With each passing year, search engine algorithms grow increasingly sophisticated in their ability to identify (and penalize) spammy links. Among other things, this year marked the fourth and fifth releases of Google’s spam-filtering Penguin update (Penguin 2.0 and 2.1, respectively).
Additionally, many link building tactics that were once considered legitimate were unceremoniously moved to the “spam” column in 2013. Google updated its webmaster guidelines to provide additional guidance on what they now consider to be an unnatural link, and even Bing detailed several ways not to build links.
The launch of Google’s Hummingbird algorithm and its potential impact on link building activities was also a hot topic among the link building community. Add to that the possible death of Google Toolbar PageRank, and you have quite an eventful year for all the linkers out there!
What topics did Search Engine Land’s link building community find most interesting this year? Take a look at our top Link Week columns from 2013:
Top Link Week Columns Of 2013
- How Will Google Hummingbird Impact Links? Here Are 6 Ways – October 8, 2013, by Eric Ward
- 5 PR Strategies You Can Use To Build Links Right Now – May 14, 2013, by Casie Gillette
- Understanding Google’s Latest Assault On Unnatural Links – August 13, 2013, by Eric Ward
- Did Hummingbird Eat Link Building? – October 11, 2013, by Nate Dame
- 20 Resources To Add To Your Link Tool Arsenal Right Now – March 19, 2013, by Julie Joyce
- 11 Things We Should Never Ever Do In Link Building Again – July 2, 2013, by Erin Everhart
- Is Link Building Dead? 3 Tips For Link Builders Post-Penguin 2.0 – June 18, 2013, by Paul Bruemmer
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Internal Linking Strategy – May 7, 2013, by Erin Everhart
- Why The YouTube Keyword Tool Is So Amazing For Link Building – October 15, 2013, by Julie Joyce
- 7 Ways To Get Links When Launching A New Website – July 30, 2013, by Erin Everhart
We appreciate the hard work our Link Week columnists have put in this year to help link builders stay abreast of relevant guideline changes and algorithm updates. Stay tuned for more great link building advice from our Link Week column in 2014!
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