The One Factor That Determines Which Backlinks Withstand Google’s Updates
Author bio: Asawar Ali
Google’s biggest updates always seem to follow the same pattern. Rankings that seemed to be secure for months drop overnight. The sites that fall the most are the sites that gain most of their authority through backlinks that are purchased or acquired inorganically. I have been conducting link-building activities throughout most of the shifts in algorithms, and through that, I have learned that one question more than any other metric or tool describes the durability of a given link, and that question is, would this link still be there if Google didn’t exist?
Why the Question Works
While the question seems simple, it actually goes to the core of what search engines are trying to value. When a link exists solely to give a ranking a boost, it actually is not a signal, but rather manipulation that search engines will improve their ability to identify. The updates of March 2024 announced a new set of spam policies aimed at expired-domain manipulation and search engine content, and focused on diminishing the low-value pages those links reside. The trend has continued with stricter site reputation policies that target links placed solely to boost ranking.
Now that you know the theory, here are some ways that I will use it.
Evaluate Your Existing Backlinks
The backlink profiles I see most often include both acquired and rented links. With that in mind, be honest with yourself when evaluating each important link. A link that comes from an article in a guest post network that sells links and is on a site that no one visits and no one reads would mark a fail for this test. These links would be completely useless because no one would be able to view it except for them coming from search engine results. A link from an article that a real journalist writes in a publication that actually gets readership and has a real audience would pass this test with no hesitation. Rented links are worse than just links that don’t help. They are not only problematic, but also dangerous, provide no help, and are exactly the type of links that Google’s filters are designed to catch. Knowing which is which tells you where your rankings are genuinely supported and where they’re sitting on borrowed time.
Why You Should Earn Your Links
The best links that I have earned for my clients are because I help them. I have helped them by providing reporters with a quote or by offering expertise for a story the publication was going to run anyway. Everything we have done to help readers has allowed us to pass the test cleanly. We have also gained links that help us in the long run. The best links are the ones that help you the most, but you need to earn them, not pay for them.
Keep Anchor Text Natural
One of the easiest things to identify for an engineered profile is when a collection of links all point to the same destination using a specific keyword. This is not how people link to things. They link in a branded way, using either their name, the URL, or a natural phrase. When an overlooked page comes to mind with no explanation for why it has not been ranked, an over-optimized anchor profile is likely the reason. Moving focus to branded and neutral anchors is not a ploy. It is simply putting the profile in place to reflect how citations are made in the real world. Trust anchor text to build links, not to place a specific term.
Borrowed Authority vs. Earned Authority
What all of them imply is that you need to change your definition of authority. On the one hand, you have what is called borrowed authority. This is the authority you are given a temporary lease on through tricks, schemes, and manipulation that work until the criteria change. The opposite of that is earned authority. Being given genuine authority means that you have done the things necessary to have a legitimate claim to it. Because, by design, borrowed authority is so ephemeral. It is an authority that you do not own. Earned authority tends toward sites that did the work honestly and are the opposite of manipulation.
In the long run, if you are only building links that would survive the complete closure of Google, you will have no reason to fear the updates. They will no longer be a threat and will clear out the competitors who have taken shortcuts. This framework for thinking won’t provide a shortcut for link building or guarantee a specific ranking, as that is never the case in search. But it will make the links you create very hard to remove.
Authored by: Asawar Ali, CEO, Link Building Agency