Why Getting The Right SEO Endorsements Will Help You Win Big With Google.
Today is “SEO Election Day” for your website. So is tomorrow – and the day after that. The 2020 U.S. election might be over. However, the election of your website to win big with Google is ongoing. You are in a never-ending campaign to beat out your competitors.
In this year’s election, your favorite presidential candidate received endorsements. But what if he was endorsed by… wait for it – Bob’s Coffee House in “Small Town USA”? What?!
We all expect that any major presidential candidate will receive endorsements from popular politicians and well-known celebrities. But a local coffee shop won’t do much to buoy a national political campaign. That type of low-caliber endorsement is irrelevant and not at all noteworthy. Those who hold the power of the vote could care less about such a silly “endorsement”, if you can even call it that.
Yet, this is what happens if you acquire low-quality backlinks for your website that aren’t aligned with your business. When Google (The Voter) sees links like that, it has a reaction similar to what yours would be if the local coffee shop endorsed a presidential candidate. Laughable.
Relevancy
The links to your website should be as relevant as possible to your business. There should be a good logical reason for a visitor on a “backlinking website” to click-through to your website. For example, a real estate agent could get a backlink from a mortgage broker or a moving company. Those links are relevant to someone who is interested in buying a house. If you want to know whether your links are relevant, ask yourself why your intended audience would want to visit the web page at the other end of that link. To refer back to our political election metaphor, if you were running for president, then a link from a coffee shop website does you no good.
Authority
The websites that link to your website should not only be relevant to your business, but also carry clout or authority. Authoritative websites are trustworthy and highly valued by their audience and website visitors. As a result, these types of sites are also held in high regard by Google. For instance, a link from an informational government website about FHA or VA loans to a bank website would be both authoritative and relevant.
Variety
Finally, mix it up. Don’t get links from only one or two types of websites. Also the anchor text (link text) you use in the links themselves should vary widely. To compare this to a political campaign, candidates get endorsements from other politicians, organizations and celebrities, each with varying levels of influence. Your SEO linking (also known as “link building”) strategy should be no different.
How to Recognize a Good Backlink “Endorsement”
Just like endorsements for a politician, when it comes to winning higher Google rankings, not all backlinks (endorsements) are created equal. More isn’t always better. One highly authoritative and relevant backlink is worth more than a thousand low-quality “junk” backlinks. No exaggeration.
When it comes to getting the right websites to endorse (link to) your website, you should consider three things:
- Relevancy
- Authority
- Variety
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