{"id":181456,"date":"2019-08-14T09:03:21","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T13:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/?p=181456"},"modified":"2022-09-21T12:42:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T16:42:13","slug":"seo-a-common-sense-assessment-of-link-quality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/seo-a-common-sense-assessment-of-link-quality","title":{"rendered":"SEO: A Common Sense Assessment of Link Quality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Applying

Applying common sense to assessing the quality of a backlink can yield good results. Ensuring the link is good for both humans and search engines is a good start.<\/p><\/div>\n

A quality backlink pleases both humans and search engine algorithms. It is editorial in nature. It comes from a well-respected source, and it is relevant to the topics covered on both the linking and linked websites.<\/p>\n

One might even say that in a perfect scenario, link building for search engine optimization would be nothing more than creating content so good that awestruck readers would link to it out of pure admiration. Those links would also be “do follow” and use keyword-rich anchor text.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as many marketers and search optimizers will tell you, creating content so good that it cannot be ignored is rare. It is a worthy goal, but typically we must create good content and entice others to links to it. It’s hard work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In many ways, it is similar to a sales process<\/a>. It requires relationship building, adding value, and earning trust. And that assumes your content is link-worthy.<\/p>\n

But not every backlink is desirable. Sites that scrape content or publish offensive material, as examples, do nothing for SEO. Likely they are harmful.<\/p>\n

Thus it’s important to understand what makes for a good backlink. If your business is going to invest in superior content, focusing on quality backlinks is key.<\/p>\n

Common Sense<\/h3>\n

Google, Bing, and other leading search engines have not defined a good backlink. Representatives from these companies have commented. Articles have been published. But in the end, we are left to draw some of our own conclusions.<\/p>\n

This makes sense as there’s not a single recipe for the perfect backlink. It will likely differ from one circumstance to the next.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, using a little judgment and a touch of observation, and we can make out some of the characteristics of a good backlink. We could even call this a common-sense approach to assessing link quality.<\/p>\n

We could conclude that a quality link will have at least four characteristics.<\/p>\n