If there's one thing we've learned over the last while, it's that the link thinking mentality might be a bit skewed. And by lately I mean;

• Unnatural linking messages are on the rise
• Penguin made a mess of life
• Unnamed algo updates; link related
• Pages are ranking with less links (for top queries)

It may seem counter-intuitive to say, “Stop thinking so much about links”... but it really is a good idea. In creating quality content, building relationships (outreach), creating strong social channels, evolving brand, you are more likely to get higher quality links. We must get past the a link is a link mentality.

One way to get over the addiction is to go back to basics; on-site SEO. If links are more problematic and pages are seemingly ranking on less links, then it stands to reason that one nails down the on-site elements to ensure good use of existing link equity and maxing the most of on-site algos.

And that's why I'm writing today. There is an entire world beyond links as far as how search engines work. Coming to grips with this could be your (link addiction) cure. Let the intervention begin.

A chat with Bill Slawski

We recently spent a few hours talking with everyone's favourite search geek; Bill Slawski. We wanted to have him on to discuss the myriad of different graphs, beyond the link graph. The hope is that SEOs will start to evolve more in-line with the engines.

Here's the links to the podcasts, with the video previews embedded. PLEASE do watch/listen (and hopefully learn).

Podcast; Beyond the Linkgraph: Penguin Panda and More With Bill Slawski (and here, on iTunes)

Video Preview; 8 minute snippet from the show;

Part II

Podcast; Beyond the Linkgraph Pt II: Bill Slawski Discusses SERP Composition & Strategies (and here, on iTunes)

Video Preview; 11 minute snippet from the show;

I can't stress enough the value in learning more about how search engines work, beyond links. A great start is Bill's series; 10 Most Important SEO Patents

• Part 1 – The Original PageRank Patent Application
• Part 2 – The Original Historical Data Patent Filing and its Children
• Part 3 – Classifying Web Blocks with Linguistic Features
• Part 4 – PageRank Meets the Reasonable Surfer
• Part 5 – Phrase Based Indexing
• Part 6 – Named Entity Detection in Queries
• Part 7 – Sets, Semantic Closeness, Segmentation, and Webtables
• Part 8 – Assigning Geographic Relevance to Web Pages
• Part 9 – From Ten Blue Links to Blended and Universal Search
• Part 10 – Just the Beginning

Later – keep the faith!

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