Perhaps the SEOMoz beginner's guide should be updated?
-
I was on the phone tonight with a site owner who may have been affected by Penguin. I was explaining how overuse of keywords with anchor text can adversely affect a site and he asked me an interesting question: "If that is the case, then why does the SEOMoz guide say differently?"
Here are some quotes from the SEOMoz beginner's guide:
"Anchor Text - One of the strongest signals the engines use in rankings is anchor text. If dozens of links point to a page with the right keywords, that page has a very good probability of ranking well for the targeted phrase in that anchor text."
That pretty much implies that you should try to get as many keyword anchor texted links to your site as possible. There should probably be some type of Penguin warning in here.
"Self-Created, Non-Editorial - Hundreds of thousands of websites offer any visitor the opportunity to create links through guest book signings, forum signatures, blog comments, or user profiles. These links offer the lowest value, but can, in aggregate, still have an impact for some sites. "
Granted, the text goes on to say this:
"In general, search engines continue to devalue most of these types of links, and have been known to penalize sites that pursue these links aggressively. Today, these types of links are often considered spammy and should be pursued with caution."
That's a good warning, but I think it could be perhaps made a little more clear that self made links like this are not wise to use as an SEO tool. I think that to a beginner, it kind of sounds like the guide is saying, "There are lots of opportunities out there where you can get a link by making one yourself. Go ahead and use them but don't overdo it."
-
Definitely need that updated, it will also bring us more credibility when we tell our clients, no that is not the way anymore.
I also have a client who had previously developed this kind of linking strategy.
The poor guy probably spent hundreds of hours creating his links,on the old seo advice, and we have noticed a huge drop in their effectiveness. At the end of the day, his links were about keywords, not about content.
I think as an SEO, we have the responsibility to really make it clear to our clients that if they take a different approach, and create high quality community orientated content that contains some links, but is not all about the links they will not only benefit from the juice, but also benefit from google author rank.
I welcome the move towards quality content, as it means that genuine experts in various fields will now be heard.
-
This is true, I've ranked real well lately by saturating the market with my keywords as anchor text!
-
Hi Keri, I am in the process of reading this manual, and have been applying some of the suggested strategies.
I agree with EGOL that I don't think that it should be too much to ask for the manual to be updated as google or any other search engine releases new algorithms or changes.
It is a manual that is recommended to be read by SEOmoz and I hope that "quick changes" doesn't imply "i'll get to it when I can!"
-
Marie, EGOL, and others: I'll forward this thread to the appropriate people at Moz, and agree that it would be helpful to update it. It was updated about a year ago, but I'll see if there are any quick changes we can make.
-
I agree EGOL, my thoughts exactly!
-
I think that what Marie suggests are pretty easy edits.
They should be done ASAP to keep this important document - used by thousands - up to date.
-
I believe that SEOmoz beginners guide is one of the best places to start especially if you are interested in SEO as a career but if there is anything that is outdated (as you have mentioned) i guess this is less a problem from SEOmoz and more the problem from Google who continue to change its algorithm from time to time.
Obviously changing/updating the guide book regularly will not be ideal but I think if SEOmoz can add when it got updated last time so people can easily understand the reason of the outdated stuff available on within the guide.
Just my 2 cents!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How Many Backlinks Can One build To Blog's Homepage Daily To Avoid Algorithm Penalties
Hello, Am new to blogging and also new to link building and things are pretty confusing for me right now, I was told by a friend that have spent years in the industry that the maximum number of Backlinks you should build for a domain to stay safe is 2 daily, but am seeing different thing on the internet, so I wanna know the exact number of quality Backlinks one can build to homepage daily to avoid penalties, please I need suggestions from pros. Sergio!
Link Building | | Gabriel50 -
What's the difference between these 2 url's in wordpress
https://www.yourdomain.be/blog/-test-article/
Link Building | | conversal
https://www.yourdomain.be/blog/test-article/ What is the difference in wordpress with this "-" in the url? Both url's show the page like it's supposed to. Is this normal?0 -
What's Your #1 High Authority Backlink Strategy For 2015?
Hey everyone, I am gathering responses from the SEO community regarding the two questions below. I will feature your (legitmate) responses as part of a study for current SEO backlink methods being used by the SEO community. There are no wrong answers. I look forward to seeing your responses and make sure to add your social profile details. 1. What is your number 1 method of acquiring high authority backlinks?
Link Building | | kirkbowlen
2. What platforms/ software do you use or recommend as part of your method? Thanks, Kirk Bowlen0 -
Are links from charities really better than 'normal' links.
Hi Guys. Just wondering about this idea that links from Charities are particularly good. I've heard people say that links from .org sites are particularly strong. But anyone can get a .org domain, it's just that charities tend to use them more often. Right? I just don't get the logic. Can anyone give more detail about this? Is it a myth? Is there quality info on this topic I can check out? We're working with several charities at the moment, and they all seem happy to blog and link to us...so I just wanted to know a little more. Isaac.
Link Building | | isaac6630 -
HELP! Google is penalizing me and I can't figure out why.
I've come to the conclusion Google is definitely penalizing me for the keword "sensaphone" and I cannot figure out why. I've checked back links etc. and I don't see anything that would raise a flag. We rate very well in Bing etc. for the same keyword, but in Google SERP's will be on the 3rd or later page. Our domain is - www.absoluteautomation.com - any ideas?
Link Building | | absoauto1 -
Beginners Recipe for Success
I have just began to jump in to the world of SEO and I have done a lot of ready and trying to understand everything. What in your mind as an expert is the most important factors? 1. Link Building 2. Optimizing to Keywords 3. Correcting on page Errors Are these the top 3 factors? Is there something that I am missing? Is there an order to the priority - or does it take an attack on all fronts? Any advice on a newbie - to start seeing results? The site I am working on is http://whitetail-mafia.com Here are some of my stats which seem to be comparable to some of my bigger competitors: Page Authority: 43 Page MozRank: 4.25 Page MozTrust: 5.27 Internal Followed Links: 2,024 External Followed Links: 235 Total Internal Links: 2,025 Total External Links: 237 Total Links: 2,262 Followed Linking Root Domains: 37 Total Linking Root Domains: 38 Linking C Blocks: 19 I honestly just don't know enough yet to see these values as good, bad, or ugly. I also want to know that I am putting the right amount of effort in the right place.... Thanks for any advice you have, The Newbie in Need
Link Building | | jgmayes0 -
Google not providing all competitor site's external incoming links?
I heard Google is not providing all of a competitor's site's external links, speculated as protecting their privacy. But that Yaho still provides the complete list of their recognized links. (I assume they mean when using the term 'link:url') Has anyone else heard this claim? Is there a way around this check?What sources do you use at SEOMoz for your Pro reports? thanks, geo
Link Building | | rhawk0 -
April Fool's for Link Building
Is there a better day for link baiting than April 1st? The time has come for everyone to share their April Fool's Day link building campaigns! This is our second attempt at capitalizing on April Fools with the first attempt (2010) falling flat. http://bigfi.sh/aFd2011
Link Building | | RyanOD0