In the virtual world, just like in real life, it is often more important who you know than what you know. The content is important, but links are the ones that bring points. At least, that is for the time being. Google punishes us for creating generic and unnatural links and at the same time it pushes our content towards the top of the search results when we link naturally. Now, let’s see what Google’s definition of a natural backlink profile is and what you can do to improve your links.
SEO is a game the rules of which change constantly
It is no secret that Google has its algorithms it uses to rank contents that are being published. However, they often change the rules of the game leaving marketing agencies and SEO specialists such as Link Department with new tasks of searching what’s best for their ranking. If you want to stay on top, you need to be in the know and adjust. What used to be enough to push you up might be what’s holding you down at the moment.
Optimization became almost more important than the content of what’s being published and Google doesn’t like that anymore. The focus should be on users, so the user experience is now valued more than the optimization itself. That is the reason why creating natural backlinks is crucial at the moment. Credibility is finally getting its fair share of the pie.
What does linking naturally even mean?
Your backlink profile comprises all the backlinks that lead to your website. Keeping track of all of them without proper tools is practically impossible, so there are Ahrefs, SEMrush, Majestic, and many more to help you out. They will also help you build more natural backlinks and thus improve your SEO.
Naturally acquired links are at the same time high-quality backlinks Google values the most. When you create quality content on your website, people want to share it and link to it. Those are the links that you should go for. So, the best advice you can get is to start investing in content that provides value to your readers since they will feel the need to give back.
The greater the number of links pointing to your pages, the better! However, Google doesn’t only do the counting. It also checks the time when they are created. If there are too many of those generated at about the same time or during a short period of it, your links are not considered to be natural. A sudden interest in your content causes suspicion, so you should try to distribute backlinks more evenly.
Google looks at the social value of your backlinks too. Even if your content does not excel and people still share it on social channels, Google will give you thumbs up. You see, natural linking also means that people are willing to share the content they like or find useful on their social platforms.
What are the traits matching Google’s Definition Of A Natural Backlink Profile?
If we have to pick just five traits matching Google’s definition of a natural backlink profile, those would be the following ones:
- Building brand trust through anchors,
- Wide variety of anchors,
- Not using too many exact match anchors,
- Keywords incorporated in the anchors,
- How important and random are the websites linking to your content?
Building brand trust through anchors
Websites that have a remarkable natural backlink profile are usually the ones that don’t target too many key phrases on their homepage. They build their brand recognition and loyalty which Google likes. Their anchor text is usually their brand name or they use some form of URL for that purpose.
Wide variety of anchors
Google’s definition of a natural backlink profile also features a vast variety of anchors used for the same keyphrase you are targeting. In other words, you could be linking to the same thing by using different words every time. Isn’t that what we do in our everyday lives? Yes, and that is what makes these links natural!
Not using too many exact match anchors
Too many exact match anchors don’t represent the best anchor strategy. This used to be a popular way to build a backlink profile. However, things have changed substantially, and the best practices imply that now only some 10-20% exact match anchors are allowed to point to a certain page. Also, the most successful links are never targeting a single keyword. Google values the most those pages that use not less than four and not more than six keywords for this purpose.
Keywords incorporated in the anchors
When anchors are composed of keywords only, Google recognizes your intention rather quickly and that does not fit Google’s definition of a natural backlink profile. Instead of doing that, you should try to come up with a more natural surrounding for your keywords. For instance, if your keyword is “moving experts” your anchor text should be something like “in touch with moving experts that know the area”. You see, when you have an anchor like this, it is obvious that you need to put it in a sentence that has a logical meaning. That makes this backlink organic.
How important and random are the websites linking to your content?
The choice of websites you opt to work with tells a lot about your website. Even though you cannot choose which ones will mention you and link to you naturally without you even knowing that (that is, before you check your Google Analytics), you still have control over those you link to.
Now, what should you do in order to attract the most relevant sites to link your way? You should create quality content your target audience will recognize the value in. However, the most relevant websites are not the only ones you need here. Those with domain authority under 40 are also valuable since they bring randomness to your backlink profile. A good mix of authority levels will be rewarded by Google.
Make a solid backlink profile with ease
Google’s definition of a natural backlink profile is changing constantly, but in this article, we have listed some of the good practices that will help you make a solid backlink profile Google will rank positively. Stay informed and be open to change, search engines love that.