Backlinks are Worthless. Here's what I did to get #1 on Google in Less Than 2-Days!

70 replies
  • SEO
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Backlinks. I've bought them before. Spent a lot of time slowly adding them to my site as well.

Big waste of time. You see, I have a website at Free Piano Sheet Music in the New Age Style that was hovering in the top 20 (usually at the bottom) for the search term 'free piano sheet music.'

I hadn't updated the site in a long time and thought ... why not just add some new posts to this Blogger blog. I did and within 48 hours I was #1 for the same search term. BTW, 'free piano sheet music' is a very competitive search phrase.

How many backlinks do I have for this site? A huge number ... 4.

So, what did I learn? Google wants FRESH CONTENT! That's pretty much it and the sites that provide it will be rewarded with high ranking in the serps.
#2days #backlinks #google #worthless
  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    Lol, you're not #1 for that search term. Maybe you should turn off Google Webhistory so it's not returning personalized results. You're like #14 and still on page 2.

    Backlinks still matter.

    Also, your site has 257 backlinks as reported by Yahoo site explorer. Google always returns a low number. It says Warriorforum only has like 183 backlinks, which is far fewer than it really does.
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    • Profile picture of the author vickybabe
      Yeah, i think every program you use will get different results.
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      • Profile picture of the author mologic
        very true, you can hit a variety of data centers, and they seem to be doing a lot more local search delivery nowadays too

        Originally Posted by vickybabe View Post

        Yeah, i think every program you use will get different results.
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      • Profile picture of the author SledgeHammer
        I'm not able to see you in Top 20 from here.
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  • Profile picture of the author quiescen
    Interesting. I'm not logged into Google and have search results set to show United States sites.
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    • Profile picture of the author TotalGaz
      Originally Posted by quiescen View Post

      Interesting. I'm not logged into Google and have search results set to show United States sites.
      To get real results from Google US open an incognito window in chrome, open https://www.google.com then you'll see real results without your cookies, cahce and social shares on twitter influencing what you see in the results.
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    • Originally Posted by quiescen View Post

      Interesting. I'm not logged into Google and have search results set to show United States sites.
      Clear your search history and delete cookies etc.
      Don't worry, I fell for that one once too. Got really excited when my site was number 1 when actually it was still on page 14 when I tested on another computer
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  • Profile picture of the author RossChops
    I suffer from the same problem all the time...I put my search term into Google and I spend a good few minutes dancing around the room before I realise that Google is playing games. Only a complete clearing of the cache, cookies etc and turning off web history gives me true results. I always Google unexpected SERP movements on my Phone before celebrating these days :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author lisakleinweber
    fresh content is not everything. It can only sustain you for so long if no one links to it. It also used to be that fresh content with links out that had anchor text containing the keywords you wanted to rank for would do well - but now the panda update made these types of links out not so great anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author quiescen
    Well, all I can say is that when I added fresh content, the site zipped up to #1 very quickly. It probably won't stay there of course, but at least I know how to get it there.
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    • Profile picture of the author RossChops
      My problem is that I want the content that I write to be generating traffic. if i spend 12 hours testing a product and then writing a huge product review then I want it to be read and generate some sales.

      Back to link building I go.....
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        In forum communities of this nature, backlinks will always be slightly overemphasised and content always relatively undervalued (you can see why, if you think about it? ).

        Anyway, well done with your fresh content. I've also had great and consistent SEO benefits from that, with some of my sites, and I think it's underrated by many.

        (Remember, though, that where you see your site in Google's SERP's isn't necessarily where everyone see it, and that if you look again with a different browser, it can sometimes be in a different position).
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    • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
      Originally Posted by quiescen View Post

      Well, all I can say is that when I added fresh content, the site zipped up to #1 very quickly. It probably won't stay there of course, but at least I know how to get it there.
      From experience I can say it probably won't stay there - it happens quite alot (a page 1 rank for a few days). Fresh content is important, but backlinks play their part in gaining and maintaining rank.
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    • Profile picture of the author ARVolund
      Originally Posted by quiescen View Post

      Well, all I can say is that when I added fresh content, the site zipped up to #1 very quickly. It probably won't stay there of course, but at least I know how to get it there.
      Except as noted you did not really go to #1, all you were seeing is your personalized search results. Also as noted you have a lot more than 4 backlinks so really your whole premise is flawed.

      Is content important? Of course it is and more now than before with the last couple of updates but you are not going to rank well for any kind of competitive keyword without backlinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author hotboy18
    Fresh content alone will not give you first page rankings in Google. You must have some quality backlinks also for a higher page ranking along with a fully optimized site.
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  • Profile picture of the author BloggingPro
    Google pushed you up front because you are fresh content. Eventually you won't be fresh anymore and Google will push you back down. This could actually happen within the next few hours.

    To say that backlinks are worthless however is extremely ignorant in my opinion. That would be like saying you spent $500 on an Adwords campaign and got ranked for really competitive keywords and proclaiming that you don't need backlinks to rank.

    Once you stop paying your numero uno ranking is going to disappear--quickly.
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    I see you are actually ranked 15th (2nd page). I bet if you did care about backlinks you could go to and STAY closer to the top.
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  • Profile picture of the author JustVisiting
    Smart move.

    Dropping into your post your keyword phrase 'Free Piano Sheet Music in the New Age Style' hyperlinked to your blogger blog URL.

    You are #1 from 6,570,000 results in Google.

    Cheers

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Rough Outline
    You are 18th for me, nowhere near top spot. But hey backlinks are DEFINITELY worthless.
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    • Profile picture of the author MichaelG469
      Ranked 14th...get those backlinks and you'll move up to 1st page.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Miranda
    I'm sorry to say but backlinks DO matter. No, I'm not just saying this either because I am a backlink provider. They really do. You will not stay in a high position on Google without sustained backlinks and diverse links.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Your getting personalized search results based on your browser history.

    Looks like one of your backlinks is ranking higher (#3) than your site. Without quotes your backlink doesn't show. Your actual site still ranks the same with, or without quotes.

    I'm not selling backlinks so I have nothing to gain from telling you, backlinks still help in the SERPs.

    BTW, use Google Chrome Incognito when checking your keyword in the SERPs.




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  • Profile picture of the author masterjani
    Google loves fresh content no doubt about it.But with backlinks you will gain the top spot and stick it.Otherwise it will be always dancing around.
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  • Profile picture of the author kimberly Aita
    I am getting number 13 which isn't bad at all but I agree with everyone else, you could be in the top 10 if you build some quality backlinks.

    find someone on here who does backlinking and just buy a 3 month subscription
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  • Profile picture of the author drvosjeca
    BLA BLA BLA BLA... This is all i can see here.

    Sorry for being rude, but if backlinks would be worthless there would not be so many people making seriouse money by selling them. Dont you think so?
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    • Profile picture of the author .X.
      LOL - yeah, nobody would buy them and
      certainly nobody would sell them.

      Unless people thought they could actually
      get away with publishing crap and then
      paying someone $5 for 50,000 backlinks
      that would shoot them right up to #1 in
      Google.

      Then . . . it just might work!

      Backlinks are meaningful but run any SEO
      analytics software on a handful of terms
      and you'll see sites with lower page rank
      and fewer backlinks outranking sites with
      higher page rank and hoards of backlinks
      all over the place.

      Sorry if I sound rude, but caution: the
      herd mind is a *very* dangerous thing.

      X



      Originally Posted by drvosjeca View Post

      BLA BLA BLA BLA... This is all i can see here.

      Sorry for being rude, but if backlinks would be worthless there would not be so many people making seriouse money by selling them. Dont you think so?
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  • Profile picture of the author ljanak1
    Updating fresh content is important but backlinks are as well. I would reconsider my strategy if I were you and work on link building organically.
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  • Profile picture of the author 4webmaster
    You are on 12 in google for me, even log out and clear cookies, cache, history you can see in top 1 simply because google have record your IP and know that you go many time on that site it puts on ranking 1-5. You can check on another computer and place to see real ranking or best tips will be to check with hidemyass com site. Me too I have my site ranked 1 before and was like WOW, but when check on a different PC and place I was like F---!

    So use a tool like hidemyass.com to check real ranking placement.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidG
    Only thing I could add here is that the more quality content you have, the less backlinking you need.

    regZ
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  • Profile picture of the author Serenity090





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  • Profile picture of the author TaYou
    ARVolund, please give your opinion on the importance of backlinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author clickbump
    Originally Posted by quiescen View Post

    I hadn't updated the site in a long time and thought ... why not just add some new posts to this Blogger blog. I did and within 48 hours I was #1 for the same search term. BTW, 'free piano sheet music' is a very competitive search phrase.
    Hi there, as others have said, you are certainly getting a personalized view of the search results.

    You are #16 for this long tail term "Free Piano Sheet Music in the New Age Style" and #78 for the phrase "Free Piano Sheet Music".

    The bad news is, "Free Piano Sheet Music in the New Age Style" doesn't even register in GAKT's monthly search totals. Although "Free Piano Sheet Music" gets a very respectable amount of monthly searches.

    If you were to optimize your home page around that term, and do an SEO makeover on your markup, the sky's the limit.

    One of the core problems you are facing is that your home page is littered with markup, particularly font tags. If you were to optimize your site for SEO, you'd stand a much better chance of showcasing your content (without diluting its value with markup tags) and ranking higher for these terms.

    Consider hiring a developer to spend a half hour creating a css stylesheet for your home page and removing all those inline font tags and such. Your page would load faster, your content to markup ratio would level out, and I'd bet you'd certainly move up in the serps.
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    • Profile picture of the author Wakunahum
      Backlinks are VERY VERY VERY valid. You aren't going to be number one for a fairly competitive term with good content alone.

      Good content can gain you backlinks since users link to it which will move you up in the spots but that's still backlinks no matter how you look at it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
      Originally Posted by clickbump View Post

      One of the core problems you are facing is that your home page is littered with markup, particularly font tags. If you were to optimize your site for SEO, you'd stand a much better chance of showcasing your content (without diluting its value with markup tags) and ranking higher for these terms.

      Consider hiring a developer to spend a half hour creating a css stylesheet for your home page and removing all those inline font tags and such. Your page would load faster, your content to markup ratio would level out, and I'd bet you'd certainly move up in the serps.
      You really think search engines take into account hidden code and 'content to markup ratio' when working out a site's relevance? Surely they are past that and all that matters is the user experience?
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  • Profile picture of the author Dubturbo
    So his web history spoofed him and now he thinks backlinks don't matter? So funny!
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  • Profile picture of the author subzero525
    backlinks always matter it one of the basics you need to build a website. and few people will search for the specific term you mentioned
    regards
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  • Profile picture of the author guarino1235
    the more backlinks, the higher place in search engine results.. of course you also need fresh original content.
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by guarino1235 View Post

      the more backlinks, the higher place in search engine results.. of course you also need fresh original content.
      Maybe 10 years ago...
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  • Profile picture of the author MIRENGE
    Backlinks are very important no matter what never the less you should keep on trying different methods for you never know which one works better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Klemen Znidar
    Backlinks are important. Just make sure they are from various sources.

    -m
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  • Profile picture of the author softwharf
    Thats really not true about backlinks.
    Backlinks are like votes for your site and they play a very important role in SEO.
    I have my site and I have optimized it with backlinks
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  • Profile picture of the author dbadwal
    Sometimes google just put it at No. 1 position for couple of days then it sinks to an unknown rank. it happened with me in past.
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  • Profile picture of the author clature
    I think it was kinda lucky on your part, hitting the first page. But it won't last if you don't work on those backlinks mate ...
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  • Profile picture of the author scole954387
    Originally Posted by quiescen View Post

    So, what did I learn? Google wants FRESH CONTENT! That's pretty much it and the sites that provide it will be rewarded with high ranking in the serps.
    Both are equally important!!! You need fresh content to keep Google interested which usually gives you bumps in position... but you need backlinks (ie people talking about your content) to keep you in the top position.

    You can't have one without the other. Keep creating original fresh content and keep getting backlinks to your new content.

    Shannon
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  • Profile picture of the author EvcRo
    The guy is right, all please stop building backlinks, it's uselles, i'm stupid and i will continue to build backlinks.

    And btw you are on #25 not 1 and i wont call it very competitive search either.

    Probably you were logged in you google acocunt, voted +1 on you site and on the next search google served it first to you.
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  • Profile picture of the author FaviooxD
    Ranked 23th
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    • Profile picture of the author yukon
      Banned
      Originally Posted by FaviooxD View Post

      Ranked 23th
      Your keyboard has a lisp?

      [just playing]
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  • Profile picture of the author retsek
    Yup backlinks are definitely worthless. :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author dagaul101
    Google has always stated fresh content and quality backlinks from authority sites will get you there
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  • Profile picture of the author seothatworks
    fresh content is good, but backlinks come first dude. with a few more good backlinks you could me number one
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  • Profile picture of the author Johnbatosh
    wrong... wrong... wrong...

    You did say wrong. You are not at #1 you are placed at #23 so edit your post first.

    I have checked your blog and found some useful bcklinks that google has gives you,,, so why you are keep saying Backlinks is wast of time dude

    Backlinks is a BIG Thing in SEO....

    But yes i agreed with your content points ...it is must
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  • Profile picture of the author BXPS
    I think content is key followed by backlinks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Caspir
    backlinks can not be worthless, I keep adding linkbacks to my site and every day new backlink active I can see alexa keeps changing its number for my site.
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  • Profile picture of the author TroyNotes
    On page, on Site and relevant+indexed+trusted backlinks are all factors. Google has probably hundreds if not 1000's of factors that could possibly be computed. I have had sites rank with just the domain name alone and 5 relevant posts. I have also had my pages rank without any backlinks via various media optimizations.

    Content vs Backlinks It varies over the years as to which Google/etc are favoring as most important, largely based on the never ending war between google's algorithms trying to create order, and pople trying to manipulate the rankings, both being rewarded by rather staggering amounts of money if they get it right.

    Part of the issues with content, Google is a bot and can never keep up with the number of new pages coming online everyday so has tended in the last few years to favor backlinks as this is harder to game than spinning content.

    That said backlinks can be gamed easily too and there are ways to make backlink manipulation impossible for google to easily determine. Again they have endless amounts of work so have to consider how much time it takes for a bot to make sense out of all this content and backlinks.

    Also there are more than one channel for ranking, images, videos etc. These by themselves can rank independently and also augment whatever text you are using.
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    • Profile picture of the author frogman
      OP,
      Try using scroogle to verify your position.
      Or run ccleaner before checking serps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Incoan
    Good name for an e-book .

    While it is just my first post, I know that BLs are good. Cheers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrew S
    A little offtopic here but post-panda blogger blogs got hooked up in the SERPS for some reason.

    Could it be because they are owned by G? Probably. They are just like every other free blog host out there, why should they give themselves special treatment. IDK.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dubturbo
    How can anyone possibly say that backlinks have no value. smh
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  • Profile picture of the author Billy Rey
    we get threads like this every couple weeks now! Used to be once a month!
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  • Profile picture of the author tchung
    unique content is definitely important, but with most keywords, theres no way you'll get to #1 with just that, you need backlinks too
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  • Backlinks are one of the Most Important factors when trying to rank a website. Without backlinks, your website will not rank well in Google (unless your keyword has Zero competition).
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  • Profile picture of the author himanuzo
    Free Piano Sheet Music in the New Age Style 's age is more than 5 years!
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  • Profile picture of the author Yogini
    As others have said, a combination of backlinks plus fresh content is important. I was looking at your main site, quiescencemusic.com and noticed that you have a number of phrases that can be boosted up with a little bit of backlinking: online piano lessons, free piano lessons online, online piano sheet music, piano music lesson are in top 20 and can get in top 5 with more backlinks and onsite seo.

    The blogger blog you mentioned I believe with a little work can rank higher for the term you mentioned free piano sheet music, but also for intermediate piano sheet music, new age piano, new age piano music, piano piece and others since there are a number in top 20. I find that fresh content does give a temporary boost to page 1.

    Debbie
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  • Profile picture of the author Luke112346
    Fresh content is good or could even be considered great, but its only one piece of the puzzle
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  • Profile picture of the author timwilson38
    Can not believe the statement that back links are worthless, content is important but without back links your SERP would not increase and you won't get the link value required for PR.
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  • Profile picture of the author StoneWilson
    13rd for me, but even your website site rank #1 you shouldn't so sure that "backlinks are worthless", afterall, you're using blogger, it's really tricky.
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  • Profile picture of the author dburdon
    Different search term categories have different needs for fresh content. Some categories have very little need for fresh content, from blogs or anywhere else.
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