Does SEO really work?

[workshop]

Not sure how you get to fast from simple. Simple people tend to speak slowly. Country people are more often than not simple and the pace of life slow and for some tedious. Often they are also practical and if one can be excused for generalising, honest. So no, simple does not mean quick results and short cuts. But it does mean easy to understand and easy to do.

The problem is all the mumbo jumbo which works for no one. Not for the experts nor those who are asking questions and looking for answers.

How does Google tell one site apart from another? The short answer is, it can't. A link is a link. And some links are just more effective than others. They carry a bigger punch. Google does have an algorithm where they weight and evaluate sites. In gobbledy-gook this gets twisted into that trust factor you speak of. The snake oil market that has been built up around this industry.

Trouble is, you don't get the sort of links you want. It's simple. Trusted sites, authority sites are those that don't link out for the asking. So the question that needs an answer is how does one build value links. And the simple answer to this question, is over time. If you manage to get a site to link to your site you want it to remain in place for a long as possible. Links are like a good wine. They mature with time.

Relevant? I have a problem with relevant. Google does not understand, cannot fully comprehend the complex relationships that exist in the real world. Yes a link from a page that is relevant to the content contained on your site is preferable. But it would be stupid to get anal about relevance. Links from travel sites for example. How do you pigeon hole them?

Contextual, relevance? Are these two not the same? Or have you omitted to use the term anchor text ? Possibly the most important factor when looking for a ranking. Anchor text is the phrase in the content that is hyperlinked and points to the page being optimised. You haven't mentioned organic link building either and once again I have a problem with that. Organic links seldom come with the anchor text one wants.

This is where SEO becomes a community build and group effort. This is where the consultants need to work with instead of for the client, where SEO starts to overlap with social media marketing and where it becomes part of an ongoing multi-faceted campaign.

[BusFact]

When not getting bogged down in the minutae of word definitions and meanings, you both seem to be saying the same thing. Its a slow process that takes time and requires consistent effort to build momentum, but ultimately is worth the trouble.

The various tactics and mechanisms used to make this successful as quickly as possible? Well yeah, those can be debated forever.

[workshop]

You are not wrong. We are saying the same thing. We are talking about the same thing. And we agree that this is a process. The question is whether one needs tips, tricks and techniques because it is complicated or because fishing in deep waters is a pastime enjoyed by some and misunderstood by many?

SEO is essentially a process which involves optimising your web site site content so that it can be found by Google and then building links to ensure that Google gives it a preferential ranking that gets it seen by the visitors you are targeting.

The question I am asking, the question I first started asking ten years ago, is how one acquires those trusted links, the authority web sites simply do not dish out for asking?

[GertH]

When not getting bogged down in the minutae of word definitions and meanings, you both seem to be saying the same thing. Its a slow process that takes time and requires consistent effort to build momentum, but ultimately is worth the trouble.

The various tactics and mechanisms used to make this successful as quickly as possible? Well yeah, those can be debated forever.

You summarized it pefectly, BusFact

You are not wrong. We are saying the same thing. We are talking about the same thing. And we agree that this is a process. The question is whether one needs tips, tricks and techniques because it is complicated or because fishing in deep waters is a pastime enjoyed by some and misunderstood by many?

SEO is essentially a process which involves optimising your web site site content so that it can be found by Google and then building links to ensure that Google gives it a preferential ranking that gets it seen by the visitors you are targeting.

The question I am asking, the question I first started asking ten years ago, is how one acquires those trusted links, the authority web sites simply do not dish out for asking?

Of course one needs tricks, techniques, skills or whatever you want to call it, I can assure you that not just anyone can build a silo e-commerce site and build a 50 domain PBN around that silo'd e-commerce.

As for acquiring high PA / DA links on trusted, relevant domains, there's millions of ways to do this, link building comes in all shapes and sizes. Guest posts, article syndication, press releases, branded infographics, there's A LOT of ways to get the links you want. Some publications even accept payment for links, an average link on Huffington Post or BBC will go for around R15,000... Yep, R15,000... but building up contacts over the years with media outlets is much more valuable. At my previous company we had a database of over 10,000 contacts of editors in different industries (travel, IT, advertising, fashion, news etc). One mailer got us around + - 100 links. It's not impossible to get the links you want.

Contextual links and relevant links are not the same thing. As I mentioned before, relevancy depends on industry / niche related, a blog about kittens links out to a blog about dogs, that's a relevant link.

Contextual links are links that are surrounded by content. You might get a relevant link on a website, but if it's only a huge image that links to your website, with no wording around that image, the link is not contextual, even though it's on a relevant website. Links do not always need to have achor text (text link). A balanced achor profile is essential. If you spam your keyword in all your achor text links, you won't get far. Over optimization is a thing...
We usually try to get as close as possible to the following ration:

15% - Naked URL: e.g <a href="http://takealot.co.za">http://takealot.co.za</a>
15% - Exact Keyword: e.g <a href="http://takealot.co.za">Online shopping</a>
25% - Branded: e.g <a href="http://takealot.co.za">Takealot</a>
15% -Branded Keyword: e.g <a href="http://takealot.co.za">Takealot Online Shopping</a>
25% - Long-tail Keyword (phrase): e.g <a href="http://takealot.co.za">Online Shopping in South Africa</a>
5% - Other: e.g Image links, No-follow links, social bookmarks etc

This is not a precise thing though, as long as your anchor text has a variety and it's not just a bunch of exact match keywords you want to rank for, you'll be okey.

[workshop]

the question I first started asking ten years ago, is how one acquires those trusted links, the authority web sites simply do not dish out for asking?

It is not everyone who is building a silo e-commerce site and that 50 domain PBN around that silo'd e-commerce. That is where the problems start. If we don't get the basics right we are going to lose the plot. The internet is about information, about people sharing information, communities facilitating the exchange of information, knowledge and even skills. Right or Wrong?

[HR Solutions]

If we don't get the basics right we are going to lose the plot. The internet is about information, about people sharing information, communities facilitating the exchange of information, knowledge and even skills.

Everyone that has access to a computer shares some information on it - there is no right and wrong and they are not going to "lose the plot". Just because people do things differently doesnt make it wrong.

[workshop]

Right in a sense. But we are talking about SEO. If I remember correctly you asked a question earlier in this thread and you didn't particularly like the answers you were given. This is what I call losing the plot. If we don't get the basics right, things tend to go a little haywire. SEO is something you start and have to nurture and grow. Third party links are not everything. But they are critical. And the question I am asking is how one acquires those trusted links, those links which authority web sites simply do not dish out for asking?

[HR Solutions]

If I remember correctly you asked a question earlier in this thread and you didn't particularly like the answers you were given. This is what I call losing the plot.

Oh really ! Do you now ......?
Clearly I am then losing the plot and not on the same level as you.

I remember on another thread you said you battled to fit in with people .................. mmm I can see that.

[workshop]

No need to go off the deep end. You really are a man-of-war, taking offence where none was intended. I am merely illustrating what happens when one loses sight of the basics. And if I may repeat myself

...the question I am asking is how one acquires those trusted links, those links which authority web sites simply do not dish out for asking?

[GertH]

No need to go off the deep end. You really are a man-of-war, taking offence where none was intended. I am merely illustrating what happens when one loses sight of the basics. And if I may repeat myself

workshop, we follow a kind of old fashioned "PR" angle when it comes to reaching out to bigger sites. To put it into simple steps:

1.) Reach out and introduce yourself, e-mail or tweet as many editors as you can about something you have planned. e.g e-mail a reporter at TechCrunch and tell them you are creating an interactive chart that shows how much hours each Fortune 500 company is spending on SEO. Ask them if they would be interested to see it.

2.) Create the best content you possibly can.

3.) Send them the content, be it hosted on your blog or on a publishing platform such as Medium.com

4.) Wait for links

5.) Offer to create something branded for their site, such as another chart that shows hours spent on social media or whatever.

Point is, no one is just going to link to you for the sake of linking, you have to provide value for them or their readers.

Something that might help you start off is HARO, HARO is an abbreviation of Help A Reporter Out. Go sign up as a "Source" http://www.helpareporter.com/
You will receive daily emails of reporters asking questions, you can answer these questions and position yourself as an expert and get a few links out of it. This is the easiest way to get a few odd high authority links (mostly branded / naked URL links).