The kinds of links that matter in site rankings keep changing, and it is no longer the same as it was a few years ago. Having links is no longer a guarantee that your site will appear on the top results on the search engines. This has resulted from the rise of other aspects that forms part of the search engine algorithms to decide who comes top on the search results and which does not.
As a marketer, you should understand how the ranking works and why some sites still rank high when not optimized. A lot of these reasons have something to do with the search engine algorithm. There are about 200 ranking factors that determine which site ranks at the rank top and which one to rank at the bottom. These ranking aspects might not be easy to understand, and it can be hard for you to adjust your site to increase the rankings. This post will guide you to understand the factors that Google looks at when determining the sites’ ranking in 2019 and the links state this year.
The Algorithm
The first aspect that hinders links from affecting the ranking of your site is the core algorithm. The ranking process takes a lot of procedures all from indexing and value calculation and for the site to rank well, the algorithms must highly value the links. One of the reasons why your website has not reached the top yet is because the links are less valuable in the SERPs. The indexing and calculation of values across SERPs are known as real-time, and it will play a huge role in determining our sites ranking. Do not be confused when you realize that the website keeps popping and dropping whenever you insert new links.
Content Analysis
The other aspect that determines your site ranking is the content. The best way to keep your site on top is if you rely more on the content than the links. Although links play a particular role, the role will be determined by how useful, trustworthy and authoritative the site is.
What Is Link Trustworthiness?
You have probably come across several warning about the sites you choose to hyperlink on your content. Link trustworthiness is all about eliminating spam and ensuring that it does not put your website or those who click on it at risk of exposure to hackers and other evil-doers.
Google will weigh your anchor texts to determine if your site is worthy of being ranked top. Avoid spamming with anchor links that link you to whichever site that you come across but instead look for a trustworthy and authoritative site. The anchor link will also be used to value the anchor text and other texts surrounding it.
SEO is all about useful and valuable content. You must understand your visitors’ preferences first and then craft content that will meet their needs. After coming up with good content, now focus on link building and understand the strategies that Google use to determine if the links are trustworthy. Initially, Google would entirely focus on link building, but that does not work anymore. You have to balance both the links and content to make your site lovable.
How Should You Go About the Links?
Although Google does not focus on links like before, it does not mean that you should not work on that aspect. If you do it well, you will be maximizing your ranking in some way. The first thing to focus on in link building is the trustworthiness. You must also know what niche fits your content. Do not just go for the first link that comes your way and adding it to your list of hyperlinks. Google will check the links to see if they relate to your site in any way before deciding if they are fit.
Make sure that the page link you choose has relevant content. The reason for adding those links is in the first place was so you can direct your visitors to another site where you feel they can find more valuable information regarding what you were discussing on your content. Ensure that the content is relevant and also, make sure that the outgoing links are not only from the particular web page but the entire website. It will be of no use if a page is useful, but all the other pages have links to low-quality sites. One low quality or irrelevant link can drastically cause a drop on your page’s ranking.
What About Paid Links?
Can paid links increase your site ranking? Does Google recognize them? Google may use the outgoing links to help it identify paid links in the entire site. Remember that if you start a new site and you post articles from link sellers, you could be putting the website into a negative circle. You might even realize that the links will not pass the PageRank, meaning that you will be poorly ranked.
Google algorithms may also classify the site to be spammy based on how you have added the outgoing likes. It may also make your site untrustworthy, and all these are not good for your ranking.
Final verdict
The fact remains that the way links used to affect the ranking has changed. This is as a result of the modification engine. It has resulted in overruling of some aspects of linking. Some factors will determine how well a link will affect a site, and one of them is age. Your site may rank well after a few years even without the presence of many links.
When it comes to backlinks, it is more than just the number. It is mainly about relevance and authority. Most of the poorly ranked or non-optimized sites are as a result of poor quality links. It would be best if you had a few links, but all are pointing you to authoritative sites coming from .gov, or .edu, online learning platforms, and news sites. Learn more about your niche and link your site to relevant sites, and if you do all these things as they should, your site will undoubtedly pop to the top of the search results.