23/04/2019
Sure, link building used to be plagued by a morass of black-hat tactics like link farms, paid link schemes, hidden links and spammy content. But after Google introduced Penguin algorithm updates in 2012 to crack down on those tactics, the focus turned to white hat techniques and quality content.
But, that doesn’t mean the debate about link building is over. Some SEOs argue any form of proactive link building is a waste of time at best and a policy violation at worst. And some say it should be a valuable, legitimate part of any SEO strategy. So which is it?
The quality content argument
A common yet contentious attitude towards link building is encapsulated by this tweet, which quotes Managing Director of Ryte Marcus Tandler’s talk during SEO Fight Club at SMX Munich.
“Of course, taken out of context, this one quote from my 66-slide presentation might be quite misleading, maybe even dangerous advice,” Tandler told Search Engine Land after the fact, reminding us that the nuances of link building don’t easily lend themselves to Twitter.
“The old SEO advice to write content for users rather than for search engines also applies to link building. Don’t build links because it might yield a certain ‘SEO value,’ build links that drive targeted traffic to your site.”
During his session, Tandler touched upon the spam generated by link building practices as well as the post-PageRank rise of “arbitrary metrics” that blur the line between what works and what doesn’t.
In an effort to sway SMX Munich attendees, Tandler invoked definitions and quotes from prominent SEO figures John Mueller, Matt Cutts and Jono Alderson to support his position that any link not organically given is, by definition, in violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines.
The organic visibility argument
Many supporters of the practice cite the need to build links to distinguish content in high-competition niches.
“The problem with a lot of content is that no one sees it. If you don’t socialize it or directly reach out, you’re missing out on a lot of great linking opportunities,” said Julie Joyce, owner of link development firm Link Fish Media.
“Recently, I secured a great link for a client after I reached out to a blogger in the same niche and pointed out some content that I thought would fit in nicely with a piece he already had, and he thanked me. When someone says, ‘Hey, thanks for sending that!’ you really realize how easy it is for people to miss out.”