Did you like junior high or middle school? We’re not sure we did, but these days it sometimes feels like we’re stuck back there. 

The reason for this is “backlinks.” Power Pair Marketing will talk a lot about backlinks in our presentations, particularly if we’re working with a partner like CityScoop or, eventually perhaps, our own backlink website. 

Why are backlinks like returning to eighth grade? Well, it’s a lot like a big ol’ popularity contest. That’s the basic logic behind the way that Google measures backlinks. 

So back to the obvious question: What is a backlink? A backlink is a link on another website that references your website or a page on your website. These links are evaluated sort of in the way that votes are counted in that eighth-grade popularity contest, so more is better. But there are caveats to this metric. 

For backlinks to really count, they need to come from high authority websites. One of the top websites for this has been Wikipedia. The drawback is that you need to be a person or firm of national or international notoriety to be cited on Wikipedia, but Wikipedia is an amazing place to have a page! Basically, you can’t do better than Wikipedia. That’s a star among backlinks. 

If backlinks are like votes, and we use Presidential electoral voting as a measure, backlinks from a high-authority website are like an Electoral Vote or being supported by a super delegate in a primary. They are worth more than an average vote.

Google doesn’t use a single metric or a few metrics to determine website authority in its rankings. We’ve read that there are more than 200 items that Google’s AI and other measuring devices analyze to create its internal authority ranking. That’s a lot of ingredients in the sauce. 

If getting linked from a high-authority website is difficult, which his exactly what it should be, then how can you – a small professional services firm like a lawyer, insurance agent, financial advisor or accountant – find ranking? At Power Pair Marketing, we take an organic, low-cost approach to this problem.

First, we create lots of high-quality content. Google and other companies that assess a website’s authority will assess that content as part of your ranking. Second, we optimize things like photographs and videos to draw attention, which is part of an overall SEO appeal to Google. Third, we will use various programs that help maintain and clean up a website’s reputation, particularly if there is anything that could negatively affect a ranking out there. Fourth, we will encourage the use of very specific social media accounts – Google Profiles, LinkedIn and Bing Places – because they are business positives without the baggage of social media options like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Finally, when it makes sense and when it’s not a program that will test the limits of your budget, we will work with our partner at CityScoop to benefit your ranking. 

These are the “white hat” ways of doing things, and those are not going to negatively affect your website’s authority. This program will help to push you upward in Google’s ranking evaluation and will be a net positive for your business in terms of establishing your brand and keeping you top of mind with clients. There are “black hat” options out there, but at the end of the day they don’t provide the same kind of durable results. 

As a last note, we’ve been hoping that Mel Brooks would re-record his classic “High Anxiety” as “High Authority,” and we’d happily work with him to update the lyrics. We love Mel Brooks!

If you’re looking to give yourself greater authority … and who isn’t? … click the link below and request an appointment with Power Pair Marketing.