Link Earning vs. Link Building Strategies

Google is the most popular search engine on the Internet, and it has achieved that status by carefully evaluating billions of websites every day to determine which sites have the highest quality and most relevant content. Because Google must stay ahead of other search engines, it is constantly adapting its algorithm. The latest algorithm update, Penguin, made dramatic changes to link strategies for search engine optimization. A shift from link building to link earning is well under way.

What Can Links do for your Website?

When a website links to your content, Google and other search engine algorithms assume that your content is worthwhile. This is a natural assumption. Bloggers link to websites that they feel offer additional helpful content to their readers. If a site receives a large number of links, therefore, Google is able to evaluate the quality of the content contained on the linked-to website.

The Development of Link Real Estate

When the newest Google algorithm update, known as Penguin, hit the Internet, many businesses saw their Google search engine rankings start falling almost immediately. SEO specialists started scrambling to determine precisely what had changed and why these changes were affecting search engine rankings. The most common factor was changes to linking strategies. In the past, Google simply evaluated the total number of links throughout the web that directed consumers to your website. The type of link and the quality of the web page that hosted the link was almost completely irrelevant. Businesses caught on to Google's emphasis on links, and websites began selling link space to interested SEO specialists.

The concept of link selling was actually quite ingenious. Because Google valued links so much, websites were created that featured hundreds and hundreds of links. The website that hosted the links was completely irrelevant. Consumers never stumbled upon these pages because they contained no helpful content. Businesses that purchased link space, however, were able to trick Google into thinking that these sites were beneficial and useful to consumers.

The Shift to Link Earning over Link Building

Now, Google is evaluating the quality of the sites that are doing the linking. So, if your website is linked to from sites that never see any traffic, your website will suffer. If, on the other hand, your website is linked to by another industry site, Google will boost your search engine rankings. For example, if an attorney's office links to the website of a large legal firm, Google will assume that the legal firm has the respect of other professionals in the legal industry. Because it is difficult to earn this respect and therefore earn the links, Google values this occurrence and assigns it great importance.

Link earning is the SEO strategy of the future. It's much more difficult and complex than simply purchasing link real estate on a junk website. It requires marketers to create high quality content that consumers want to read. With the new Penguin update, however, link earning is a necessary part of any search engine optimization strategy.