As if there was any doubt left, Google has taken just one more step to show marketers that when working on SEO it is your site that matters most, not the links. Google recently updated the ranking section of the Webmaster Tools help page to tell those reading that the user experience is primary when attempting to get your site ranked.
The site used to tell webmasters, “In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by increasing the number of high-quality sites that link to their pages.” Today, however, if you browse to the page it will say, “In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by creating high-quality sites that users will want to use and share.” This is quite a big change, and perhaps the most blatantly obvious for those who still believe that link building is king.
Of course, webmasters will need to make sure that Google is able to find their sites, and part of that will always be getting quality backlinks. The thing to remember, however, is that when you have a high-quality site which is made with the user in mind, the links will follow naturally. New sites can typically get their first few visitors through sharing the page on Facebook and other social networks. From there it should grow naturally, over time, while real users visit, enjoy and share the page.
Webmasters who take this approach will never have to worry about Google’s updates, whether it be Panda’s, Penguin’s or any other cute wildlife animal. They can simply focus on providing their users with the best possible experience and ignore all the SEO hype of the day. In many ways this will result in not only a better ranking site, but also a much less stressful experience for the webmaster.
Can there really be any doubt left concerning the future of SEO? What will this mean for the thousands of link-building companies and services out there who are attempting to hang on to this dying business?
You can view the updated webmaster tools help page HERE.
