In a recent Google SEO Office Hours hangout, Google’s John Mueller has recommended ways to attract natural backlinks.
A backlink — also known as an inbound or external link — refers to a link from one web page to another. The word suggests a form of reciprocity.
That’s because it once involved websites linking to other sites in exchange for a link back. Now, there are other types of Backlinks, such as guest post links and paid links.
Regardless of the type, we can classify all backlinks into two broad categories — natural backlinks and unnatural backlinks.
As the name implies, a natural link refers to a link that happened after a webpage came to a publisher’s attention. On the other hand, unnatural links are created to manipulate a page’s ranking.
It includes purchased links or links from scrappers and spammers that attach themselves to your site.
In the said episode, a question about backlinks has popped up. The individual wanted to know how Google identifies Natural Backlinks.
The question reads:
“I’ve heard a lot about backlinks, that that Google considers quality backlinks. When it comes to quality, what exactly do you mean for quality backlinks and how Google analyzes between natural and paid backlinks?”
Here is Mueller’s response.
How Does Google Identify Natural Backlinks?
Unfortunately, the Google analyst didn’t reveal how the search engine determines natural and unnatural links. However, he did talked about the mindset that could help you earn the type of links that Google favors.
First, Mueller has suggested that new sites should not focus much on backlinks. Instead, they should concentrate their efforts on building their sites.
After that, he recommended looking for self-promotion opportunities. It begins with researching what people read or tend to link to and creating content that they’ll find appealing.
The next stage is the outreach. Consider reaching out to other publishers to tell them about the linking opportunity.
Mueller explained:
“And essentially, when it comes to links, Google’s point of view is that these should be things that are not organized by you, that are not paid for by you, that are not created by you. But rather they should be naturally people who say well, this is really cool, I really like that.”
John Mueller discusses backlinks after the 35-minute mark of the video:
Read More: Google’s Mueller on Whether Tags Impact Search Ranking
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