How do you see the results of backlinks?

[mikepcservice]

Backlinkers say it takes 45 days to see the effects of back linking. Also sites like Link Management shows when you punch in a kw how many links, time and cost it will take to rank on page one for that kw. Since no one owns google how can they know or guarantee this?

Also, is there any tool which shows the results of a backlink traffic-wise please or this just a guessing game?

 

[djbaxter]

Be skeptical about 10% of what you read about SEO and ranking. Then ignore the other 90%. There are so many persistent myths and bogus claims about SEO that it's difficult to navigate the maze between fact and profit-driven fiction. Be especially skepitcal about anything that promises top 10 ranking or page 1 ranking.

Once you become more familiar with the players in the SEO industry, it becomes a little easier to know who to believe and who to LOL at.

 

[mikepcservice]

Understood but any idea on what I have asked above please?

 

[djbaxter]

I don't use backlink tools of any kind so I'll leave that to others to answer.

 

[mikepcservice]

Whoa, that's something as I was always told that backlinks is the TOP thing one can do for monthly rankings. Personally I have always thought that regular fresh content is the main thing which is why I am now looking into this.

So may I ask why you don't do backlinking please?

 

[djbaxter]

What I said was

I don't use backlink tools of any kind

(other than Google queries)

 

[mikepcservice]

Ok, understood, thanks.

I am trying to figure out high DA sites, would a link with say with a DA of 95 from a massive site like Amazon give better results than a FREE link from Apple maps which has a DA of 100?

 

[djbaxter]

What Is Domain Authority? Is It Even Real? - Overthink Group

Google insists that it doesn't affect rankings, yet you hear about domain authority all the time. Is it a real thing? Is it useful?

overthinkgroup.com

Domain authority (also known as site authority and website authority) is a metric used by SEOs to estimate how “rankable” a website is as a whole.

It’s based on the idea that some websites are more likely to rank in search engines than others. Most site authority scales range from 1 to 100, with higher scores signifying higher likelihood that the website can rank for any given term.

But there’s a problem.

While SEOs have used domain authority scores for years to help them win more traffic from Google, Google insists that they don’t use domain authority—nor any metric like it—to rank pages.

• “Domain authority” (DA) is a metric SEOs made up. Think of it as a loose catch-all for all the site-wide factors Google considers.
• Google insists that domain authority does NOT affect rankings.
• Low-DA sites often outrank high-DA sites.
• Properly understood, domain authority is still useful for SEOs.

 

[mikepcservice]

Oh God, the deeper I look into this, the more confusing it gets sighhhhhhhhh.

If the above info is accurate then no need to go about trying to build backlinks on high DA sites then?

 

[Cherie Dickey]

Hey @mikepcservice!

Backlinking is an art form. I like to call it earning links, because links that are earned via great content or great reputation are the ones that have the most value. It used to be thought that links with a high DA carried more weight, but it's not really true anymore. What you want (for the most part) is links from sites who are (1) an authority in their field, and (2) related to the content on your site in some way.

For a local business, I like to see links from the local news papers doing an op ed on the business, or from other business owners recommending the business. I also like to see links form local chambers of commerce. These sites may not be huge, but they show that the business is one to be trusted.

The reason great content trumps links is that it's the content that earns the links, if that makes sense. If you wrote an amazing blog post about something that was used as a reference source (and linked to) within someone else's content on a similar topic, THAT's a good link...and those are the links Google is looking for. It has nothing to do with DA, though looking at DA is good to make sure the site linking to you is not a spam site or a link farm. Moz has a tool that's pretty good for this, and it's free to a certain point.

As for tools, I use SEMRush a lot, and I've used Moz Pro in the past. It's nice to be able to see some of the links that competitors have, their trust scores, and maybe find some sites my client can try to earn links on (such as the local chamber, schools or charities that give links to local sponsors, local news media, etc... Notice these are all links that would come naturally if the business is an active participant in their community.) But mostly I use it for new sites I'm taking on where I want to know if they have any unnatural links that may be red flags - especially for older sites. I have no idea what black hat shenanigans may have gone on in the past.

Keep in mind that no tool will show all links. Search Console will show some link data, and it's free. Majestic is considered to be the most comprehensive, and many tools such as RavenTools pull from Majestic's data.

I hope this helps!

Cherie

 

[mikepcservice]

Thank you for the info. I am still confused on how one can tell the results of a backlink, does this mean there is nothing to show the contributions of a backlink, how much traffic you get from it alone? If that's the case then my thinking would be it's a guessing game, that one is doing it just because one thinks it's helpful?

I say the above because with fresh content, on google I can see my search for a specific kw linking back directly to it's blog page. This way I know for sure that the blog is bringing traffic, so I am trying to see if there is a similar way to know if a backlink is bringing traffic.

 

[Cherie Dickey]

I am still confused on how one can tell the results of a backlink, does this mean there is nothing to show the contributions of a backlink, how much traffic you get from it alone?

You should be able to see this in Google Analytics. It would be referral traffic usually, though traffic from Facebook, etc will show as social traffic.

 

[mikepcservice]

Great Cherie, I will look at the GA in a while to see what is there regarding backlinks, get back to you.

 

[Tim Colling]

Be skeptical about 10% of what you read about SEO and ranking. Then ignore the other 90%.

One of my favorite things that I've read here in a long time! And accurate.

 

[mikepcservice]

Looking in google analytics now, I am not seeing anything mentioning Backlinks or Referrals, would there be some heading I need to click on please?

I am however seeing Referrals in Analytify Plugin on a new site I have started SEO on. Please see attached image of a screenshot.

This is the 2nd month of SEO, those stats are for the last 30 days. I had paid a guy to post backlinks on 20 High DA sites for the last 2 months. Looking at the Top Referrers in the screenshot, does this mean that ZERO traffic has come from the 40 backlinks over the past 2 months?

Also what's the [direct] [none] stat please?

https://i.postimg.cc/V60hN0rR/Screen...0-15-34-AM.png

 

[Cherie Dickey]

In Analytics, on the left hand side, you will need to select Acquisition > All Traffic > Channels. 2019-09-26_1126 You'll be able to see referral traffic from there.

I had paid a guy to post backlinks on 20 High DA sites for the last 2 months.

This worries me for you. You should never pay for links. It can get your site penalized by Google, and is extremely difficult to reverse. Is it possible this guy added your business to directory sites for you, and you are thinking he was just adding links to those sites? I hope so....

Also, many backlinks do not bring a lot of traffic. It depends on the site and the content.

Direct/none is coming from people who typed your URL in directly. I also see traffic coming from links contained in an email fall into this as well.

 

[Cherie Dickey]

@mikepcservice Just wanted to make sure you saw my edit. I meant to say LEFT side, not right. Gaahh... it's been a long week already

 

[mikepcservice]

To clarify I am not paying him for links, I am paying him to post for me. He sends me a list of the same 20 sites he is posting on each month, only each month the same sites links link back to a fresh blog or page, is this ok?

Also please clarify on my question of since the Top Referrals is not showing any backlink info, does this means the 20 backlinks each month is totally useless?

 

[Cherie Dickey]

Also please clarify on my question of since the Top Referrals is not showing any backlink info, does this means the 20 backlinks each month is totally useless?

It depends. If the backlinks are from quality sites that fit the criteria I mentioned earlier, then their existence can help strengthen your site. That's value outside of traffic. If they are not and do not, then I would say the money you are spending could be better spent on other efforts.

I am paying him to post for me. He sends me a list of the same 20 sites he is posting on each month, only each month the same sites links link back to a fresh blog or page, is this ok?

I need clarification on this... are you (or him) writing a blog post, posting that to your site on it's own page, and then this person is posting that same blog post on another website? And linking that second post back to your site? Where exactly is he placing his post on the site? And what content is he posting there?

 

[mikepcservice]

It depends. If the backlinks are from quality sites that fit the criteria I mentioned earlier, then their existence can help strengthen your site. That's value outside of traffic. If they are not and do not, then I would say the money you are spending could be better spent on other efforts.

I have a content writer who writes one blog per week for me. I pay the backlink guy to post a short description of one of the 4 blogs on the 20 high DA sites linking back to my blog page, similar to what I do on my GMB posts. He writes the description somewhere on high DA sites like Buzzfeed, Adobe forums e.t.c. Hope I have answered your question correctly, if not, please let me know.

So what are the "other efforts" you can recommend for me please?