Internet Marketing Digital_marketing_for_dummies | Page 206

BUILDING LINKS IN A POST-PENGUIN WORLD
The number of links pointing to a web page has been a factor in garnering search traffic for nearly two decades. In that
time, less-than-reputable search marketers have developed ways to manipulate the number of links a web page receives.
In 2012, Google launched the Penguin update to stop sites deemed to be spamming its search results, particularly sites
buying links or obtaining links through link networks in an effort to boost their Google search rankings.
Today, black-hat search marketing tactics such as link buying violate Google’s terms of service, and updates like Penguin
make it difficult to execute those tactics. The only sustainable way to build links to your web pages is the old-fashioned
way: Build something worth linking to.
All links aren’t created equal. Links from high-quality, authoritative sites have a greater effect than links from low-quality
sites. A link from The New York Times or University of Southern California website, for example, carries more weight than
a link from a brand-new blog with no authority. Search engines have deemed reputable publications and college sites, like
the Times and USC sites, to be unlikely to link to a low-quality page or a page that infringes upon the search engine’s
terms of service.