“Backlinks are Safe to Use” – WOW, this is a big statement, but when Matt Cutts from Google makes a call like this, we should all sit up and take notice. This video caught our attention so we thought we’d share it with you and give you a run down on what this means for your website and SEO efforts.
Google has put a lot of effort into the elimination of the traditional ways (read bad ole days) of search engine optimisation (SEO) including targeting those people that are involved in the trading or selling of backlinks. With recent algorithm updates such as Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird, the search engine giant is now focusing more than ever on rewarding websites that feature high quality content.
Getting straight to it, Matt gives a clear answer stating that “back links have many many years left in them”. He also adds that when Google are trying to match the content with what a user is looking for, backlinks are still playing a role. He also adds that in years to come, backlinks may become a little less important as the algorithms move towards conversational search, however the algorithms still have to rely on backlinks to help determine the basic reputation of the author and page content.
Google Authorship
According to the next part of Cutts’s video, Google authorship may start to play an even greater part in the future. This is because authorship allows writers and content creators to link the content to their Google profiles which gives the content credibility and links it to the reputation of the autor. The authority and reputation of pages will be of greater importance as more weight will be given to pages that are uniquely written by subject matter experts. Authorship also increases the click through rate (CTR) by giving personality to search engine listings which increases its visibility.
Backlink Considerations
Although the video states that backlinks could be useful for many more years, it also excludes some vital information that you should know. It is crucial to ensure that your linking strategies are not seen as Link Schemes and violate the Google Webmaster Tools guidelines.
If you are looking for higher rankings for your site, give us a call and we can put a search engine optimisation strategy together for you. (with the proper use of links of course…) You can also talk to us about connecting your website with your Google+ profile.
