size & Adds More Links
Backlinks don’t lose their value directly because of their age, but PageRank is distributed more broadly over time as the linking site publishes pages and increases the volume of links.
Google Doesn’t Place Fixed Weight on Backlinks in its Algorithms
Google doesn’t place a fixed weight on backlinks in its algorithms, it varies from case to case. For example, a new article may rank well for a trending topic but have few links because it is so fresh.
Rather Than Redirecting Temporary Pages, Encourage Users to Link to More Permanent Pages
If you have a page that will only be live for a short amount of time, instead of trying to consolidate link equity through redirects, John recommends encouraging users to link to more permanent pages on your site like category pages.
Google Ignores Links From Press Releases
Links from press releases are generally ignored because Google knows that companies publish these themselves. John doesn’t recommend relying on links from press releases as part of a link building strategy.
Links to Different Language Sites Provide Same Value as Same Language Links
Links to a different language site provide the same value as links to same language sites.
Anchor Text Helps Google Understand Topic of Target Page
The anchor text in a link helps Google understand the broader topic of the target page.
Google Largely Ignores Press Release Links and Content
Content and links in press releases are largely ignored by Google because this is something the webmaster of the target site has helped to publish. Press release links aren’t seen as spammy but aren’t give the same weight as more natural links.
Links in Search Console Don’t Reflect What Algorithms or Penalties Are Using
If a bad link appears in Search Console, that doesn’t mean this is automatically being included in any algorithms or penalties.
The Disavow File is Only Needed for Manual Action Penalties
The disavow file should mainly be used when there is a manual action to help with the reconsideration request. For sites that don’t have a manual action, Google will try to ignore any manipulative links automatically.
Google Counts Links When Removed From Disavow Files
Removing URLs from the disavow file means Google will count these links again the next time they are processed.