Simple Yet Powerful SEO Tip: Backlinks

by Jeremy Wong

The topic of SEO or Search Engine Optimization is heavily discussed and debated on the internet.  Go ahead, just type in “SEO” in any search engine and you’ll get libraries of discussions… information overload, in fact. Pay special attention to any that mention Backlinks!

So I’m going to cut straight to the chase.  Sorry to say, there are NO short cuts to good optimization.

Sure, there are all sorts of so-called “black hat” methods, such as link farms – they do not work.  Why?  Because Google hates them.  And… as much as it pains me to say this, Google is King.  You want free, organic traffic?  All Hail Google!

Unfortunately, getting free, organic traffic, is not exactly really free.  The cost?  Your time and efforts.  It’s just that simple.

There are plenty of good SEO methods to juice up your ranking and make Google love you.  But as promised, I’ll keep this short as there is plenty of literature on this in the public domain.

Two things:

1.      Good, original content
2.     Quality backlinks

Banklinks are basically inbound links – a link of your domain URL is placed in someone else’s website.  Content and backlinks go hand-in-hand.  Good content will help increase your chances of leading to quality backlinks.  If you have something good or interesting to say, the word has a higher chance of spreading.

Notice I mentioned “quality” backlink, not random backlinks.  Google has really advanced in its ranking system thanks to a bunch of math / computer science whizzes they employ.  They will rank your website based on the quality of where the links come from.

Getting a backlink from a website that is highly regarded by Google will juice up your ranking as they see it as a sign of endorsement (think of the online leaders of the subjects of your website).  Getting a backlink from a website that has poor rankings, or is completely irrelevant to what your website is about, may even push down your ranking.  An example is if your website is about fitness, and there are a lot of inbound links coming in from websites about TV satellites.

Relevant, quality backlinks are critical.  Quality over quantity.

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