How Does Google Evaluate Links?

Any organic SEO expert will tell you that inbound links are imperative when it comes to your SEO strategy. In fact, they are one of the most powerful elements in online marketing as a whole. Every link that points to your site delivers authority to your website, making it more trustworthy and authoritative in the eyes of Google.

However, not all links are treated equally, meaning it is definitely a case of quality over quantity. This is why you need to invest in organic SEO services. An organic SEO expert will ensure that your links are expertly constructed so that they tick all of the boxes in regards to the main factors Google utilises to analyse links. One of these factors is contextual relevance. The text placed before and after a link acts as contextual relevance for the link’s destination page, helping the search engine to decipher how the link relates to the content in which it is placed. Another factor is source relevance. For example, if you are writing a post about vegan recipes, and you link it to a page about criminal law, there needs to be a good reason for it. You would rank a lot higher if you linked it to a website to do with food. Another factor that is used is source authority. As a general rule, if your linking source domain is authoritative, then the link is going to pass more authority to the site it links to. For instance, if the website that links to your site is new and does not have many readers, it will only provide marginal benefit, as it is a low-authority website.

In addition to the points that have already been mentioned, SEO experts will also ensure your links tick boxes in regards to diversity, link destination, and anchor text. With regards to diversity, Google will gauge your inbound link profile’s diversity. Domain diversity is a major factor the search engine looks into. This is a term used to describe the number of unique domains from which your site has inbound links. This means you are better off with inbound links from different websites, rather than a larger number of links coming from the same website. Your SEO consultant will also make sure the destination page is a strong piece of content, which provides the reader with value. The destination page is simply the page that the link points to. Finally, the anchor text is also very important. This is the clickable piece of text that houses your link. You need to get the balance right when it comes to anchor text. Yes, using keywords is a good idea, as it ensures the link is relevant. However, there is a fine balance, as Google have become a lot more advanced, and they know that the anchor text can be used to manipulate content, which means you should not go overboard with keyword-rich anchor text.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding regarding the different factors that are used by Google to assess links for SEO. When working with an organic SEO expert, they will take this into account to make sure your links are working for your SEO campaign and not against it.