Google,
and the History of Link Building
Google, and the History of Link Building
I can't begin to tell you how sick I am of reading articles and
posts that mention the two words "Google" and "penalty"
in the same sentence!
So many webmasters are walking on eggshells these days when it
comes to Google, and it just doesn't need be.
The most common question I see is "If I do this, will Google
penalize me?"
Let me help you ease this nonsense.
Just like anything in life, there is a portion of common sense
that needs to be implemented when optimising a website for the internet.
When you come across a technique that you may be questioning in
the back of your mind, just think it thru.
You may want to sit down for this one. It may blow you away ;0).
The fact of the matter is, Google rarely penalizes webmasters for
anything. Yep, that's right..you heard me...RARELY!
Why is this, you may ask?
Well, it's quite simple. Google didn't become #1 in search because
they were the best at penalizing the most sites. They became #1
because they have an excellent way of solving problems. You see,
when you hear webmasters complaining that they were penalized, well
in most cases, it's just not so.
Google knows the tricks of the trade, and to maintain their title
as 'The king of search', they need to be constantly studying different
techniques webmasters are using to try to get better search engine
rankings.
Google has mastered the term 'devalue', because that is what they
actually do.
Remember back in the day, when all links were created equal? That's
because back then, most people linked to your site because it had
good content that they thought their users would be interested in,
so the links were themed, and they didn't require a link back to
them. That is why a lot of the older sites on the net have high
rankings. They have many one-way links pointing in.
People caught on.
Then you had webmasters scurrying to get any link they could get
their hands on, to point to their site. Didn't matter to them if
the links made sense. There were links from gambling, adult, and
free games sites, all pointing to an education site. It didn't make
sense, so...
Google caught on.
Google found ways to figure out if these links were relative. Those
that were not, were 'DEVALUED', not 'PENALIZED'.
People caught on.
Webmasters were also getting smarter. Next came the 'reciprocal
links'.
The trading or bartering of links between two related sites. "If
you put my link on your homepage, I will put your link on mine".
To this day, still very effective, but....
Google caught on.
Google decided this was good. Lot's of good sites linking to each
other BUT, this link schema isn't quite as good as if site A, linked
to site B, without site B linking back, so Google 'DEVALUED' the
links, not 'PENALIZED' them.
People caught on.
Now people are buying links to their sites from any other sites
that have high pr. Thus giving them a one way link and a PR transfer.
Not a bad idea, but...
Google caught on.
Google is thinking, "Now why in the world would this quality
PR8 web hosting site have a text link to this PR2 Viagra site? Pretty
easy answer huh?
So Google 'DEVALUED' this type of link.
People caught on.
Now people are buying RELATED links on RELATED sites. This is good!
Personally I see nothing wrong with this, and I don't think Google
does either. This is called 'Advertising', and it is a common, normal,
honest form of advertising and marketing for your site. If you look
back to the very beginning of the internet, and the first example
I gave you, this is almost identical. The only difference is that
back then, most people linked to you for free, today, you have to
pay.
Does that make all of the other link building techniques worthless?
NOT AT ALL! It just means those types of links aren't as valuable,
so it will just take more of them to create the same effect.
Well, I am hoping you see my point here? I could go on forever
on this subject. The main point is that webmasters need to understand
the difference between something being 'DEVALUED', and something
being 'PENALIZED'.
Being penalized for something is when you are doing something bad,
wrong, illegal, or immoral.
Being devalued, just means that the topic in question is being
saturated, and is no longer rare or unique. In order to keep competition
and honesty, there needs to be a new and better means developed
to maintain an edge.
So next time your site drops in rankings at Google, before you
scream 'Penalty', make sure that Google just didn't tweak their
algo to devalue your technique.
About the Author Jer Strausser is the
founder and owner of the highly popular work at home community at
www.WorkatHomeCommunity.com. Visit them for tips, news, and articles
for your home business success.
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