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Google's New Linking Guidelines

I am incredibly lucky to have connected with a great Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company, Search Optimizers. The Account Manager I work with is incredibly diligent about keeping his clients updated on the newest algorithm changes impacting search. He recently sent me an email with the following information:

Google published a blog post covering the new linking guidelines; we recommend reviewing it carefully as many of these tactics are still ubiquitous. Verboten activities listed in Google’s article include, among others:

1. Purchasing links (any form of purchasing, including free product in exchange for a link)
2. Link exchanges (I'll link to you from my site if you link to mine from yours)
3. "Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links”
4. “Using automated programs or services to create links to your site”
5. “Links with optimized anchor text in articles or press releases distributed on other sites. For example:There are many wedding rings on the market. If you want to have a wedding, you will have to pick the best ring. You will also need to buy flowers and a wedding dress.”
6. “Low-quality directory or bookmark site links”
7. “Forum comments with optimized links in the post or signature, for example:Thanks, that’s great info! - Paul paul’s pizza san diego pizza best pizza san diego”

Remember, even if you don’t do any of those types of activities for your clients, they may have done this with other companies in the past, and it could still negatively influence their site. The affected sites experience significant drops in organic traffic when their site gets picked up by Penguin. Google also published a post detailing steps to take to remove toxic links. Due to the SEO importance of eliminating toxic links, Search Optimizers reviews our clients’ link profiles to determine if a significant number of unnatural backlinks are attached to their sites.

While I am a huge proponent of white hat SEO practices, I recognize that some businesses aren't savvy enough to realize they're paying a fraction of the cost for services that employ unsavory linking practices. I personally had to dissuade a former employer from hiring a firm that was significantly less expensive based on the admission that they would buy links to our pages and build links between our pages and the pages of their other clients. 

As I told the president of the company I was working for, it's not worth risking the penalties Google will impose on us. Sometimes we can go back and wipe those links clean from sites, but it can be incredibly difficult to improve a website's standing with the major search engines. 

The Importance of Client Relations

The single most important part of any service-based business is client relations. Don't believe me? Gartner predicts Customer Relationship Management (CRM) increasing to a 36.5 billion dollar worldwide market by 2017.

My career started in a customer service department, and I have applied the skills I learned there to every other position in my career. It was in that job I learned that client relations is much more than “the customer is always right,” and it often requires quality communication with a generous dose of finesse.

In the years since, I have seen more business relationships crash and burn because of poor communication than anything else. One relationship was ruined by an unexpected $500 over-service charge. Rather than having the presidents of the companies speak on the phone to sort out the miscommunication, emails went back and forth between account managers for weeks until there was a bad taste in the mouths of all parties involved. Eventually business decisions were made based on emotions instead of rational thinking, and the two companies parted ways on terrible terms.

There is something to be said for letting account managers manage their accounts and handle their clients. But there comes a point when emails are not appropriate, phone calls aren’t enough, and the decision makers need to get involved. When an agency president won’t drive two hours to meet face-to-face with an unhappy client, it’s bad business.

Among the many driving forces behind lacking communication, money stands out. Secrecy, misinformation and overcharging have contributed to the majority of instances where companies allowed bad communication to sink business relationships. Is gaining $500 now worth the potential of earning $5,000 later? I would argue no.

In B2B and B2C marketing there is an expectation of legitimacy that is difficult to rebuild once it’s been proven false. My goal is to operate on the foundation that my clients value my work and are willing to compensate me appropriately. I also allot my clients’ budgets as if they were my own. It’s no secret that there are elaborate parts of marketing that aren’t as functional as they are flashy. With limited budgets, I council my clients on the must-haves and make sure to allocate my time to the action items that will have the biggest ROI. Increasing a client’s revenue is the fastest way to increase my own budget.