Web Moves Blog

Google love — i.e., good rankings that lead to abundant traffic — is what most webmasters and bloggers struggle to get. And I’m sure that most of them have already learned what it takes to achieve it: they must ensure that their blogs and sites are good resources which will benefit web surfers in some way, hence generating the backlinks that Google values so much.

Since most — if not all — webmasters and bloggers are aware of this, why so many insist in using “dirty tricks” to build links?

Why is it so hard to admit that good content is a must for link building campaigns?

That’s an easy one: because people are lazy. Of course they’ll use all sorts of excuse, most notably the old ones like “I just don’t have the time” or “the time spent in content creation is best applied in backlink hunting.” Well, even if you really don’t have much free time and/or you sincerely believe that hunting links comes first, those are still excuses and you’re still lazy.

If you have the time to use spammy link building techniques, then you certainly have the time to use your brain to produce some killer content for your site. And if you just don’t want to create that killer content because you put link building above all else, then you’re disregarding what Google truly wants from any webmaster.

What Google wants from all webmasters and bloggers

First of all, go read Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. Have you already read that page? Reread it.

What conclusions can we draw from it? I wrote it above, but I’m going to explain it again in other words: Google wants to display on its search result pages the best sites, the ones that will suit a searcher’s needs (by needs I mean information, entertainment, products and services). When a site is helpful in any way, it will naturally get backlinks from other sites. This is why Google values backlinks: they work like recommendations or votes on a site, theoretically indicating its relevancy. But this is also what most webmasters misinterpret — or pretend to.

Many webmasters think that they must get as many backlinks as they can in order to lure Google into giving them favourable rankings. They see backlinks as the origin of their success, whereas Google expects those to be the consequence. What I mean is that Google isn’t there to be your servant, but it wants to reward your content creation efforts.

What are the most valuable backlinks in Google’s eyes?

The most valuable backlinks are the ones provided by respectable, authority sites. The stronger the site’s authority, the more precious its backlinks are. Therefore, a moderate amount of links from good sites is much worthier than thousands of links from dubious sources.

Now I ask you: have you ever seen a reputable site or blog link to a poor, spammy one? I know I haven’t. One more reason why you should do your best to turn your pages into useful resources.

Obviously, creating high-quality content isn’t the only thing you must do. You should also promote said content, so it gets noticed and linked. But if you never take that first, essential step, you’ll never be able to get the strongest links available on your niche. Therefore, you’ll never make Google love your site as much as it could.