Google Search Advocate John Mueller makes predictions about the future of backlinks during a live session at Brighton SEO.
Mueller, along with fellow Googler Lizzi Sassman and guest Myriam Jessier, answer some questions during a live recording of the Search Off The Record podcast.
Since this is a podcast, the host answers pre-selected questions rather than interacting with a live audience, so the questions are treated as a group discussion.
Together, hosts answer questions about how Google penalizes backlinks.
“As SEOs, we care about backlinks. However, aggressively working on backlinks is often a gray area in terms of linking schemes. What are the criteria?”
After a joke between the hosts, Mueller points the way with an answer that deviates slightly from the original question.
Google representatives are often thoughtful in answering questions about ranking and penalty criteria.
In general, Google discourages unnatural link building. Revealing too much detail about penalties can encourage “gray hat” behavior or draw a careful line between what is acceptable and what is not.
Instead of talking about penalties, Mueller explains common backlink ranking signals and why they will become less important to SEO professionals in the future.
Google’s John Mueller on Backlink Ranking Signals
Mueller suggests that Google’s algorithms will need to rely less on inbound links, as Google is better at understanding how content fits into the rest of the web.
Muller said:
“Well, over time, as we get a little better understanding of how content fits within the context of the web as a whole, I imagine that at some point the link weight will drop a bit.”
Perhaps this is Mueller’s way of saying that penalties aren’t worth worrying about because backlinks aren’t worth getting in the future.
However, suggesting backlinks only helps you understand the content and ignores all other information they convey.
A backlink profile can tell you a lot more about a website, such as how much other people trust the website, who it is trusted by, and how authoritative the site is in a particular niche. will give you
Can Google determine everything from just the content on the page?
Mueller didn’t mention the authority aspect of inbound links, but said they still help Google discover content.
Mueller continues:
“And links are always what we care about because we have to find the page somehow. How do we find it without referencing the page on the web?”
But my guess is that over time it won’t be as big of a factor as it is today. Already, I think it’s something that’s changed quite a bit. ”
Listen to the full discussion at the 13:17 mark on Google’s latest Search Off The Record podcast.
Featured Image: AlenD/Shutterstock
