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.
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 […]
SearchCap: Updates to AdWords daily budgets, Bing’s Dynamic Search Ads & 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: Google announces AdWords daily budgets can overspend by 2x, automaticallyOct 5, 2017 by Ginny Marvin While advertisers won’t be on the hook for overages, the real question is why are daily […]
SearchCap: Google AMP updates, SEO content & paid search clicks
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Beat high-cost paid search clicks by sweating the detailsOct 3, 2017 by Pauline Jakober Paid search can be difficult in competitive industries where CPCs are higher than average, but columnist Pauline […]
SearchCap: Google’s new flexible sampling, paywall schema & HTTPS migrations
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: First Click Free is over, being replaced by Flexible SamplingOct 2, 2017 by Greg Sterling Google is rolling out a suite of tools to help news publishers drive more subscription […]
SearchCap: Bing Ads tracking, Google Home screen & Google Fred
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’s ‘Manhattan project’: Home device with a screen to compete with Echo Show Sep 29, 2017 by Greg Sterling Can Google Home emerge from Amazon Echo’s shadow? Targeting featured snippet and […]
SearchCap: Google bugs, Bing Ads conversions & Google local finder mentions
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 announces new Editor features for ad extensionsSep 28, 2017 by Susan Wenograd Now available: Support for scheduling and Shared Libraries for call and location extensions Canonical tags gone wildSep […]
SearchCap: Happy birthday Google, EU Google Shopping changes & SEO 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: CSEs will compete head-on with Google Shopping in EU search resultsSep 27, 2017 by Ginny Marvin To provide “equal treatment” in the ad auction, Google Shopping will operate as a separate […]
SearchCap: Smart speaker stats, link building AI & Google doodle
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Report: 57% of smart speaker owners have bought something with their voiceSep 26, 2017 by Greg Sterling Part two of NPR Smart Audio report exposes the ‘v-commerce’ potential of virtual assistant […]
How to use AI for link building and improve your search rankings
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to grow in popularity among consumers, marketers working in search engine optimization must consider how it can make their work easier and help them get better results.
SearchCap: Google back on Apple, Bing search for business & Bing ads with LinkedIn
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Apple switches back to Google search results for iOS & MacSep 25, 2017 by Barry Schwartz After serving Bing web search results in iOS and Mac for a few years, Apple […]
3 ways to improve link equity distribution and capture missed opportunities
You've worked hard to accumulate as much link equity as possible from external sources, but is your internal linking structure diluting that equity? Columnist Chris Long details how to reclaim your lost link value.
SearchCap: AdWords extensions for call-only ads, SEO 101 & Bing Ads updates
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: 3 AdWords extensions now eligible for call-only ads Sep 21, 2017 by Greg Finn Account-level extensions will be eligible to display automatically with the ad type. 3 behavioral stats for retailers […]
SearchCap: AdWords second line, Bing ad extensions & Google AdWords Editor update
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 Editor update supports Shopping Showcase AdsSep 20, 2017 by Ginny Marvin Create and edit the newest Shopping ad format in Editor. Looking at marketing automation platforms? We compare 14 vendorsSep […]
SearchCap: Google AdWords addiction ads, Bing on links & Google Home mini
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Report: Google to debut ‘Home Mini’ smart speaker for $49 on October 4Sep 19, 2017 by Greg Sterling The device is Google’s answer to the low-cost Amazon Echo Dot. SMX East […]
SearchCap: Google EU offer, SEO mistakes & YouTube 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: Google proposes a new version of ‘rival links’ to remedy shopping search antitrust violationSep 18, 2017 by Greg Sterling Submission appears similar to its earlier, unsuccessful settlement proposal. Keys to Driving […]
SearchCap: Bing fact checking, Google mobile tips & Bing agency awards
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Spark Foundry takes home Bing’s 2017 Agency of the Year & Innovator of the Year awardsSep 15, 2017 by Amy Gesenhues Hosted by the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah, Bing’s 2017 Agency […]
SearchCap: Amp links at large, Google AdWords demographic targeting & 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: AMP links at large: What’s a publisher to do?Sep 14, 2017 by Barb Palser If you’re a publisher that’s implemented Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), you’ve likely seen views on those pages […]
SearchCap: SEO content audits, a search marketer’s view of Facebook & a link study
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 conduct an SEO content audit Sep 13, 2017 by Thomas Stern Columnist Thomas Stern shows how a content audit, when done right, can help you assess whether your content […]
SearchCap: Yelp hits Google again, link building & SMX East preview
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
Here’s your preview of what to expect next month at SMX East
Attending SMX is a bucket list item for many search marketers. Join us October 24-26 in NYC for three days of learning, 50+ sessions, 80+ dynamic and expert speakers, keynotes, exceptional networking and more. If you’re involved in SEO, SEM, social media marketing or other customer-facing activities, this is the conference for you (and your […]
SearchCap: Google EU appeal, goodbye fetch as Google for apps & award list
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: AdWords AMP landing pages, Google & Apple tracking & SEO mistakes
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Google Search Console beta invites, Google attribution & question and answers in maps
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Google local business edits, AMP powered featured snippets & Bing Ads bid adjustments
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Google AdWords ad suggestions, ad performance & Doodles
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Google local pack mentions, Google Shopping reports & PPC evals
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Alexa & Cortana, Google Assistant speakers & Google Maps parking
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Google knowledge panel ads, Google Maps videos & AMP survey
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: Google AdWords Sitelinks, phrase match & AR
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on and from other places across the web.