Relevancy is like a relationship, it’s hard to fake. And in this episode of “Here’s Why” we’ll explain why relevance is an important concept for SEO.
Don’t miss a single episode of Here’s Why. Click the subscribe button below to be notified via email each time a new video is published.
Resources Mentioned
- Are Links Still a Powerful Ranking Factor? (New Study)
- The Three Pillars of SEO: Authority, Relevance, and Trust
- All of our Here’s Why videos
Transcript
Mark: Now, when it comes to ranking signals, links still rule as you showed in your detailed study on the actual ranking value of backlinks to a page.
Eric: Yes, links do rule, but not all links are equal.
Mark: What do you mean?
Eric: Well, for one thing, we know that links vary widely in the amount of authority they pass along based on the authority of the linking page and site and other factors, such as how many other links are on the linking page. But authority isn’t the only factor that you have to consider when measuring the value of a link.
Mark: Well, what else is important?
Eric: Well, the relevance of the linking site and page, for example.
Mark: So relevance. What does that mean when we’re talking about links?
Eric: Let me start with a real-life analogy. Say you have a certain ailment and you need a referral to a specialist. You get a recommendation from your personal physician and one from your auto mechanic. Which one are you more likely to value and follow?
Mark: The recommendation from my physician, of course.
Eric: But why?
Mark: Well, the physician’s area of expertise is much more relevant in this case.
Eric: Ah, that’s the word: relevant. Now, think of recommendations from your physician and mechanic as links on the web to different specialists. It’s obvious that the link from the physician should carry more weight than the link from the auto mechanic.
Mark: That does make sense. So getting links from high authority sites isn’t the whole ballgame. It’s important that those sites are also relevant to my site.
Eric: Yes, but it gets even more granular than that. The particular relevancy of the content on the linking page probably matters too, as well as the text in the link, which is what we call the “anchor text.” And perhaps even the text most closely surrounding the link as well.
Mark: So how do I apply relevance to my site’s SEO?
Eric: One way is through seeking out guest posting opportunities, getting permission to publish an article on someone else’s site that has a relevant link back to some content on your site. Because of the relevancy factor, you don’t want to publish on just any site though or pitch any old content. You’re gonna get the most value if you place your article on a site that’s at least somewhat relevant to the topic of your own site, and if your article has some relevancy to the page to which you’re linking on your site.
Mark: And, of course, that would also provide an article that’s more likely to be useful to the users of the site where you placed it, making the publisher happy and more likely to ask you for even more content.
Eric: For sure.
Mark: Now, thanks for that, Eric. Now let’s give our viewers a couple of deeper digs on this topic, okay? First, here is the link power study by Eric that I mentioned at the beginning of this episode. Eric uncovered evidence that links may be even more powerful than we thought for search ranking.
Eric: And here’s a chapter Mark and I co-wrote from the newly revised SEO Guide by Search Engine Journal. You’ll learn how relevancy, authority, and trust all work together for better SEO.
Don’t miss a single episode of Here’s Why. Click the subscribe button below to be notified via email each time a new video is published.
Absolutely true. Relevancy matters to SEO. It’s hard to increase traffic on your site if all the information and keywords are not relevant to each other. Thanks for posting this Kiki.
I agree especially if you do guest blogging. Keep it tight and keep it relevant. Another funny video too guys. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, Louis!
Good post and very well explained.
Relevancy is one of the main factors and every digital marketer should develop strategies in this sense.
Now the only question is how to get that relevancy and what is the budget for having expected results for getting it.
Of course, there are different ways to do that. At Perficient Digital, we have developed a very successful strategy we call Content Marketing Success by Design. In broad outline, we identify keyword targets where our client ranks high but behind some competition, use detailed analysis to determine what would be needed to push them above the competition, and then figure out worthy, relevant publishing targets of sufficient authority, and create highly relevant, high quality content to pitch to them, with editorially-valid links back to our client’s site.
Hi there,
Nice post. This is truly a great post. Relevancy is must in seo.
I try to comment on blogs as much as i can. Is it good to include a link of any post inside the comment orI only use it in the website column?
Hi Jiya. Different sites will have different policies on whether or not they allow links in comments. Also be aware that many blog comment programs flag comments with links as possible spam. If you do include a link, make sure it is highly relevant to your comment and necessary for the reader’s benefit. If it even appears to be promotional, it will probably be deleted. Also be aware that these days most sites and/or blog comment software mark comment links as “no-follow,” which means they pass no SEO authority.
Relevancy will help the content to boost up your website as well as pages
Yaa I really agree with you. The quality content with Relevancy boosts your page on SERP.
User experience and SEO are two important things that are required for website traffic and conversion. If one thing is missing then you can not make it. With the help of SEO, one can increase user count on website which is called traffic and with the help of user experience, you can convert those users into customers. A good website design and proper presentation of content is very important in any website to grab users’ attention and take them to the checkout form.
Brilliant video! Keep up the solid work team! Completely agree here, relevancy is key, not all links are created equal!
Going to be passing this on to some colleagues no doubt.
Thanks for sharing 😉
Truly amazing article.
Writing relevant articles and sticking to one or two niche is really important to rank. Keyword research and word density also two important factors in SEO.
I concur particularly in the event that you do visitor blogging. Keep it tight and keep it significant. Another entertaining video also folks. Keep doing awesome!
Great post, I particularly like the physician / auto mechanic analogy. I thought I knew about domain authority but this really put it in terms I could understand.