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Links have been a key part of Google’s search ranking algorithms for years. Now some experts think that links might not play as big a part in ranking content on the web. That being said, links are still important right now in finding pages and for crawling but this may change in the future.
So What Makes Links Important?
When Google launched PageRank, their first ranking algorithm to take links into account when rating websites, backlinks gained significance.
To determine which pages are more relevant and accurate than others, the algorithm relies on the feedback of outside sources. Basically, when a webpage is linked to by a lot of other webpages, this suggests that the page is well thought of and helps it to rank well on Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
As a result, reliable, pertinent pages might rank highly, whereas unreliable sources are more difficult to find.
Links May Not Be As Relevant In The Future
Google is always learning and one of the ways it does is through new updates and evaluating data. The reason that some might think links will be less relevant is due to Google’s ongoing learning about content.
“Google’s John Mueller said that in the future he can see a Google Search ranking algorithm where links are not as important in the overall algorithm as they are today. He also hinted that links are not weighted as much as they were in the history of the Google ranking algorithm,” Search Engine Land reports.
John Muller is one Google expert whose opinion and foresight is taken with weight. If he thinks a future may soon come where links aren’t as important to the search algorithms than it is quite possible. One point he raises in a Google Q & A recording is that links are already not as relevant as they were.
Prioritize Content
If these ideas are already being brought to the table then the best thing you can do is to prioritize your content. Seeing as links are already less relevant, than prioritizing your content can be useful considering your chances of ranking.
Google’s Helpful Content Update will help to identify if your material is going to help the user over the computer. By crafting your content under these terms you should have no worries about ranking.
