In regards to core principles, link building has not changed significantly. However, the signals around link building have indeed changed. The last major change rolled out in April 2012 with the Penguin algorithm. Since then, a few changes have occurred. The move towards user data driving search results + machine learning has been one of the most significant changes in recent years.
The typical mindset for link building has changed immensely. In the past, webmasters could get away with using low-quality link building for a short-term gain. With the Penguin update, both business owners and SEO Specialists are realizing that is takes good content marketing to maintain good quality links. Needing an asset has always played a major role in link building. One of the most effective ways to go about this strategy is to develop a content asset so your audience cares. This way, they’ll be more likely to share your content or link it from somewhere.
Spending time promoting your content is crucial. You shouldn’t stop until you’ve reached either of these goals:
- You’ve created a large enough audience where you receive at least some traffic to your new content
- You’ve built strong relationships with relevant websites
Most importantly, Google is cracking down on scalable link building. When you do this, you’re actually lose quality which is exactly what Google doesn’t want.