Are links no longer as important in google?

[jamesf4218]

An associate of mine has told me that google no longer rates incoming links to your site as importantly as it once did and more merit is given to keywords and content. Is this true?

Is it worth building up links still?

Regards,

James

[Dino_M]

Definatly worth building up links.

Maybe your associate was talking about the possible reduction in importance of PR, but that is certainly not the only reason to build up links, especially from relevant pages and with keywords in the anchor text of the link.

[edited by: Dino_M at 1:59 pm (utc) on Nov. 13, 2002]

[fathom]

Links are as important as ever. Content still has the greater weight but the link adds much to content creditability.

[rfgdxm1]

Googleguy commented himself in a post here about part of the recent algo change being done to combat PR for sale. Based on that I'd say that this means PR is less important than before in the algo. Still counts, but not as much.

[ukgimp]

Could it be said that it is the quality and level of on-topicness that is more important than meerly just a link.

In that a widget site with links form widget based sites it better than one having a link from travel site.

And then of course if links were the only thing then would not link farms still work. So it has to be quality.

Cheers

[rfgdxm1]

I see no evidence Google is using theming even within domains. And, if Google uses theming it is a lot easier computationally to do it just withing a domain. Having to cross check not only links, but also the content of the linking and linked to site seems non-trivial.

[vitaplease]

just check this for the importance of links:

[webmasterworld.com...]

I think internal links have become less important and linktext should appear on the target page somewhere to avoid the googlebombing.

[ukgimp]

OK how about this.

I used a link from one of my pages (TBPR6) to a similar page that was also mine with not other links too. This link is found in the backward links.

Now I also linked to another page/site that is also mine but 100% off topic without good anchor text and the link never appeared. I have since removed the link with no adverse effect.

There has to be a little in this, but I can only comment on my experiences. I have however seen this exact same thing talked about on other fora.

Cheers

[rfgdxm1]

Except for redistributing PR withing a site, it does make sense that internal links should mean little. Basically, these are voting for yourself.

[fathom]

Googleguy commented himself in a post here about part of the recent algo change being done to combat PR for sale.

Any chance you can re-post that thread.

To the extent of "combat PR for sale", seems a little strange. If so, then any paid-for listing (e.g. - Yahoo listing) would be what Google is combating.

The promotional aspect of "PageRank for sale" is the same as "listing for sale".

From another view... "free PageRank" with every listing purchased is identical to "free listing" with purchased PageRank. I would tend to believe the "listing" is the value and the "promotion" is just attempting to provide "added-value".

What about sites that offer "Free PageRank" with "Free Listings" but require a nominal fee of a returned link in lieu of payment.

It is quite possible that Googleguy indicated this, for a "recent algo change being done to combat PR for sale", but it would seem like a short-sighted observation to combat promotional media.

Promotional "intent" on making revenue from a select few (people who have knowledge of PageRank) when (example: Yahoo) advertises a different spin but provides the exact same thing but to the masses, making much more revenue, seems to be a strange thing to combat.

[paynt]

James you ask two questions. The first has been answered. I think we’ll see the importance of PageRank on Google rankings continue to change over time. It’s not a tangible form to put too much weight on when developing strategies. I see it more as a tool that gives us a glimpse into the mind of Google in relation to a page and it’s popularity. It’s a great tool.

Linking as others have touched on has more value than it’s PageRank. That ties into your second question, “Is it worth building up links still?”

My position on linking and Google remains the same. Linking with other sites related to your theme acts as a support system and contributes to the foundation and stability of the site. The importance and opportunity to build authority through the use of anchor text in linking contributes to the overall support of the site and can solidify its position in certain markets or industries. Oh, the possibilities with linking as a tool to strengthen a site can be endlessly wonderful if we begin to think of them in terms greater than the link itself. Unfortunately most of us are not ready for that.

Basically for most of what people seem to be doing on the web as far as promoting and positioning their sites I suggest that if you do elect to utilize linking as a part of your positioning strategies that you first come up with a plan. Next make sure your own site is ready in that you have clearly presented your linking policy. If you’re building on a reciprocal linking campaign then at the very least provide your link partners with placement in a themed directory or on a page that relates to each other’s page. Next, keep an eye on whom you’re linking to and who is linking to you. Having a dead link of any form on a site is dumb, yes I said dumb and icky.

James you need to pat yourself on the back for asking questions because that is what shows you are acting as a good steward over your site. We each need to keep questioning and challenging ourselves, not blindly deciding on issues that can in a major way impact a site. We know for certain that any type of linking planned or not can positively or negatively impact not only our own site but also possibly others. We all need to be thinking and questioning on that.

[MOOSBerlin]

ukgimp:
In that a widget site with links form widget based sites it better than one having a link from travel site

i think you are right

rfgdxm1:
I see no evidence Google is using theming even within domains

i see Google doing this!