Intro to digital marketing - Chapter 5: Off-site SEO

How are links created?

Links are created using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Natural outbound links

A natural or organic outbound link that’s relevant and fits naturally into the article; search engines prefer these links

Natural outbound links (con’t)

They serve as a citation that the author uses for the reader’s reference

Anchor text

Text seen by the user in a link

e.g. W3Schools.com (the underlined text seen by the user is the anchor text)

What do search engines consider links to be?

Endorsements, that webmasters include to send users to sites with valuable content

nofollow

An attribute that tells search engines not to count a link as an endorsement

dofollow

Instructs search engines to follow links with that attribute and pass authority to the linked-to page

Paid links

A paid-for link, and thus shouldn’t be credited as a natural endorsed link (will need a nofollow attribute)

Natural internal links

Links which take the user elsewhere in the site; helps improve navigation and user experience

Career SEOs

People whose job it is to improve the ranking(s) of clients’ websites via observation and experimentation

Career SEOs (con’t)

They’re able to get valuable information about the general importance of multiple factors in search engines’ ranking algorithms

SEO ranking factors

Based on info from career SEOs and search engine popularity guidelines

Backlinks

Links from a page’s external sources which point to that web page

Backlinks (con’t)

Backlinks targeted at other web pages in one domain are quality endorsements of the content in that particular domain

Back links example

Link profile

The list of backlinks that calculate a web page’s popularity

Link profile

The amount of backlinks a site has

Link profile (con’t)

Links need to be fresh and diverse, and links generated on social media count.

Popularity metrics

• Total number of backlinks, the more the merrier

• Backlinks from related/relevant sites for credibility

• Anchor text and their ability to increase endorsements with relevant keywords

Popularity metrics (con’t)

• Link neighbourhood - Linking only to reputable sites and getting backlinks from reputable domains

• Link freshness - High-quality sites get new backlinks and avoid falling out of favour

• Link diversity - Having multiple independent webmasters and domains with different IP addresses endorse the page

• Social sharing - When people share a site’s link to social media, which tells search engines the site has worthwhile content

Content marketing

Making media content that entices and engages potential customers while also benefiting the publisher

e.g. The Michelin Guide, tie-in cartoons for toy lines

Content marketing (con’t)

Needs sufficient appeal in its content to drive viewers to engage with it regardless of its commercial connection

Content marketing (III)

A large chunk of ideas for content is from keyword research done during SEO

Ways to distribute content marketing

• Optimizing content for a specific high-volume Google search

• Asking for an email in exchange for content, which can start a relationship

• Hoping content will go viral

Conversion and content marketing

Encouraging the viewer to purchase in a way that isn’t overly aggressive

What growth is better to focus on during site creation?

It’s better to focus on getting a smaller number of high-quality links as opposed to a high number of low-quality links

The three types of earned links

• Editorial

• Manual

• Manufactured

Editorial links

Links given randomly by another webmaster because they like the page’s content. Is a form of endorsement that can improve rankings

Editorial links (con’t)

It’s hard because a webmaster has no control over other people’s sites and where they go

Manual links

Are gained through direct effort, but still need a 3rd party to sign off on them

e.g. Videos, manuals, etc

Directory

A site that catalogues links to other sites. Sites sent there get a link that comes from the sender’s work in submitting the site

e.g. directories, social networking

Manufactured links

Links which are made without 3rd party approval

e.g. Putting a link in a comment on a blog’s comment section

Methods of building links and gaining backlinks for editorial links

• Using visual content -

• Linkable conte nt that’s considered worthy to link to

• Expert knowledge

• Videos 

• Press releases

Methods of building links and gaining backlinks for editorial links (con’t)

• Networking

• Following up

• Looking into the competition

• Providing the code for visual content

Methods of building links and gaining backlinks for manual links

• Submit to directories

• Manage local business profiles (e.g. Google My Business)

• Creating a social media profile

• Social bookmarking sites like Pinterest

• Trading/asking for links

Reasons why manufactured links may be flagged and penalized as being unreliable

• Blog comments and forum signatures that can generate 1000s of links

• Creating a second, identical site that can easily be flagged

• Free article directories that allow an “expert” to write a low-quality, rarely read article that tends to include a link back to the expert’s site

How to effectively use AI in SEO content creation

Create content with a coherent strategy in place and give clear instructions along with a specific prompt when generating. Add new content at a reasonable pace

The drawbacks of AI in SEO content creation

Because AI models like ChatGPT are meant to generate large text responses, it’s highly unlikely that they can create quality content and thus improve search engine rankings

The road to a high serp rank

Valuable content > more backlinks > more website traffic > increase popularity > high serp rank

Appealing content

Entertaining and useful content

Distribution

SEO, social sharing, paid

Creating value

Catering to different consumer segments

e.g. Customers, industry pros, ancillary businesses

Guidelines for making linkable content

• Trending topics (keywords people are searching)?

• Helpful guides, tips, lists & top 10's ("listicles")

• Compelling, informative, interesting or entertaining

• Easy to understand

• Personalized content (quizzes)

• A go-to resource

• Visually appealing

• Highly shareable (with social links and share links)

• Aligns with the brand/ company