Why content is the new link building

One of the jobs of an SEO is to optimise a client’s site and pages so that they rank in Google, but far too often we come up against firms pitching for the same jobs that have a detailed link buying programme for clients embedded (and costed) within their pitch. We understand why this is of course as Google still persists in putting the firms with the most links top of the tree more often than not, but this is changing.

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Starting with some long tail searches we began experimenting two years ago and we’ve managed to get a site with only eight links top worldwide for a two word phrase. Granted the phrase isn’t searched that often but the key is that we did it without any backlinks. It was hard at first as nothing we did two years ago seems to be able to shift it from the initial positions at the bottom of page one or top of page two but over time this has changed.

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About a year ago we set out to create some compelling content; to make the site the most attractive and comprehensive in the sector and it was this that finally saw it rise to position one on Google all over the English speaking globe.

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We’ve been doing this for clients as well over the period with similar success, but in some cases the sheer volume of links on other sites have meant that some keywords have been very tough to crack.

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That is all changing however as Google releases an ongoing series of algorithm changes. Nothing seismic, just steady and continual change and we are seeing a gradual demotion of sites which have for too long relied on volumes of easy links to sustain their position at the top of the rankings. Finally the Search Engines are walking up to the fact that a link is no longer a vote of confidence in the site; it’s just a currency which is freely traded all over the internet. The best judge is what people do when they get there and whether the content is actually any good, or simply written by article spinners with a view of embedding so many keywords per hundred words.

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As an agency much more of our time is now spent creating valuable content and making sure it gets out into the ether than building links for clients from crummy sites. And this will continue because whether we like it or not the industry is in the throes of a sea change and nothing you can do will stop it.

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Finally we’re back to the basics. Content is King and always will be.

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