Climate of fear in the world of SEO

[McTaggart]

There certainly appears to be a certain climate of fear about backlinks at the mo, and not without reason.

I was wondering why Google moved from simply discounting links to punishing site owners for their backlink profiles, many of which were built up when the risks of punishment weren't there?

I mean, I could send them the names of at least 1,000 sites in linkfarms / blog rings - you name it.  I'm sure most of us on here could do the same.

Responding to the whims of Google is such a waste of time and resources. Why doesn't Google simply choose a direction and stick with it? What is their strategy exactly?

[SEODinosaur]

They want to give users the best results possible, by ensuring that their SERPs are not easily manipulated they can ensure a better overall user experience.

My saying has always been:

"Give the people what they want and Google will give you to the people"

Its quite simple.. they want sites that have a natural link profile and a great user experience (bookmarked, linked to, or shared)

[EGOL]

I was wondering why Google moved from simply discounting links to punishing site owners for their backlink profiles, many of which were built up when the risks of punishment weren't there?

Google finally realized that merely "discounting" the links was resulting in a continued vandalism of blogs and forums as linkbuilders deposit their rubbish.

Why doesn't Google simply choose a direction and stick with it? What is their strategy exactly?

I think that they have "stuck" with their use of links for way too long.

Responding to the whims of Google is such a waste of time and resources.

A method to try would be to place 100% of your effort into building content and allow the links to slowly build on their own.  This will start very slowly but will build to a rate that reflects the value of your content.

[EGOL]

"Give the people what they want and Google will give you to the people"

Thanks... that's a great saying!

[SEODinosaur]

Thanks

[MarieHaynes]

I think the latest changes made by Google are accomplishing exactly what Google wants.  They want website owners to stop "building links" and instead make the best possible site that gives the user the best possible information.

If they simply discounted links then many people would still go on building them "just in case" they helped.  I mean, everyone knows that nofollowed comment spam is very unlikely to be helpful, but I get thousands of crap automated comments on my blog each month that are killed by Askimet, so people are still doing it.

But by building a culture of fear around links they've managed to get a lot of people in the SEO world saying, "Man!  If I keep building links I could get a big penalty and my site could tank."  The result?  People stop building links.

Now, there are some links that are not a bad thing to build and this is the scary thing.  People will be afraid to get ANY links to their site and that's not right.  I know of someone who got the Better Business Bureau to remove all links to their site because they thought it could look unnatural.  That is a good link

[Zoolander]

The more advanced technology and logistics etc. becomes the further away human accountabilty becomes.  I think thats a major challenge in the modern day in general.

[McTaggart]

Some great feedback here - firstly, thanks EGOL - I'm focusing 100% on content on a new site. Should be interesting - and that's a good point re: vandalism. I am concerned with the consequences of negative SEO / scrapers, clones, etc., though. Would be so good to be able to cut nasty incoming links in some way (I can but dream...) Love that saying too Donnie!

Good points there Marie - yes I get plagued by that stuff too - I'm beginning to wonder whether many of these comments are more about hoping some lunatic will click on the link than about manipulating SEO though.

To be totally honest, I wouldn't mind if Google laid down specific rules for linkbuilding. We advise that site owners should only proactively build no more than 10 links/page from relevant sites. The rest should be generated naturally. Something far more specific than we have at the moment.

And thanks Arpeggio. A very good point indeed. I agree.