Don’t worry about linkbuilding just create good content – That’s wrong!

I am starting to see this type of commentary more and more which is seriously worrying. Why?

Because this type of myth needs to be exposed when it comes to ranking a website on Google.

Content is essential but you got to have backlinks!

Many SEO agencies that have no clue regarding SEO are starting to use this as a sales pitch and spin it like this: Great content can outrank any form of SEO link building. This has to be one of the biggest lies and I want to explain this in more detail.

Firstly you need to understand what a backlink is. According to ahrefs backlinks are links from a page on one website to another. If someone links to your site, then you have a backlink from them. If you link to another website, then they have a backlink from you.

Backlinks are links that link from another website through to your website. They can come from directors, (other websites preferably within your niche) and blog posts. Some backlinks are paid for and others are generated organically which is preferable.

Ideally, those links come from other relevant websites within your niche and industry.

If you have the energy and can understand the following article on Google, you can see the rules that you have to comply with if you intend to build links – check it out here on their link schemes page.

I have to admit in some regards that great content will rank. Just have a look at this article to see where it is on Google- I bet it is on page 1. Why? Because, if you type the exact heading into Google’s search it will produce this result. Google wants to display the most relevant content and for this search, this article is the most relevant.

But, here‘s the rub, no one is going to be typing this phrase into Google. Let’s be perfectly honest here. People searching for our service will be typing words like: ‘ SEO Sydney’ or ‘SEO Agencies’ into Google not some obscure phrase. So while pages that have been well written will always rank on Google, no one is actually searching for these pages. The nett benefit to your business will be zero.

This goes to the subject of the value of content marketing and how it can help you drive growth. I’m afraid, the jury is still out for this but in my opinion, writing blogs and adding pages to your website is always valuable but what is the overall effect.

Content marketing will help your business by:

# 1: people that come to your website will see it as a source of information and therefore your website becomes more trustworthy. If they like and appreciate the effort you have put into writing this content, they may end up buying from you.

# 2: adding content will encourage Google to keep on indexing your website and this will help with overall SEO rankings – how much does it help? We don’t really know but the theory is it cannot hurt your site.

# 3: you become perceived as an industry expert – an authority in your field.

All of the above 3 points are great and they are awesome for people who are on your website BUT the BIG QUESTION is how do they find your website the only proven explanation for this is SEO and this is all about effective link building.

Also read: To rank on Google, it’s all about the links

Article, blogs and content marketing are all fine, once the customer has found your website. But, the real important issue here is that they find your website in the first place. Without any type of link building and SEO, your site is going to be buried deep within the search pages and all I can say is good luck getting customers. The chances of anyone finding your website will be incredibly low, almost zero.

Why does Google need backlinks to know your website is trustworthy?

Because backlinks are like a friendly tap on the shoulder to Google to say: ‘hey, look at that website it is OK and it’s a trustworthy site’. The more you have of these the more trust Google will place on you and the higher your rankings; so on and so forth. If you can get their websites to endorse you through linking to your site, Google will place lots of value on this.

I also want to add here that without any links, your other web pages (and these include all your blog and service or product pages) will also find it difficult to rank. This on it is like a boat anchored in the harbour. Building authority and trust in your site is like the tide. As soon as it comes in it will raise the whole boat. Not just the stern or the bow – the whole vessel. This is the same for your website. All pages will rise; each and every one of them so long as there is link building activity going on. Neil Patel (one of my favourite bloggers) in his article, What Matters More: Backlink Quality or Quantity, goes on to tell us that High-quality backlinks are good for an obvious reason. They are… well, they’re high-quality. That means they are intrinsically beneficial for domain authority and SEO rankings. He also goes on to tell us that the more high-quality links you build, the better your rankings will be. Enough said and point made! Links are the cornerstone of your SEO campaign.

So the rule of thumb here or the moral of this story is that you can write all the content you want if that makes you happy and you feel it necessary to do so. But, without proper SEO and this means link activity, you can forget about being competitive online. If any SEO company starts telling you that all you need is good copy to get results, tell them they are dreaming and living in a fantasy world. Even worse they are trying to pull the wool over your eyes by advising you to take this path to succeed online rather than the correct path.

REMEMBER the people that are encouraging this are the ones that cannot get their head around link building and its benefits

The real issue here is that they have probably ranked their own site through links BUT will not do it for yours as this costs money. Links = money and they do not want to part with it to help you. They want to get cheap n nasty articles written for next to nothing and pocket the balance. They will show you this content to prove they are doing something while you end up going nowhere online. I see it happening all the time and it’s a real pity that people for the victim to this type of utter rubbish when they are told this. Your business MUST invest in SEO if you intend on being competitive online. Anything else is time-wasting.

All I can say is watch out!

Link building and SEO is very much alive and works really well. CAVEAT HERE *** you need to get an SEO agency like ours at SEO SYDNEY EXPERTS that has a thorough understanding of what Google wants and what Google is looking for in order to rank a website.

Do not make the mistake of choosing a dodgy SEO company, but that’s a whole other story.