It’s not just about fighting spam. Learn why link analysis is a crucial part of your SEO checklist from twentysix digital’s Alexander Darwin.
Watch Alexander dive into the importance of routine link analysis to improve your brand and rankings from at his Manchester City Crawl talk.
Video transcription
My name is Alex Darwin, I’m an SEO Data Specialist, and I work with twentysix digital.
Today, I’m going to be talking about what your backlinks say about you, and this is going to apply to anybody that has a website that had any SEO done before 2012.
It’s also going to apply to anybody who’s got a reputable website and might be working as a big company because they tend to attract a lot of spam.
Why you should use link analysis
We often get asked why link analysis is still important. There was a time when people were fighting off penalties and it was, as a tool basically, to clean out and say to Google “I’ve changed my ways, please give me my traffic back.”
But actually, as we move on, we’re finding that link analysis is a good measure of just getting to know your own profile — what’s your exposure?
“How is my outreach doing, what’s my marketing agency actually doing? Are they worth their money?” It’s kind of become second nature, like tracking traffic; you don’t always need to know it all the time, but it’s good to know how you’re doing.
Alex Darwin on the importance of links
There was a time when people were fighting off penalties. Link analysis helps clean out the spam.
The way to assess your site is to try to get your hands on as much link data as possible. If you’re a small website, I know that can be tricky because a lot of the big tools are only out there for agencies.
The best way to track evolving spam is to look at your profile and ask: “Is this relevant to me? Is there anything in there that stands out and is out of the ordinary?” If in doubt, just get rid of it.
The benefits of conducting link analysis
One of the benefits of routine link analysis is just a general awareness of your profile — how well you’re doing, how your campaigns are doing.
But, depending on your own situation with your website, you can see all sorts of benefits from increased traffic — from reversals of penalty to basically just knowing where you’re going and measuring success as you go along.
liked alexander’s talk? Want more?
See what else Alexander has to say on the subject of routine link analysis here. Want more like this? See what our other incredible Manchester City Crawl speakers had to offer.
