An interview I did with Brian Dean from Backlinko.com about Content Quality, Anchor Text of Incoming Links, and Creation Frequency for Both



u/GoodGuyMladen
How to do SEO the right way, and how to build quality links (interview with Brian Dean)
This is an interview I did with Brian Dean from Backlinko.com. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Q: Brian, first of all, how did you get into SEO?
I got into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in a roundabout way. After I read The Four Hour Workweek I decided that I was going to start an information product business from my parent's basement. Unfortunately, I knew NOTHING about product development, marketing, sales, site design, conversion rate optimization or SEO.
Despite all that, I was able to scratch out quite a few sales from that business.
But I eventually turned my eyes to another strategy that I heard people were using to generate passive income: SEO. The rest is history :-)
Q: There are lot of people who claim that SEO is dead. On the other hand, there are people who say that SEO has never been easier and more alive. What are your thoughts on this?
I'm in the second group. Trust me: SEO is alive and well…and easier than ever.
But for that to be true you need to know how to build quality links in today's world. Because most people in the SEO game were raised on blog comments and forum profile links, the new SEO game is a struggle for them.
Once you learn how to build links from relevant, authority sites, SEO is a breeze.
Q: Lots of gurus and "gurus", experts and "experts" are bombarding us with bunch of tips and tricks on how to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Let's answer once and for all: how to do SEO the right way? Better yet, can you explain to us, step-by-step, your approach when doing SEO from scratch (for a client, or your own site)?
Sure.
The first thing I do is look at the content that the client has on their site. If there's something decent, I usually give it a paint job to make it even better. If not, I come up with something from scratch using The Skyscraper Technique.
Next, I find people that might be interested in sharing that content (ie. influencers in that space). Then I email them to give them a heads up about it.
Finally, I do things like broken link building and outreach to actively build links to that piece of content.
Q: Relevant, high-quality links were, are, and will be the essential part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But, with all these Google updates, one question comes out logically: how to build relevant, high-quality links that will benefit our SEO efforts, long-term? Any secret tip for us? :)
That's the entire SEO game right there :-)
Unfortunately, there's no secret tip or loophole that will magically generate links for you.
The fact is, it takes a lot of hard work and creativity to get the job done today.
The basic formula for link building success is:
Great Content + Targeted Outreach + Added Value = Quality Links
Q: Brian, some people were very excited when they heard that I'll interview you. And they sent me few questions that they'd like me to ask you. :)
1. If you create one article/blog post per day, how fast should you build links?
Don't create one article per day. That's WAY too much content. Focus on building ONE piece of amazing content once or twice per month and promoting it.
2. On how many links to put exact anchor text?
0-5%. The rest can be a mix of generic, brand name and partial match anchor text.
3. What percentage of incoming links should point to homepage, and what on other pages?
It'd hard to say because it depends on the site. A site with 50 pages should have a higher percentage of links to it's homepage than to internal pages than a site with 5,000 pages. But in general you want <50% of your links pointing to your homepage.
4. What's your favourite tool for link profile analyses?
Definitely Ahrefs .
5. How much guest posting is right, and how much is too much?
Guest posts shouldn't make up more than 20-30% of the links in your link profile. Any more than that is asking for trouble.
Q: Internet is becoming more mobile. Lot of sites have either mobile versions or responsive design. On your opinion, what's the key activity that differentiates mobile SEO from "regular" SEO? And is there any difference, based on your experience?
I actually don't see any difference. With more sites going with responsive design (which has the same SEO elements no matter what device people use), mobile is really a design/conversion issue.
Q: In few sentences, where do you see SEO in the next year?
I see more of the same: Google getting better at fighting black hat and grey hat SEO. It might be one of the last years that black hat works really well. Even now it's becoming more sophisticated and complex to execute.
Otherwise, I see Google slowly incorporating more social signals into the mix. Like 2013, it will be a continuation of the year before: whoever holds the best links keeps their top position.
Q: You recently launched a new course, but for a short period of time. What are you working on right now, and what can we expect from you in the following months?
I'm actually putting a ton of time into helping SEO That Works students succeed (they're my #1 priority right now). Otherwise, I'm working on a new video series called Backlinko TV which will be out in the first week of December. I'm also speaking at two conferences next year, LAC and the Lindex Think Tank.
Q: Brian, there are so many things that I'd like to ask you, and I could pick your brain for hours. :) But, I know that you are very busy man, and I respect the time you take to answer my questions. ** Thank you very much, and I hope that we'll have a chance to do another interview in near future.**
Thanks for having me, Mladen
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