Perhaps the SEOMoz beginner's guide should be updated?

[MarieHaynes]

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."

[jeremycbray]

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.

[cigan88]

This is true, I've ranked real well lately by saturating the market with my keywords as anchor text!

[Giorgio68]

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!"

[KeriMorgret]

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.

[PIXUS]

I agree EGOL, my thoughts exactly!

[EGOL]

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.

[MoosaHemani]

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!