The latest Google Penguin update is nearly upon us (expected May 2013) so it's 'squeaky bum time' for SEO's.
Rumours of what link building tactics this update will target have being circulating SEO discussions in recent weeks.
Whilst there has been no official statement from Google, the general consensus seems to point at four link building tactics that will be targeted.
1. Guest Posts
Whilst i'm sure Google won't be devaluing guest content overall, there is a very real possibility for guest posts with over optimised author bios or loosely relevant content to have links devalued. Low quality sites that have become content farms with every post being a guest post could well be hit by the next update.
I recently read an excellent article from Neil Patel I recommend you read about how Penguin will likely impact guest posts.
2. Keyword Rich/Exact Match Anchor Text Links
Signs are this will be the main link building tactic hit by the new Penguin update. Obtaining a natural link profile for clients in the past has always been important but it often got overlooked with the focus on keyword anchor text links.
Link builders who've been working in the industry for a number of years need to alter mindsets and think outside the SEO world for a moment. Think from the perspective as if you knew nothing about SEO and how you would link to a website. You'll find you will use either the brand name, the url or click here, those types of links.
Google are not stupid, they can spot easily obvious unnatural links to manipulate search results using keyword exact match anchor text links. You can see how easy it is to spot by using a link building tool such as Majestic SEO and viewing 'Anchor Text'. Boom. If the brand link or the url is not within the first 3 most used links then you're in trouble. When Google sees a significant majority of links pointing to one page or using very rich or exact match anchor text, the red flag is raised...and slap.
3. Infographics
Just like in link building, relevancy and quality are important when using infographics. So many are published on irrelevant sites. I'm not saying all info-graphics will be devalued as there's many high quality and useful infographics being created on a daily basis. There should always be a strategy in place of how you are going to utilise the infographic once it's ready. There are some real howlers that have obviously been created cheaply for the sole purpose of link bait. Again I go back to the topic of link earning, if you create an eye catching original infographic that's genuinely useful to a website audience then it's no rocket science to think it will have far more success with people linking to it or embedding it than if it's low quality. It is these low quality info-graphics that Google could well be looking to devalue and it'll be interesting to see if they manage this.
A good tip when using infographics is to combine them with some quality written content and be selective with what sites you allow to re-publish them.
4. Link Building Networks
No brainer this one, link networks have been the thorn in the side of the SEO industry for years. Again, pretty easy for Google to nail these and I expect more link networks to be shut down in the future as Google continues to crack down.
Final Note
You can forget about getting easy links because 'if it's too good to be true, it probably is'. Focus your resources into earning links from creating engaging high quality articles, pr, videos, infographics, competitions, blogger outreach...engagement, whatever you want to call it.
Again I quote Lyndon Antcliff "websites don't link to websites, people link to people". So crack on and create exceptional eye catching content (this includes videos, competitions, info-graphics) that people want to link to and building relationships with key bloggers and websites.
Start playing by the rules, as SEOMoz's Rand Fishkin says 'do real company shit' and follow Google's guidelines. Will Critchlow at LinkLove 2013 pleaded to all SEO's to stop cutting corners and start doing genuine online marketing.
Infographics - always look to combine them with quality written content and be selective with what sites you allow to re-publish them...and make sure they look good, not wordy and eye catching.
Guest Posting - be very selective in what sites you choose to guest post on and make sure your links are not over optimised. Use natural links like click here or use the brand link.
