{"id":121688,"date":"2019-03-28T17:43:19","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T17:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=121688"},"modified":"2019-09-19T10:15:01","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T10:15:01","slug":"link-building-myths-debunked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2019\/03\/28\/link-building-myths-debunked\/","title":{"rendered":"Debunked: Nine link building myths you should ignore in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost anyone running a B2B or B2C business knows that Google and other search engines like quality links, and could consider them as one of the top ranking factors. <\/strong><\/p>\n

So, if you want your website to rank higher than your competition on search engines, a proper link building strategy is not debatable.<\/p>\n

However, if you\u2019re going to implement link building in your 2019 digital marketing strategy<\/a>, you have to do it the right way.<\/p>\n

Search engines shroud their algorithms in secrecy, so the SEO and link building industry<\/a> is flooded with many myths that will never get you results but can get you into a lot of trouble.<\/p>\n

To avoid investing resources into wasted link building efforts, pay attention to these nine link building myths that won\u2019t get you anywhere in 2019.<\/p>\n

1. Guest posting is dead<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This myth started to get really popular in 2014 when Google\u2019s Matt Cutt said,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, I\u2019m calling it: if you\u2019re using guest blogging as a way to gain links in 2014, you should probably stop. Why? Because over time it\u2019s become a more and more spammy practice, and if you\u2019re doing a lot of guest blogging then you\u2019re hanging out with really bad company. So stick a fork in it: guest blogging is done; it\u2019s just gotten too spammy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because of how direct and stern this warning by Cutt was, it\u2019s understandable that many people believe that guest blogging is genuinely dead.<\/p>\n

However, Cutt later clarified<\/a> this statement by saying that what he meant was spammy blog posts for the sake of SEO purposes was dead.<\/p>\n

This means that publishing relevant and resourceful blog posts on authoritative sites for building links, exposure, branding, increased reach, and building a community is still very relevant in 2019.<\/p>\n

2. Links not relevant to your niche are low-quality links<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is a prevalent myth that contradicts the fundamental idea of link building in 2019. To rank high, you need to get top authority sites to link back to your site. To get these sites to feature your link, you need to provide relevant content for them. Moreover, whether or not that content is related to your niche or not, it still improves your ranking.<\/p>\n

So, when your site receives a non-relevant backlink from a non-relevant niche, Google will not frown upon these links.<\/p>\n

3. Building tons of links to a single piece of content is spammy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Many people still think that building tons of links to a single piece of content could negatively impact their keyword<\/a> rank. Again, this link building myth contradicts itself because it goes against the idea of organic link building.<\/p>\n

If search engines do not penalize highly original and valuable webpage that other websites link to because of how helpful and informative their content is, why would they consider a piece of content with tonnes of backlinks<\/a> spammy?<\/p>\n

However, if your links are low quality (from spammy content networks and directories), you could be slapped\u00a0with a manual penalty<\/a> or significant link profile devaluation.<\/p>\n

4. Link building is irrelevant if you already rank high in search queries<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s sad, but many marketers still believe this. Link building, like other digital marketing strategies for social media marketing, blogging, and others should be consistent. Not only because it helps you maintain your position above your competition in search queries, but also because it helps you with the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Increase your brand\u2019s visibility across the web<\/li>\n
  • Increase traffic to your domain<\/li>\n
  • Showcase your brand\u2019s authority and value<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Link building is not just about increasing the volume of links to your site; it also exposes your business to new customers.<\/p>\n

    5. Google will always prioritize sites with higher backlinks over others in search queries<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    The truth is there isn\u2019t a “one size fits all” for search engine ranking<\/a>. There are about\u00a0200 ranking factors<\/a> related to UX, mobile usability, technical performance, query intent, and many more.<\/p>\n

    Google’s ranking factors are very dynamic. According to\u00a0Google Webmaster John Mueller<\/a>, the search engine focuses on a particular query intent to select its ranking factors.<\/p>\n