More on .Edu Links and Their Value

In our last post, we talked about the value of .edu links for SEO.  After considering comments by Google’s Matt Cutts and the nature of most .edu links, we concluded that there is some substantial SEO power in obtaining inbound links from .edu domains.

Some new information seems to support that conclusion.  A blog post at Divine Write provides notes from the recent SMX Sydney convention.  One of the speakers, noted SEO voice Rand Fishkin, discussed .edu links.  The blogger, Glenn Murray, summarizes:

Trustworthiness of a website – Good ‘degree of separation’ diagram: To Google, a site that’s one link away from a trusted seed (such as Amazon or an edu) is 0.4% likely to be spam, two links away is 1%, three links is 14%. This is why links from seed sites are so important.

Rand’s breakdown of SEO signals:

• Trust/authority of domain = 35%
• On page & keyword = 30%
• Page level link metrics = 25%
• Usage data = 10%

Now, think about what that means in terms of the potential SEO value of .edu’s.  Why does Google use links to determine SERPs?  In essence, it’s because they interpret inbound links as votes of confidence regarding a sites quality and relevance to users.  How does Google dtermine what kind of weight to give those inbound links?  Obviously, the trustworthiness of the source must be a significant consideration.

What do these SMX Sydney notes tell us?  They tell us that Google has a darn good reason to trust inbound links from .edu’s.  

Are .edu links the Holy Grail of SEO?  Of course not.  They are, however, a powerful component to increasing your performance in the SERPs.  Inbound links from .edu’s are just the kind of link Google should be trusting.  Isn’t that the kind of link you want?

Are .Edu Links REALLY that Important?

For a long time, people considered backlinks from .edu domains one of the most powerful SEO tools.  Google, they argued, trusted the .edu extension more than the .com, .net, etc.  That made links from an .edu domain more powerful in terms of improving a site’s SEO performance.   

After awhile, however, some folks started doubting that assessment.  It doesn’t seem as though their newfound suspicion had much to do with actual results, however.  Those who believed .edu links were working for them didn’t start experiencing drops in the SERPs or less traffic.  The perspective changed when Matt Cutts of Google weighed in on the topic.

Here’s what Cutts said:

But, certainly, all of the things that have good qualities of a link from a .edu or a .gov site, as well as the fact that we hard-code and say: .edu or .gov links are good - and when there are good links, .edu links tend to be a little better on average; they tend to have a little higher PageRank, and they do have this sort of characteristic that we would trust a little more. There is nothing in the algorithm itself, though, that says: oh, .edu - give that link more weight…  Well, you would be surprised how many are like: “Oh, I have to get .edu links because they are better.” You can have a useless .edu link just like you can have a great .com link.

Many interpret that as cutting against the power of .edu links.  A closer reading, however, doesn’t necessarily support that conclusion.  First, Cutts almost concedes that, generally speaking, a .edu link is probably at least a little better than an equivalent .com link.  He also concedes that the .edu extension brings with it a higher degree of trust.  

The algorithm may not say “value .edu links higher”, but we all know that it certainly values trusted links over questionable ones and we also know that .edu’s are perceived as being more trustworthy.

As another observer has noted, there are a few things we know about .edu’s that we should keep in mind when assessing their value.

1. EDUs are typically older domains, well established, respected sites.

2. Because not anyone can just start an EDU domain, they are hard to come by.

3. EDUs tend to have loads of inbound links and very high page rank of 7 or 8 or 9.

4. Content on .edu domains tends to be worthwhile and respected inherently.

When you read between Cutts’ lines and consider those other factors, it makes sense to actively pursue .edu links as part of your SEO strategy.

Patience is an SEO Virtue

The Internet moves fast.  You move fast.  You do things today because you want results tomorrow.  Sound familiar?  It probably does.  That’s the way of the online world.  Speed is a necessity.

Guess what?  It’s time to slam on the brakes.  Right now.

Because SEO doesnt’ move fast and if you don’t get out of that “hustle and bustle” mindset, you’re not going to get the best results.

You see, unlike some of the things you can do online to create an immediate impact, SEO takes time.  The actual process of optimizing on-page factors an accruing good backlinks might not be that time-consuming, but you do need to have patience with respect to results and assessing the value of various strategies for your particular circumstances.

Google and the other major search engines just don’t move as fast as you do.  Google’s spiders might find their way to that new link to your site today, but may not follow it right away.  Even if they do follow it instantly, they might not really log it or process its significance right away.  Those great links you secure today may not improve your traffic tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or the day after that.

At least one source says that you should expect to wait as long as six months or more before you can really develop a clear picture of what your SEO efforts are producing.  In online terms, that’s one heckuva long wait.

Patience is a virtue, though.  If you have it and you can see efforts through to fruitiion and then wait to assess their value, you’re going to be able to produce some high-traffic sites.  If you’re not patient, you’re going to find it tough to see any strategy through to the end.  Six months later, you won’t have anything to show for your “fits and starts”.

Keep working on your SEO.  It does pay off.  It just doesn’t always produce the kind of fast changes we might like.

What Makes a WordPress Theme “SEO Friendly”?

You’ve undoubtedly seen WordPress themes that are touted as being “SEO friendly”.  

We all know that WordPress naturally tends to perform well in SEO terms and that there are a variety of plug-ins available to aid even more in terms of search engine performance.  Is there something special about some themes, though, that makes them even more attractive to Google, et al?

Yes.  

Some WordPress themes are a little better with respect to search engine optimization.  Here are few things to look for if you’re in the market for a truly SEO-friendly theme.

1.  Unique H1 tagging on a per page basis.  A truly SEO oriented theme will create a unique H1 for every page you publish.

2.  Good use of H2 tags.  If the theme uses H2 to mark titles, subtitles and subheadings, it’s probably on the right track.  Please note that there is value in using post titles as H1 material, depending on exactly what you’re doing with the blog.

3.  Content comes first.  The best themes with respect to SEO will take care of titles and will then showcase your content to the search engine before having it dig through the rest of the site code.  

4.  Clean code.  this should be part of every theme, but it’s definitely important when you’re trying to find something that will give you the best SEO results.

5.  Internal link encouragement.  The best-performing themes tend to be sufficiently contet-thick on the main page to encourage extensive internal linking.  This has its advantages when it coes to SEO.

If you’re examining a theme and it seems to have all five of these features going for it, you can probably expect good SEO performance from your blog.  Of course, getting the links and coming up with the content are still your responsibility!

User Generated Content and SEO (Part 6)

So, let’s wrap this discussion up.

The bottom line is that UGC can be your best friend if you really make a point of encouraging and managing it.  Its value will be minimal if you don’t get the snowball rolling and its negative repercussions can be severe if you’re not willing to tend to it correctly.

Think about it, though.  You can have countless people develop a personal stake in returning to your site.  You can create vital hubs of activity within a niche.  You can have a massive crew of niche-educated writers supplying your site with new, fresh, original content.  You can start getting more long-tail traffic from the search engines and you can even boost your performance with respect to your bigger, more competitive keywords.  

That’s a hefty list of advantages.  If you’re site is in a space that will lend itself to UGC and you’re willing to take on the responsibilitiy for managing the content as it pours in, it can be a spectacular strategy.

I thought we’d close this series of posts on UGC and SEO by providing you with some additional resources on the subject.  If you’re going to make a play for more UGC at your site, these will make some excellent foundational reading.

Lee Odden, TopRank’s Online Marketing Blog, User Generated Content for SEO.

Industrial Search Engine Marketing, Take Advantage of User Generated Content.

SearchWritten, Checklist User Generated Content and SEO.

Search Engine Roundtable, SEO and User Generated Content

Search Engine Roundtable, Maximizing SEO Returns with User Generated Content

Search Engine Land, The Search Engine Friendly Appeal of User Generated Content 

SEOptimize, User Generated Content Can Ruin Your SEO

Wet Paint Injected Blog, User Generated Content Requires a New Kind of SEO