The past week has been an interesting one for all SEOs. Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Spam Team, made an announcement which stated that guest posting was dead. This left tons of search marketing professionals in an uproar because it seems like Google loves to beat up on SEOs. It has not even been 4 weeks into the New Year and our jobs have become increasingly difficult. In this post I’m going to clearly explain what Matt Cutts is saying, why you shouldn’t be bugging out about this and how to stay ahead of Google’s Algo curve.
What Does it Mean?
The biggest issue many had with this post is how Matt Cutts is stating that guest posting is totally dead. The reason why search marketers were puzzled is because this is a standard method of connecting with different websites and drive traffic to your site. That little link on a particular blog post or website plays a huge factor for your clients SEO success.
When I initially read Matt Cutts’ blog, I almost had a mini panic attack myself. Shortly after, I realized he wasn’t talking about #RCS guest blogging; but rather the shady, low quality guest blogging that Google hates. This post was meant for people who are doing the following things to manipulate page rank:
- Outsourcing Guest Posting
- Automating Outreach
- Paying for Links
- Relying Solely on Guest Posting
Let’s face it; Matt Cutts has given us plenty of warnings about what to expect in the past. Therefore, if you’re really surprised and taken back by this, chances are your SEO strategy should be restructured.
Why You Shouldn’t Bug Out About This
While guest blogging might be on its way out, relationship building is only getting stronger. Although they are similar in a lot of ways, quality is what separates the two. When I first came into the SEO world, I thought it was all about getting links and posting on any random site simply for Page Rank value. With time and experience, I have matured into a strong “relationship builder”. Instead of chasing after links and PR value, I attempt to connect with websites and people that make sense for my client. Even if the site has low page rank, I truly don’t care. Three things I always make sure to look for in a site are if they have a strong “About Us” page, they take time out of their day to work on their blog, and they have a social following. (Not for SEO reasons, because real people like their site and the message they are putting across) If you’re similar to myself and love finding opportunities and building relationships, you have no need to worry because you’re doing real company stuff. If you’re reading this, stop sending those link removal emails and continue what you’re doing. This update only makes our job more of a “good” challenge and forces people to stop automating and start building legitimate relationships.
How to Stay Ahead of Google’s Algo Pain Train
I have said this in the past and will say it again; the only constant factor in SEO is change. Everyday there is something new going on in the world of SEO and if you don’t pay attention, it can be difficult to catch up.
To stay ahead of Google’s current and future algorithm updates, ensure you’re doing real, quality work! It’s that simple. Building page rank and manipulating search engines is easy, but it is much harder to build quality relationships. Reach out to websites, blogs, directories and other third party websites that make sense for your client. If you do this right, the list of benefits are endless. (Publicity, branding, interaction and beyond.)
Although it really does stink that guest blogging is on its way out, this is a good thing for those high quality SEOs. I’m going to quote one of Rand Fishkin’s tweets because I loved it that much. He said, “Google’s making manual link building less scalable, and that’s good. It means SEO is more valuable and less of a commodity.” Rand hit the nail right on the head. So the question is, are you really going to be mad at Matt Cutts for making your job more valuable?