Has your strategy regarding backlinks changed post-update?

JollySEO

Junior Member
Jr. VIP
Joined
Feb 8, 2024
Messages
149
Reaction score
37
Has the recent update and its ramifications changed your strategy regarding backlinks? and if so, how?

I would be interested to see some other perspectives on this!
 
Started pruning or disavowing low-quality links that don't contribute to the site's authority. Well after and also try to minimize the participation of AI
 
Has the recent update and its ramifications changed your strategy regarding backlinks? and if so, how?

I would be interested to see some other perspectives on this!

I always work on quality links and quality content so the update doesn't bothered my sites but for few of my new clients we have changed the strategy they were following by maximizing the content quality and diversifying the links.
 
The recent update hasn't shifted my approach much, but it reminds me to prioritize good-quality over quantity backlinks that match my site's topic and come from trusted sources.
 
Sticking to the roots without compromising on content quality and acquiring backlinks from real traffic and Authority sites.

Also @JollySEO read you own a SEO Agency, how is your clients sites doing after the update mate? Any updates on this
 
In my experience, claiming and optimizing business listings on directories can have some impact on local search rankings, especially for businesses with a physical location.
 
Started pruning or disavowing low-quality links that don't contribute to the site's authority. Well after and also try to minimize the participation of AI
Agree with this Max, I think AI can still be useful as long there are sufficient controls - but it will be interesting to track the performance of those who have leaned heavily into AI, saw some interesting results on Twitter regarding those who rewrote whatever AI-generated content they had and saw some impressive improvements.
 
I always work on quality links and quality content so the update doesn't bothered my sites but for few of my new clients we have changed the strategy they were following by maximizing the content quality and diversifying the links.
Glad to hear it, I hope more SEO service clients follow this approach! For me, those wanting to take shortcuts or get unrealistically quick results are going to be best to avoid
 
Sticking to the roots without compromising on content quality and acquiring backlinks from real traffic and Authority sites.

Also @JollySEO read you own a SEO Agency, how is your client's sites doing after the update mate? Any updates on this
Hey @RMX - So far so good, the vast majority of clients have seen some strong % increases!

Another great sign for us has been how our site has faired, we saw high double-digit percentage increases. We have performed better than most agency sites we looked into, and given we build links for ourselves the same way we do for our clients, it has been extremely encouraging.
 

Attachments

  • Client improvements.jpeg
    Client improvements.jpeg
    115.3 KB · Views: 47
We have just been continuing to build higher authority links from websites, that get legit organic monthly traffic, to our targets. if they dont get traffic we dont want them in our link profile. Same with niche edits.

When building guest posts(same with niche edits), we make sure that our content for posts is relevant (obviously), and that the content isnt over optimized (Ie keyword stuffed, kw density, spammy subtitles ect) looking like search engine food. Just as when these updates roll out like HCU, and guys sites get hit with an algo penalty from having low quality content, over optimized content, ect;(new tolerances/filters are being introduced each update to try clean up serp) SO DO websites and pages your links are on/coming from. Shit rolls down hill. My point is, if you are getting those cheap low quality links, these updates are going to effect not only your on page/on site, but also your offsite/link profile. I have seen a lot of sites that think they got spanked from updates and they think its an on page issue, when infact, the shitty links they have in their profile got nuetered/nerfed and no longer pass near as much power as they once did, which in result, causes your targets to tank looking like you took a penalty and in fact a person didnt. This is not in all cases, but i have seen this enough out in the wild to bring it up here.



What happens when you buy low end garbage links i wouldnt even want stuck to the bottom of my shoe?

With the new filters/aglos in place, low level content wont index for shit, having indexing issues? look at the quality of the site and posts your pulling links from. Even if you manage to force index them, its only a matter of time before HCU and other filters kick it out of googles cache. They dont want that trash eating up their index.

So..... How does that harm you when this happens? Welp, there are multiple things going on sending negative signals to the algos:

First - It causes negayive link velocity, which is a clear indicator of spam when links drop out of googles index enmasse. If you dont know what this is, look it up.

Second - Those links dropping off will throw your anchor distribution %'s off and in a lot of cases i have seen working on recovering sites that have been penalized, can trigger an over optimization penalty. The same goes for your NF/DF %'s (if you dont think this can harm you, think again. I have tested this out several times on our test sites and have seen it first hand)

Third - When all this goes down and you tank, you have ended up wasting a ton of time and flushed a ton of money down the toilet by building the SEO foundation of your website on quicksand.

Quality over quantity any day of the week. The volume game of spam blasting low level crap links for ranking is over, if a guy can rank doing so its a flash in pan, its only a matter of time before you get taken out.

I guess my mindset is; if you are going to do something, do it right, and do it right the first time.

Keep grinding guys, protect your link profile at all costs. I hope this info helps.
 
We have just been continuing to build higher authority links from websites, that get legit organic monthly traffic, to our targets. if they dont get traffic we dont want them in our link profile. Same with niche edits.

When building guest posts(same with niche edits), we make sure that our content for posts is relevant (obviously), and that the content isnt over optimized (Ie keyword stuffed, kw density, spammy subtitles ect) looking like search engine food. Just as when these updates roll out like HCU, and guys sites get hit with an algo penalty from having low quality content, over optimized content, ect;(new tolerances/filters are being introduced each update to try clean up serp) SO DO websites and pages your links are on/coming from. Shit rolls down hill. My point is, if you are getting those cheap low quality links, these updates are going to effect not only your on page/on site, but also your offsite/link profile. I have seen a lot of sites that think they got spanked from updates and they think its an on page issue, when infact, the shitty links they have in their profile got nuetered/nerfed and no longer pass near as much power as they once did, which in result, causes your targets to tank looking like you took a penalty and in fact a person didnt. This is not in all cases, but i have seen this enough out in the wild to bring it up here.



What happens when you buy low end garbage links i wouldnt even want stuck to the bottom of my shoe?

With the new filters/aglos in place, low level content wont index for shit, having indexing issues? look at the quality of the site and posts your pulling links from. Even if you manage to force index them, its only a matter of time before HCU and other filters kick it out of googles cache. They dont want that trash eating up their index.

So..... How does that harm you when this happens? Welp, there are multiple things going on sending negative signals to the algos:

First - It causes negayive link velocity, which is a clear indicator of spam when links drop out of googles index enmasse. If you dont know what this is, look it up.

Second - Those links dropping off will throw your anchor distribution %'s off and in a lot of cases i have seen working on recovering sites that have been penalized, can trigger an over optimization penalty. The same goes for your NF/DF %'s (if you dont think this can harm you, think again. I have tested this out several times on our test sites and have seen it first hand)

Third - When all this goes down and you tank, you have ended up wasting a ton of time and flushed a ton of money down the toilet by building the SEO foundation of your website on quicksand.

Quality over quantity any day of the week. The volume game of spam blasting low level crap links for ranking is over, if a guy can rank doing so its a flash in pan, its only a matter of time before you get taken out.

I guess my mindset is; if you are going to do something, do it right, and do it right the first time.

Keep grinding guys, protect your link profile at all costs. I hope this info helps.
Thanks for taking the time to do this @madmax22! - some great insights and tips for SEO's of all levels.


Also agree with this, A long term approach that prioritizes quality is the best approach to take, safe from penalties but allows for consistent, effective and long-term growth. This is a key part of our discussions with clients and potential leads, especially when there are SEOs promising incredibly quick results. Seeing SEO as an investment, that can benefit you for years to come sets one up to be patient and, as you said, do it right the first time!
 
safe from penalties
Nobody is safe from penalties. As an SEO, our job is to thread a needle on an ever-moving target. The game is always changing. The best you can do is try to see 5 steps ahead and build your foundation toward the direction things are going. Adapt and overcome, OR get paved the fuck over.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top