Link building
In the world of E-E-A-T and AIO, links are more important than ever.
Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your website. These links—called backlinks—act like votes of confidence to search engines like Google and Bing, helping improve your site’s authority and rankings in the SERPs.
The more high-quality, relevant sites that link to yours, the more trustworthy and valuable your site appears to search engines and your audience.
Columnists offer insights and tips for effective link building and discuss controversial techniques like link baiting and buying links.
SearchCap: Pitch SMX East, YouTube news, bad PPC numbers & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: PPC’s #fakenews: 9 ways bad numbers might look good Jul 11, 2018 by Andreas Reiffen Did you know it’s super-easy to fake your way to seemingly good PPC performance? Contributor Andreas […]
SearchCap: YouTube video ads, AI-driven call intelligence, link building & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Internal links: Link building’s secret sauce Jul 2, 2018 by Andrew Dennis Contributor Andrew Dennis explains why you shouldn’t overlook internal links on your site: They leverage link equity from external […]
SearchCap: SMX Advanced session recap, audience targeting, Google pics & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How to create the perfect ad with audience targeting Jun 29, 2018 by Christi Olson Reaching specific types of consumers throughout their purchase journeys is a challenge, but contributor Christi Olson […]
SearchCap: Google webspam report, Bing ads, bot herding & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads Automated Extensions — formerly Annotations — now have UI reporting and opt-out Jun 28, 2018 by Ginny Marvin 10 Automated Extensions are available in Bing Ads. Optimize for local […]
SearchCap: Google’s indexing API, SMX East agenda, link building & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Getting it done: how to overcome common link building blockers Jun 26, 2018 by Paddy Moogan Link building is tough to begin with and made harder when company policies slow down […]
SearchCap: Matt Cutts at SMX Advanced, Bing announces AMP viewer & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Supercharging your SEO with AI: Insights, automation and personalization Jun 12, 2018 by Jim Yu The tech giants are fully committed to ‘AI-first,’ and marketers who follow suit can supercharge their […]
SearchCap: Link building for boring industries, Google’s 45M notifications to website owners & more
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Building links in boring industries Jun 11, 2018 by Jeremy Knauff Fresh out of ideas on how to build links to a boring site? Contributor Jeremy Knauff walks us through his […]
SearchCap: Google tests AMP labels, AdWords personalization & understanding user intent
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google testing AMP label in Search ads Jun 8, 2018 by Ginny Marvin The label is showing on some text ads with AMPed landing pages. Advanced AdWords Strategies to Personalize Experiences […]
SearchCap: Yelp against Google, Guide to PPC out & Google Shopping Auctions
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Introducing Search Engine Land’s ‘Guide to PPC’May 24, 2018 by Ginny Marvin Just getting started with paid search or need a refresher on what’s new and possible with ad creative, targeting, […]
SearchCap: Google Trends, Yelp antitrust & Google lawsuits
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google steps up efforts to fight scams and fraud directed at SMBsMay 23, 2018 by Greg Sterling The company is filing new lawsuits, has developed tools and a stronger education program. […]
SearchCap: Bing crypto ads, AdWords scripts & vertical search
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing is latest to ban cryptocurrency adsMay 15, 2018 by Ginny Marvin The updated financial product and services policy will take effect in June. Pause underperforming ads with this updated AdWords […]
SearchCap: Google shorter snippets, Google review notifications & paid search tips
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google confirms it shortened search results snippets after expanding them last DecemberMay 14, 2018 by Barry Schwartz Time spent increasing meta descriptions for the longer Google search results snippets may have […]
SearchCap: Google I/O, Google Posts with videos and image search guidelines updated
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Image Search updates guidelines, adding structured data, speed and moreMay 8, 2018 by Barry Schwartz Google has finally refreshed content for its image search publishing guidelines. Ask the SMXpert: Keyword […]
SearchCap: AdWords interface changing, manual penalties & link building
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Old AdWords interface will be phased out by year-endMay 7, 2018 by Ginny Marvin Google will notify advertisers ahead of the final switch to the new AdWords experience. Link building is […]
Ask the SMXpert: Google manual penalties explained
Have you ever gotten a manual penalty from Google? It's no fun. Contributor and SMXpert Kaspar Szymanski shares answers and insights on how to avoid getting another ‘love note’ in the future.
SearchCap: PPC branded content & bad local reviews
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How to use good ol’ PPC to support fun and creative branded contentApr 25, 2018 by Kevin Lee Contributor Kevin Lee looks at creative synergies and the power of collaboration to […]
SearchCap: Voice speaker ads, link building & Earth Day
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Why do we overcomplicate link building?Apr 23, 2018 by Julie Joyce Do we overcomplicate link building to make the job look glamorous? Contributor Julie Joyce thinks we might and suggests it’s […]
SearchCap: Google more results button, new filters for Search Console & Chrome search suggestions
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Facebook & Cambridge Analytica: What we know, what they knew & where that leaves usApr 12, 2018 by Michelle Robbins A brief history of the many privacy disasters at the world’s […]
SearchCap: SEO factors, negative local reviews & link building
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: 8 types of negative reviews Google will removeMar 22, 2018 by Joy Hawkins Is someone getting back at your company by leaving negative reviews? Contributor Joy Hawkins shares types of reviews […]
SearchCap: Google right to be forgotten, Google Word Coach game & German ruling
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: German court: Google has no ‘duty to inspect’ websites for illegal content before displayingFeb 27, 2018 by Greg Sterling The court held that Google can’t be held liable before being notified […]
An easy way to see if Google thinks your webpages are keyword relevant
Contributor Eric Enge shows us how to determine if a webpage is relevant for the keywords it targets and what do to when it falls flat.
SearchCap: Google Assistant updates, search referral growth & marketing efforts
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Assistant to get multiple new languages, distribution and skillsFeb 23, 2018 by Greg Sterling The Assistant will soon speak 30 languages and be able to offer mobile carrier customer support. […]
SearchCap: Google AMP email, link building & PPC teams
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: SMX West is coming! Here’s everything you need to knowFeb 14, 2018 by Chris Sherman Search Engine Land’s SMX® West is just five weeks away, and it’s shaping up to be […]
SearchCap: Google featured snippets, Bing Ads audience segmentation & link building
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google publishes comprehensive guide to featured snippetsJan 30, 2018 by Barry Schwartz Learn more about how Google’s featured work, the variations and some of the challenges Google faces with these snippets. […]
How to use brand mentions for SEO, or the linkless future of link building
Google has used links to determine the authority of websites since its early days: the idea of webpages casting “votes” for other pages by linking to them is at the core of the PageRank algorithm. This led to the rise of numerous manipulative link tactics. Google reacted with the Penguin update and manual penalties; link […]
Search Engine Land’s Community Corner: Staff changes at SEL, a new Google Twitter account to follow, and an awards reminder
This week brings a warm hello and a fond goodbye within the Search Engine Land team, along with another channel to stay up to date on Google search info, the Search Engine Land Awards and more honors for the search marketing community. Search Engine Land staff changes Good night and good luck, Jess Jessica Thompson […]
SearchCap: Videos on Google My Business, SEO reports & search pics
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google My Business video uploads now available to business ownersJan 12, 2018 by Barry Schwartz Videos can appear on Google Maps and local search listings. 4 reports you can pull from […]
4 reports you can pull from Ahrefs that you didn’t know existed
Columnist Kevin Rowe points out some handy reports available in Ahrefs for helping to inform your link building, SEO and content strategy. Why not check them out?
How to generate links that drive traffic, not just ranking
Links are a crucial element of search engine optimization, and columnist Kevin Rowe believes that long-term SEO success relies on building links that drive real traffic.
SearchCap: Google event schema penalty, knowledge graph local panels & fake reviews
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google warns webmasters not to use misleading event markupNov 27, 2017 by Barry Schwartz Google can penalize your website if you use event markup in a misleading manner. Looking to get […]
Private blog networks: A great way to get your site penalized
Columnist Kevin Rowe explains what private blog networks (PBNs) are, how to identify them, and why you should steer clear.
SearchCap: Google service ads, local search & Halloween
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google home services ads program rebrands, expanding to 30 cities by end of 2017Oct 31, 2017 by Ginny Marvin The program is now in 17 cities. A new app helps businesses […]
SEO Ranking Factors in 2017: What’s Important and What’s Not
What are the most crucial search engine ranking factors these days? Panelists at SMX East discussed their findings and provided practical advice for putting this data into action.
SearchCap: Google AdWords offline, Google Assistant for families & long-tail keywords
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google announces new online-to-offline features on the cusp of the holiday shopping seasonOct 24, 2017 by Ginny Marvin The announcements are aimed at giving brick-and-mortar retailers greater visibility on Google search […]
10 ways to generate links with online influencers
Columnist Kevin Rowe shares tips on working with online influencers to boost your brand's link profile, its brand visibility and traffic to your site.
Search community mourns loss of veteran link builder Eric Ward
Eric Ward, also known as “Link Moses,” passed away on Monday, October 16, 2017. He was 58 years young. Eric was the first person in the industry that I met who identified himself as a “link builder,” and he gave the first comprehensive presentation I ever saw on the topic — at a Search Engine […]
SearchCap: ‘Yext for Food’, Google quality score & Local Ads
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Yext begins to verticalize local business listings syndication with ‘Yext for Food’Oct 12, 2017 by Greg Sterling Moves seek to provide enhanced data with more vertically specific attributes to various consumer […]
SearchCap: Google AdWords interface, Google Home listens & Apple Search Ads expands
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: AdWords rolls out new interface to all advertisersOct 11, 2017 by Susan Wenograd The new experience touts speed, upgraded visuals, more management tools. AMP up your call conversions: 5 things you […]
SearchCap: Bing Ads max clicks, link building & Doodles
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Ads launches automated bid strategy to ‘Maximize Clicks’Oct 10, 2017 by Susan Wenograd Bing Ads can now automatically manage keyword bids in an effort to generate the most clicks possible […]
SearchCap: Google short videos, AdWords scripts & IoT for local search
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Submit your SEO questions to Google for upcoming short Q&A videosOct 9, 2017 by Barry Schwartz Google hasn’t produced short-form SEO video answers for three years, but now they’re looking to […]