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williamlwolf89 · 4 years

Text

The Secret to Getting Valuable EDU Backlinks

Extra, extra, read all about it!

“EDU Backlinks Are Not Better Links”, says Google.

What? I thought this post was about how valuable those .edu links can be for a link building strategy!

It is. Don’t click away thinking it was a trick title.

That headline, in one form or another, circulated among Google Groups, unleashing chaos in webmaster forums around the world. The exact quote from JohnMu, a Google webmaster trends analyst, is fairly straightforward. He said that “backlinks from EDU domains generally do not get ‘additional credibility from Google.'”

So, according to Google, it’s true. Backlinks from education websites don’t help SEO rankings.

But, here’s a little secret: it’s also not true.

Confused?

Don’t worry. We’re about to educate you.

Let’s find out why receiving EDU backlinks from academia is beneficial (it may not be what you think). We’ll also offer some best practices for obtaining them.

So, put your thinking caps on…

Why Backlinks at All?

Quick definition: a backlink is a link from another website to your site. Someone references content or cites a statistic from your website. Then, they link back to your site for the complete story.

Let’s define another term. Link equity: the SEO concept that a link from an established site passes authority, and therefore value, to another site or page.

Several factors determine the “value” of links:

Link Crawlability

Some links have the robots.txt file which prevents search engine bots from indexing them. The link will be ignored and in turn, has no link equity value.

Follow/No-Follow

If a crawler comes across a no-follow link, the bot ignores the link and moves on to other sites. No-follow links equal zero value.

Link Page Location

Links should be surrounded by relevant and appropriate content. Links located in the headers or footers of a page have very little value.

Number of Links on a Given Page

If your link is buried on a page among hundreds of other links, two things happen. One: It’s more difficult to stand out, which is a value reducer. Two: Pages with an overabundance of links are a red flag to Google. We’ll talk about linking schemes to avoid later.

Link Relevancy

Linking to random content that has nothing to do with your website, your product or service provides little value. In fact, Google knows it and as a rule, ignores those types of links.

The Authority of the Site

This is the most important factor that determines the value of a link. Links that originate from trustworthy sites are high on the authority scale. They pass more link value (equity) than links from newer websites.

They are also described as authoritative sites. Links from authority sites pass more equity to the sites they link to.

A backlink profile full of links from trusted sites gets noticed by the search engines. It is agreed throughout the SEO community that this is an SEO booster for ranking higher on SERPs.

What Are EDU Backlinks?

The scholarly definition: Links from higher education websites.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, that’s not going to work for my site. There are no colleges in my city.” Don’t forget that higher education is more than colleges and universities.

An institution with a .edu extension can be an academy, seminary, technological institute, vocational school, continuing education facility, trade school, conservatory, or an online education program.

Have something in common? Perfect.

Focus on the institutions you have a direct connection with for your initial attempts to secure EDU backlinks.

For example:

United States Sports Academy — sites focused on health, wellness, exercise, sports medicine

Academy of Art University — photography, graphic design, fashion, crafts

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — probably not the best fit for a cannabis site, but you get the idea

American Public University — offers degrees in a wide variety of disciplines. It even has a Program Specific Career Resources section on their site.

Take time to do a little research and you’ll likely find a list of educational facilities that match your niche.

Begin your list of target sites using a search modifier in Google’s search bar. Narrow your search for education sites with this modifier: site:.edu. To get even more specific try “site:.edu AND [your city, your state].”

Once you’ve earned a local link or two you’re ready to build more backlink authority. Approach not-so-niche-specific sites and see what happens.

The Benefits of .edu BackLinks

A link from a university or college website is “money” in the world of inbound marketing.

So why would John Mueller say that Google doesn’t give “additional credibility” to these types of backlinks? It’s semantics, my dear Watson. The key word here is “additional.”

EDU backlinks from a university site don’t offer better link juice simply because they have a .edu extension. It’s not the actual domain that matters.

There are several factors that contribute to this.

Gimme a “D” — Gimme an “A”

D-A: Domain Authority

Websites with .gov and .edu extensions are natural domain authorities. Why? The sites are well-established, top-quality, highly trusted resources.

A quote from Brian Dean, the guru of linking strategies: “Keep in mind that the sites that you link to reflect on your site…

…so spread the link love to .edu, .gov and authority news sites early and often.”

Stronger Link Equity

Although discussed earlier, it’s worth repeating: A trustworthy site has stronger authority. They tend to pass more link value than links from newer websites fresh from the “publish” button.

Strong link equity sites have been around for a long time. They have trusted and quality sites linking to them.

EDU backlinks definitely fit this definition.

Fun fact: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science launched the first higher education site in 1992.

Earning Valuable EDU Backlinks: Best Practices

Yes. Having education sites link to yours is very beneficial. So how do you go about earning them?

Build Your Own Trust Level

The best way to build your site’s trust? You heard it here first (insert big wink emoji): great content.

What defines great content?

Offers real value to your visitors in the form of useful information

Provides a solution to a problem (How-Tos and Comprehensive Guides)

Answers a specific question

Is written in a tone that attracts your ideal user

Is regularly updated

Gives references to other trustworthy sites

Quality content inspires others to start noticing. Your site’s ranking is growing. Soon other bloggers and businesses will want to reference your content.

Kelsey Meyer of Blue Frog Dynamic Marketing encourages interaction with same-niche websites. “Comment on their blog posts, recommend them, and create a network of like-minded individuals,” she advises.

Building a relationship with like-minded businesses and bloggers increases the possibility of winning links to your site.

By the way, according to SEO guru Brian Dan “Google doesn’t penalize sites that they trust.” Which means algorithms adjustments become much less of a concern.

Get on the trust bandwagon today. Get EDU backlinks tomorrow.

Get Resourceful

Most university websites have some type of resources page. This is generally a list of local businesses the college recommends to faculty, students, and their families.

Look for a “Local Resources” page. Check to see if you can get even more specific via a category for your particular industry.

Many of the businesses listed here offer student discounts for products or services. Think restaurants, hotels, car rental, printing services to name a few. Get creative with what types of benefits you can offer. Reach out to the school’s webmaster with your ideas.

Egobait

It may sound a little black hat, but if executed correctly, it can benefit both parties involved. Subtly is the key to success.

The basic idea is to massage the ego of a professor, dean, or a student influencer. How? By asking for an interview.

Approach using the premise that you consider them an authority on [something related to your specific niche]. You’d like them to weigh-in. Sure, they may have an idea of what you’re up to. But if your approach is professional, they’ll more than likely be willing to help out.

If you’re into the journalistic side of content writing this is a solid link building strategy to add to your toolbox.

Not into writing? Why not hire a journalism or English major at the colleges you want .edu backlinks from? Offer to post their work — interviews with professors — to bolster their CV or portfolio.

Post an ad on Craigslist, social media, or the school’s website to find interested candidates.

Here are some tips for getting students plugged into your content creation efforts:

Start slowly with small, scalable projects

Allow them the freedom to make decisions on content

Think outside your niche to find fresh new perspectives

Encourage creativity

For a more detailed advice read the full article: Why Students Are Your Most Valuable Content Creators.

Use Social Media to Earn EDU Backlinks

So, do you think colleges and universities use social media? Right. Silly question.

Peruse the different social media platforms locally to find out which ones are used most (search for hashtags with college names, mascots, school colors, etc.).

Some inexpensive paid ads on Facebook allow you to reach the exact demographic you’re looking for. (Tip: Facebook users love surveys!)

Create a survey (or 2 or 3) asking students questions such as “Why ABC University Is the Best” or “Top 10 Most Awesome Things About Attending XYZ State University.”

Use Instagram to sponsor a “Scenes from Academia” or “Inspiring University Architecture” photography contest.

Social media is probably one of the most effective resources for reaching your target market: college students. You don’t need to be a social media guru to create effective “social media worthy” content.

But it won’t work if you’re not out there.

Be the Teacher’s Pet

In this case, said teacher is Professor Google. And to stay in “his” good graces you must follow all the rules.

Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are very specific when it comes to links and websites.

Stay away from link building tools or software. All links to (and from) your site should appear natural and genuine. To avoid being penalized here’s a quick refresher on link building rules.

From Google:

The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results:

Buying or selling links. This includes exchanging money, goods or services for links, or posts that contain links

Excessive link exchanges (“Link to me and I’ll link to you”) or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking

Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links

Using automated programs or services to create links to your site

Be aware and stay away.

Any backlink building strategy, if executed wrong, is risky. Search engines may interpret EDU backlinks as spam if anything causes a red flag. Sites have received penalties by unintentionally using unacceptable methods. (Translation: disappeared off the face of Google.)

Because of the inherent risk involved, many businesses choose to hand-over their backlink building to experts.

Ready for the Final Exam?

Question: Why are EDU backlinks valuable?

A) They have domain authority

B) They provide stronger link equity

C) They help sites build a more robust backlink profile

D) All of the Above

If you answered “D,” congratulations!

You’re ready to move onto Inbound Marketing 303.

But there’s one final lesson to learn.

SEO and EDU backlinks can be tough concepts to grasp. It can also be very time-consuming if you want to get results. There are also many pitfalls that must be avoided.

Sometimes it’s better to hand it off to the experts so you can devote your time to other aspects of running your business. We’d love to start a conversation and find out your specific SEO goals.

Let Top Spot help your website graduate summa cum laude.

from https://riserr.com/secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks

from Riserr - Blog https://riserr.weebly.com/blog/the-secret-to-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks

0 notes

thelmasirby32 · 4 years

Text

The Secret to Getting Valuable EDU Backlinks

Extra, extra, read all about it!

“EDU Backlinks Are Not Better Links”, says Google.

What? I thought this post was about how valuable those .edu links can be for a link building strategy!

It is. Don’t click away thinking it was a trick title.

So, according to Google, it’s true. Backlinks from education websites don’t help SEO rankings.

But, here’s a little secret: it’s also not true.

Confused?

Don’t worry. We’re about to educate you.

Let’s find out why receiving EDU backlinks from academia is beneficial (it may not be what you think). We’ll also offer some best practices for obtaining them.

So, put your thinking caps on…

Why Backlinks at All?

Quick definition: a backlink is a link from another website to your site. Someone references content or cites a statistic from your website. Then, they link back to your site for the complete story.

Let’s define another term. Link equity: the SEO concept that a link from an established site passes authority, and therefore value, to another site or page.

Several factors determine the “value” of links:

Link Crawlability

Some links have the robots.txt file which prevents search engine bots from indexing them. The link will be ignored and in turn, has no link equity value.

Follow/No-Follow

If a crawler comes across a no-follow link, the bot ignores the link and moves on to other sites. No-follow links equal zero value.

Link Page Location

Links should be surrounded by relevant and appropriate content. Links located in the headers or footers of a page have very little value.

Number of Links on a Given Page

Link Relevancy

Linking to random content that has nothing to do with your website, your product or service provides little value. In fact, Google knows it and as a rule, ignores those types of links.

The Authority of the Site

They are also described as authoritative sites. Links from authority sites pass more equity to the sites they link to.

A backlink profile full of links from trusted sites gets noticed by the search engines. It is agreed throughout the SEO community that this is an SEO booster for ranking higher on SERPs.

What Are EDU Backlinks?

The scholarly definition: Links from higher education websites.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, that’s not going to work for my site. There are no colleges in my city.” Don’t forget that higher education is more than colleges and universities.

Have something in common? Perfect.

Focus on the institutions you have a direct connection with for your initial attempts to secure EDU backlinks.

For example:

United States Sports Academy — sites focused on health, wellness, exercise, sports medicine

Academy of Art University — photography, graphic design, fashion, crafts

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — probably not the best fit for a cannabis site, but you get the idea

American Public University — offers degrees in a wide variety of disciplines. It even has a Program Specific Career Resources section on their site.

Take time to do a little research and you’ll likely find a list of educational facilities that match your niche.

Once you’ve earned a local link or two you’re ready to build more backlink authority. Approach not-so-niche-specific sites and see what happens.

The Benefits of .edu BackLinks

A link from a university or college website is “money” in the world of inbound marketing.

So why would John Mueller say that Google doesn’t give “additional credibility” to these types of backlinks? It’s semantics, my dear Watson. The key word here is “additional.”

EDU backlinks from a university site don’t offer better link juice simply because they have a .edu extension. It’s not the actual domain that matters.

There are several factors that contribute to this.

Gimme a “D” — Gimme an “A”

D-A: Domain Authority

Websites with .gov and .edu extensions are natural domain authorities. Why? The sites are well-established, top-quality, highly trusted resources.

A quote from Brian Dean, the guru of linking strategies: “Keep in mind that the sites that you link to reflect on your site…

…so spread the link love to .edu, .gov and authority news sites early and often.”

Stronger Link Equity

Although discussed earlier, it’s worth repeating: A trustworthy site has stronger authority. They tend to pass more link value than links from newer websites fresh from the “publish” button.

Strong link equity sites have been around for a long time. They have trusted and quality sites linking to them.

EDU backlinks definitely fit this definition.

Fun fact: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science launched the first higher education site in 1992.

Earning Valuable EDU Backlinks: Best Practices

Yes. Having education sites link to yours is very beneficial. So how do you go about earning them?

Build Your Own Trust Level

The best way to build your site’s trust? You heard it here first (insert big wink emoji): great content.

What defines great content?

Offers real value to your visitors in the form of useful information

Provides a solution to a problem (How-Tos and Comprehensive Guides)

Answers a specific question

Is written in a tone that attracts your ideal user

Is regularly updated

Gives references to other trustworthy sites

Quality content inspires others to start noticing. Your site’s ranking is growing. Soon other bloggers and businesses will want to reference your content.

Building a relationship with like-minded businesses and bloggers increases the possibility of winning links to your site.

By the way, according to SEO guru Brian Dan “Google doesn’t penalize sites that they trust.” Which means algorithms adjustments become much less of a concern.

Get on the trust bandwagon today. Get EDU backlinks tomorrow.

Get Resourceful

Most university websites have some type of resources page. This is generally a list of local businesses the college recommends to faculty, students, and their families.

Look for a “Local Resources” page. Check to see if you can get even more specific via a category for your particular industry.

Egobait

It may sound a little black hat, but if executed correctly, it can benefit both parties involved. Subtly is the key to success.

The basic idea is to massage the ego of a professor, dean, or a student influencer. How? By asking for an interview.

If you’re into the journalistic side of content writing this is a solid link building strategy to add to your toolbox.

Post an ad on Craigslist, social media, or the school’s website to find interested candidates.

Here are some tips for getting students plugged into your content creation efforts:

Start slowly with small, scalable projects

Allow them the freedom to make decisions on content

Think outside your niche to find fresh new perspectives

Encourage creativity

For a more detailed advice read the full article: Why Students Are Your Most Valuable Content Creators.

Use Social Media to Earn EDU Backlinks

So, do you think colleges and universities use social media? Right. Silly question.

Peruse the different social media platforms locally to find out which ones are used most (search for hashtags with college names, mascots, school colors, etc.).

Some inexpensive paid ads on Facebook allow you to reach the exact demographic you’re looking for. (Tip: Facebook users love surveys!)

Create a survey (or 2 or 3) asking students questions such as “Why ABC University Is the Best” or “Top 10 Most Awesome Things About Attending XYZ State University.”

Use Instagram to sponsor a “Scenes from Academia” or “Inspiring University Architecture” photography contest.

But it won’t work if you’re not out there.

Be the Teacher’s Pet

In this case, said teacher is Professor Google. And to stay in “his” good graces you must follow all the rules.

Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are very specific when it comes to links and websites.

Stay away from link building tools or software. All links to (and from) your site should appear natural and genuine. To avoid being penalized here’s a quick refresher on link building rules.

From Google:

The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results:

Buying or selling links. This includes exchanging money, goods or services for links, or posts that contain links

Excessive link exchanges (“Link to me and I’ll link to you”) or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking

Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links

Using automated programs or services to create links to your site

Be aware and stay away.

Because of the inherent risk involved, many businesses choose to hand-over their backlink building to experts.

Ready for the Final Exam?

Question: Why are EDU backlinks valuable?

A) They have domain authority

B) They provide stronger link equity

C) They help sites build a more robust backlink profile

D) All of the Above

If you answered “D,” congratulations!

You’re ready to move onto Inbound Marketing 303.

But there’s one final lesson to learn.

SEO and EDU backlinks can be tough concepts to grasp. It can also be very time-consuming if you want to get results. There are also many pitfalls that must be avoided.

Sometimes it’s better to hand it off to the experts so you can devote your time to other aspects of running your business. We’d love to start a conversation and find out your specific SEO goals.

Let Top Spot help your website graduate summa cum laude.

Source: https://riserr.com/secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks

from Riserr https://riserr.wordpress.com/2019/11/10/the-secret-to-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks/

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racheljhaydentx · 4 years

Text

The Secret to Getting Valuable EDU Backlinks

Extra, extra, read all about it!

“EDU Backlinks Are Not Better Links”, says Google.

What? I thought this post was about how valuable those .edu links can be for a link building strategy!

It is. Don’t click away thinking it was a trick title.

So, according to Google, it’s true. Backlinks from education websites don’t help SEO rankings.

But, here’s a little secret: it’s also not true.

Confused?

Don’t worry. We’re about to educate you.

Let’s find out why receiving EDU backlinks from academia is beneficial (it may not be what you think). We’ll also offer some best practices for obtaining them.

So, put your thinking caps on…

Why Backlinks at All?

Quick definition: a backlink is a link from another website to your site. Someone references content or cites a statistic from your website. Then, they link back to your site for the complete story.

Let’s define another term. Link equity: the SEO concept that a link from an established site passes authority, and therefore value, to another site or page.

Several factors determine the “value” of links:

Link Crawlability

Some links have the robots.txt file which prevents search engine bots from indexing them. The link will be ignored and in turn, has no link equity value.

Follow/No-Follow

If a crawler comes across a no-follow link, the bot ignores the link and moves on to other sites. No-follow links equal zero value.

Link Page Location

Links should be surrounded by relevant and appropriate content. Links located in the headers or footers of a page have very little value.

Number of Links on a Given Page

Link Relevancy

Linking to random content that has nothing to do with your website, your product or service provides little value. In fact, Google knows it and as a rule, ignores those types of links.

The Authority of the Site

They are also described as authoritative sites. Links from authority sites pass more equity to the sites they link to.

A backlink profile full of links from trusted sites gets noticed by the search engines. It is agreed throughout the SEO community that this is an SEO booster for ranking higher on SERPs.

What Are EDU Backlinks?

The scholarly definition: Links from higher education websites.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, that’s not going to work for my site. There are no colleges in my city.” Don’t forget that higher education is more than colleges and universities.

Have something in common? Perfect.

Focus on the institutions you have a direct connection with for your initial attempts to secure EDU backlinks.

For example:

United States Sports Academy — sites focused on health, wellness, exercise, sports medicine

Academy of Art University — photography, graphic design, fashion, crafts

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — probably not the best fit for a cannabis site, but you get the idea

American Public University — offers degrees in a wide variety of disciplines. It even has a Program Specific Career Resources section on their site.

Take time to do a little research and you’ll likely find a list of educational facilities that match your niche.

Once you’ve earned a local link or two you’re ready to build more backlink authority. Approach not-so-niche-specific sites and see what happens.

The Benefits of .edu BackLinks

A link from a university or college website is “money” in the world of inbound marketing.

So why would John Mueller say that Google doesn’t give “additional credibility” to these types of backlinks? It’s semantics, my dear Watson. The key word here is “additional.”

EDU backlinks from a university site don’t offer better link juice simply because they have a .edu extension. It’s not the actual domain that matters.

There are several factors that contribute to this.

Gimme a “D” — Gimme an “A”

D-A: Domain Authority

Websites with .gov and .edu extensions are natural domain authorities. Why? The sites are well-established, top-quality, highly trusted resources.

A quote from Brian Dean, the guru of linking strategies: “Keep in mind that the sites that you link to reflect on your site…

…so spread the link love to .edu, .gov and authority news sites early and often.”

Stronger Link Equity

Although discussed earlier, it’s worth repeating: A trustworthy site has stronger authority. They tend to pass more link value than links from newer websites fresh from the “publish” button.

Strong link equity sites have been around for a long time. They have trusted and quality sites linking to them.

EDU backlinks definitely fit this definition.

Fun fact: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science launched the first higher education site in 1992.

Earning Valuable EDU Backlinks: Best Practices

Yes. Having education sites link to yours is very beneficial. So how do you go about earning them?

Build Your Own Trust Level

The best way to build your site’s trust? You heard it here first (insert big wink emoji): great content.

What defines great content?

Offers real value to your visitors in the form of useful information

Provides a solution to a problem (How-Tos and Comprehensive Guides)

Answers a specific question

Is written in a tone that attracts your ideal user

Is regularly updated

Gives references to other trustworthy sites

Quality content inspires others to start noticing. Your site’s ranking is growing. Soon other bloggers and businesses will want to reference your content.

Building a relationship with like-minded businesses and bloggers increases the possibility of winning links to your site.

By the way, according to SEO guru Brian Dan “Google doesn’t penalize sites that they trust.” Which means algorithms adjustments become much less of a concern.

Get on the trust bandwagon today. Get EDU backlinks tomorrow.

Get Resourceful

Most university websites have some type of resources page. This is generally a list of local businesses the college recommends to faculty, students, and their families.

Look for a “Local Resources” page. Check to see if you can get even more specific via a category for your particular industry.

Egobait

It may sound a little black hat, but if executed correctly, it can benefit both parties involved. Subtly is the key to success.

The basic idea is to massage the ego of a professor, dean, or a student influencer. How? By asking for an interview.

If you’re into the journalistic side of content writing this is a solid link building strategy to add to your toolbox.

Post an ad on Craigslist, social media, or the school’s website to find interested candidates.

Here are some tips for getting students plugged into your content creation efforts:

Start slowly with small, scalable projects

Allow them the freedom to make decisions on content

Think outside your niche to find fresh new perspectives

Encourage creativity

For a more detailed advice read the full article: Why Students Are Your Most Valuable Content Creators.

Use Social Media to Earn EDU Backlinks

So, do you think colleges and universities use social media? Right. Silly question.

Peruse the different social media platforms locally to find out which ones are used most (search for hashtags with college names, mascots, school colors, etc.).

Some inexpensive paid ads on Facebook allow you to reach the exact demographic you’re looking for. (Tip: Facebook users love surveys!)

Create a survey (or 2 or 3) asking students questions such as “Why ABC University Is the Best” or “Top 10 Most Awesome Things About Attending XYZ State University.”

Use Instagram to sponsor a “Scenes from Academia” or “Inspiring University Architecture” photography contest.

But it won’t work if you’re not out there.

Be the Teacher’s Pet

In this case, said teacher is Professor Google. And to stay in “his” good graces you must follow all the rules.

Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are very specific when it comes to links and websites.

Stay away from link building tools or software. All links to (and from) your site should appear natural and genuine. To avoid being penalized here’s a quick refresher on link building rules.

From Google:

The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results:

Buying or selling links. This includes exchanging money, goods or services for links, or posts that contain links

Excessive link exchanges (“Link to me and I’ll link to you”) or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking

Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links

Using automated programs or services to create links to your site

Be aware and stay away.

Because of the inherent risk involved, many businesses choose to hand-over their backlink building to experts.

Ready for the Final Exam?

Question: Why are EDU backlinks valuable?

A) They have domain authority

B) They provide stronger link equity

C) They help sites build a more robust backlink profile

D) All of the Above

If you answered “D,” congratulations!

You’re ready to move onto Inbound Marketing 303.

But there’s one final lesson to learn.

SEO and EDU backlinks can be tough concepts to grasp. It can also be very time-consuming if you want to get results. There are also many pitfalls that must be avoided.

Sometimes it’s better to hand it off to the experts so you can devote your time to other aspects of running your business. We’d love to start a conversation and find out your specific SEO goals.

Let Top Spot help your website graduate summa cum laude.

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks from Riserr https://riserr1.tumblr.com/post/188958832446

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riserr1 · 4 years

Text

The Secret to Getting Valuable EDU Backlinks

Extra, extra, read all about it!

“EDU Backlinks Are Not Better Links”, says Google.

What? I thought this post was about how valuable those .edu links can be for a link building strategy!

It is. Don’t click away thinking it was a trick title.

So, according to Google, it’s true. Backlinks from education websites don’t help SEO rankings.

But, here’s a little secret: it’s also not true.

Confused?

Don’t worry. We’re about to educate you.

Let’s find out why receiving EDU backlinks from academia is beneficial (it may not be what you think). We’ll also offer some best practices for obtaining them.

So, put your thinking caps on…

Why Backlinks at All?

Quick definition: a backlink is a link from another website to your site. Someone references content or cites a statistic from your website. Then, they link back to your site for the complete story.

Let’s define another term. Link equity: the SEO concept that a link from an established site passes authority, and therefore value, to another site or page.

Several factors determine the “value” of links:

Link Crawlability

Some links have the robots.txt file which prevents search engine bots from indexing them. The link will be ignored and in turn, has no link equity value.

Follow/No-Follow

If a crawler comes across a no-follow link, the bot ignores the link and moves on to other sites. No-follow links equal zero value.

Link Page Location

Links should be surrounded by relevant and appropriate content. Links located in the headers or footers of a page have very little value.

Number of Links on a Given Page

Link Relevancy

Linking to random content that has nothing to do with your website, your product or service provides little value. In fact, Google knows it and as a rule, ignores those types of links.

The Authority of the Site

They are also described as authoritative sites. Links from authority sites pass more equity to the sites they link to.

A backlink profile full of links from trusted sites gets noticed by the search engines. It is agreed throughout the SEO community that this is an SEO booster for ranking higher on SERPs.

What Are EDU Backlinks?

The scholarly definition: Links from higher education websites.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, that’s not going to work for my site. There are no colleges in my city.” Don’t forget that higher education is more than colleges and universities.

Have something in common? Perfect.

Focus on the institutions you have a direct connection with for your initial attempts to secure EDU backlinks.

For example:

United States Sports Academy — sites focused on health, wellness, exercise, sports medicine

Academy of Art University — photography, graphic design, fashion, crafts

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — probably not the best fit for a cannabis site, but you get the idea

American Public University — offers degrees in a wide variety of disciplines. It even has a Program Specific Career Resources section on their site.

Take time to do a little research and you’ll likely find a list of educational facilities that match your niche.

Once you’ve earned a local link or two you’re ready to build more backlink authority. Approach not-so-niche-specific sites and see what happens.

The Benefits of .edu BackLinks

A link from a university or college website is “money” in the world of inbound marketing.

So why would John Mueller say that Google doesn’t give “additional credibility” to these types of backlinks? It’s semantics, my dear Watson. The key word here is “additional.”

EDU backlinks from a university site don’t offer better link juice simply because they have a .edu extension. It’s not the actual domain that matters.

There are several factors that contribute to this.

Gimme a “D” — Gimme an “A”

D-A: Domain Authority

Websites with .gov and .edu extensions are natural domain authorities. Why? The sites are well-established, top-quality, highly trusted resources.

A quote from Brian Dean, the guru of linking strategies: “Keep in mind that the sites that you link to reflect on your site…

…so spread the link love to .edu, .gov and authority news sites early and often.”

Stronger Link Equity

Although discussed earlier, it’s worth repeating: A trustworthy site has stronger authority. They tend to pass more link value than links from newer websites fresh from the “publish” button.

Strong link equity sites have been around for a long time. They have trusted and quality sites linking to them.

EDU backlinks definitely fit this definition.

Fun fact: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science launched the first higher education site in 1992.

Earning Valuable EDU Backlinks: Best Practices

Yes. Having education sites link to yours is very beneficial. So how do you go about earning them?

Build Your Own Trust Level

The best way to build your site’s trust? You heard it here first (insert big wink emoji): great content.

What defines great content?

Offers real value to your visitors in the form of useful information

Provides a solution to a problem (How-Tos and Comprehensive Guides)

Answers a specific question

Is written in a tone that attracts your ideal user

Is regularly updated

Gives references to other trustworthy sites

Quality content inspires others to start noticing. Your site’s ranking is growing. Soon other bloggers and businesses will want to reference your content.

Building a relationship with like-minded businesses and bloggers increases the possibility of winning links to your site.

By the way, according to SEO guru Brian Dan “Google doesn’t penalize sites that they trust.” Which means algorithms adjustments become much less of a concern.

Get on the trust bandwagon today. Get EDU backlinks tomorrow.

Get Resourceful

Most university websites have some type of resources page. This is generally a list of local businesses the college recommends to faculty, students, and their families.

Look for a “Local Resources” page. Check to see if you can get even more specific via a category for your particular industry.

Egobait

It may sound a little black hat, but if executed correctly, it can benefit both parties involved. Subtly is the key to success.

The basic idea is to massage the ego of a professor, dean, or a student influencer. How? By asking for an interview.

If you’re into the journalistic side of content writing this is a solid link building strategy to add to your toolbox.

Post an ad on Craigslist, social media, or the school’s website to find interested candidates.

Here are some tips for getting students plugged into your content creation efforts:

Start slowly with small, scalable projects

Allow them the freedom to make decisions on content

Think outside your niche to find fresh new perspectives

Encourage creativity

For a more detailed advice read the full article: Why Students Are Your Most Valuable Content Creators.

Use Social Media to Earn EDU Backlinks

So, do you think colleges and universities use social media? Right. Silly question.

Peruse the different social media platforms locally to find out which ones are used most (search for hashtags with college names, mascots, school colors, etc.).

Some inexpensive paid ads on Facebook allow you to reach the exact demographic you’re looking for. (Tip: Facebook users love surveys!)

Create a survey (or 2 or 3) asking students questions such as “Why ABC University Is the Best” or “Top 10 Most Awesome Things About Attending XYZ State University.”

Use Instagram to sponsor a “Scenes from Academia” or “Inspiring University Architecture” photography contest.

But it won’t work if you’re not out there.

Be the Teacher’s Pet

In this case, said teacher is Professor Google. And to stay in “his” good graces you must follow all the rules.

Google’s Webmaster Guidelines are very specific when it comes to links and websites.

Stay away from link building tools or software. All links to (and from) your site should appear natural and genuine. To avoid being penalized here’s a quick refresher on link building rules.

From Google:

The following are examples of link schemes which can negatively impact a site’s ranking in search results:

Buying or selling links. This includes exchanging money, goods or services for links, or posts that contain links

Excessive link exchanges (“Link to me and I’ll link to you”) or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking

Large-scale article marketing or guest posting campaigns with keyword-rich anchor text links

Using automated programs or services to create links to your site

Be aware and stay away.

Because of the inherent risk involved, many businesses choose to hand-over their backlink building to experts.

Ready for the Final Exam?

Question: Why are EDU backlinks valuable?

A) They have domain authority

B) They provide stronger link equity

C) They help sites build a more robust backlink profile

D) All of the Above

If you answered “D,” congratulations!

You’re ready to move onto Inbound Marketing 303.

But there’s one final lesson to learn.

SEO and EDU backlinks can be tough concepts to grasp. It can also be very time-consuming if you want to get results. There are also many pitfalls that must be avoided.

Sometimes it’s better to hand it off to the experts so you can devote your time to other aspects of running your business. We’d love to start a conversation and find out your specific SEO goals.

Let Top Spot help your website graduate summa cum laude.

from Riserr Marketing https://riserr.com/secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=secret-getting-valuable-edu-backlinks

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crmontenegro · 7 years

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A simple tool for increasing the probability of better communication between patients and clinicians: A “mini-bio”.

(”The Encounter of 2″, Victor Brauner)

There’s been a lot of things to reflect upon and to discuss over this week at the Salzburg Global Seminar. Ideas accumulate in my notebook at an overwhelming rate. But now I want to stop and focus on one single idea, a very simple one that, in my view, carries a lot of potential.

On our 5th seminar day, we move away from presentations to actually work on developing plans and prototypes based on topics collectively identified by the participants. Among these topics, I choose to be part of a team working on the interaction between patients and doctors. There were many other exciting themes to be part of but, for me, this issue lies at the heart of creating a shared culture of health. This micro-interaction contains the potential for macro-transformation.

Our discussion was based on the idea that there is a need for a fundamental transformation in the way clinicians and patients interact, which is actually the idea upon which the whole seminar is based. In the case of our group, we understood interaction in the most fundamental way, the physical co-presence of two persons, on a given space and for a brief amount of time. Initially, we worked on the basis of a list of questions that some of the members of the group had already developed, questions from the doctor to the patient and from the patient to the doctor. Questions that could enable the development of authentic conversations and richer communication between patients and clinicians

In the context of this conversation, I came up with the very simple idea of a "mini-biography". Basically, before the actual clinical encounter happens, both patients and doctors will have access to a brief (200 to 500 words) mini-biography of each other. This means that every clinician (and, why not, every member of staff) of a health facility will be required to write a mini-bio and make it available for the patients and for the rest of the staff. This should contain information that goes beyond what’s already known about the doctor, beyond what can be read in the diplomas hung in the Doctor's office. The mini-bio should contain information about hobbies, passions and lifestyle information, such as favourite football club, family, pets, etc. He's free to choose what to say, but with this orientation.

On the other hand, the patient itself should provide his own mini-bio. The way his bio will be collected is flexible, it could be required as soon as he’s registered in primary care or another level of health care, or maybe in the waiting area, while he waits to be called.

Finally, the media used to make this information available for both the doctor and the patient is flexible. It can be a virtual platform where clinicians and patients communicate, it could be displayed in the waiting room’ digital screens, it could be a printed booklet in the waiting area with the whole collection of pictures and mini-bios of the clinicians working in that specific facility. And in the case of the doctor, he could access this mini-bio directly in the patient's health record or in its initial registration form.

Being aware of this information before the clinical encounter unfolds could have the power to create a better context where communication is not based purely on diagnosis/treatment but on broader commonalities. It could provide excuses to take a step forward in what to ask, or what to say, from both sides. It could multiply the probability of a different kind of conversation, one that could go beyond the identification of a medical problem and the definition of a treatment.

In the conversations at the Salzburg, this idea took many other forms and directions, and it’s already being discussed, re-thought and re-crafted to fit into each participant needs and contexts. But I would like to use this text to develop my personal reflexions about it. This is because I think the simplicity of the idea should be protected, for the sake of its potential impact across national borders and levels of medical care. But in order to do that, I would like to situate this proposal in the context of a broader discussion, where the “mini-bio” constitutes just but one possibility or “tool”.

Sociology has tried, with mixed success, to define a realm of analysis that goes beyond the individual. To grasp the in-betweenness. This realm could be called relations, interactions, networks, structure, culture, communication, etc. While there’s an enormous intellectual and academic production around this (and it’s not going to stop), I bring this point here because I think that, again, if we want to come up with ways to improve the interaction between doctors and patients, we need to try to think in terms that go beyond the individual doctor, and the individual patient.

What I’ve seen and heard in many discussions and presentations is that there is already an interest in exploring this issue, but that there is also a tendency to frame the “solution” in terms that fall either on the side of the clinician or on the side of the patient. This is exemplified by an almost infinite reliance on the medical curriculum, the idea that what is needed is to create even more contents and spend even more hours training doctors, in order to create an ability to communicate empathetically. And while there's still a lot to do in this area, I think focusing only on this is problematic.

At the same time, another tendency is to place the responsibility of asking the right kind of questions in the hands of patients themselves. While I think there’s plenty of potential here (much more than in the prior option), I still think we need to come back to the “in-betweenness”: how do we make sense of the interaction itself, as an “emergent” level, a reality in its own right.

And while I’m tempted to engage in very unproductive discussion on social ontology and the nature of reality, what I’d rather do is to propose the simple mini-bio as a tool that affects the level of the interaction. On the one hand, the tool doesn’t require a new “sensitivity” by the doctor, or a new “attitude” by the patient. It doesn’t need more training (on the side of the doctor), it doesn’t depend on a high level of empowerment (on the side of the patient). Its only function is to create a better set of conditions for communication to happen. It simply makes both parties aware that the person they have in front of each other is, on the one hand, not only a doctor, holding the power to heal, and, on the other hand, not only a patient, in need of health.

Let’s move a little bit closer to the patient side of the situation. Of course, there are already ways in which eloquent patients can start a conversation that transcends each other pre-defined roles (“patient” and “doctor”). But clearly there is a larger group of patients that don’t necessarily have the tools to face uncertainty in a proactive way, and that will remain tightly fixed to their pre-defined, “sick” role. In my view, having access to a mini-bio of the doctor could make a difference to this larger group, and could make things even easier for the first group.

Of course, there’s going to be patients that won’t really care about the doctor’s bio, but their own bios could make a difference if looked from the doctor perspective. If we follow Wiener and Schwartz invitation to "listen to what matters", what the mini bio could provide is what I call clues and cues. Informational clues about the patient’s life and context, and “conversational” cues that could make it easier for the doctor to explore contextual aspects of the patients’ life, in an un-invasive way, dialogical way, and for the sake of diagnosis and a treatment plan that consider the patients’ life.

I’m sure this idea may sound completely un-innovate. Actually, it looks like the exact opposite of the kind of disruptive, revolutionary innovation we’re all waiting and/or working for. Let me finish this text with three reflexions about this.

First, probably the most important feature of the Salzburg Global Seminar is that it brings people who face completely different realities and challenges in their own health care systems. People coming from places that in most cases have nothing to do with each other, particularly in terms of a technological baseline from which transformative innovations could be developed. Therefore, it makes sense to try and think about common denominators and small transformations that are scalable, that make sense to a wide array of stakeholders and that have the potential of transforming, gradually, how things are done in many different places. This is for me where the idea of the “mini-bio” makes sense.

Second, it might be the case that we, as researchers, lead patients, policy-makers, academics and clinicians, are so used to the idea of the “mini-bio” that, actually, it doesn’t excite us in the way other kinds of innovations do. We have had plenty of space to shape our own public identities, in websites, twitter accounts, CVs, technological solutions, authored papers and books, etc. Describing ourselves in written form is part of what we do all the time. But we need to consider a broader context, where large groups are permanently locked in a state of anonymity. People that never had a chance to spell out, for a wider audience, who they are. People that never had a chance to add something of their own creation to the hundreds of documents, text-fields and platform carrying their identities from one database to the other. In this context, the idea of a shared mini-bio available before the clinical encounter holds plenty of potential.

Finally, I believe that in order to produce the future that we want we need to carefully consider the way we think about the future. The future might not lie in “revolutionising”, but in finding the right tools that, placed in the right context, can induce the right process (and this three "rights" can be defined in three different moments in time). The future might not be the result of a comprehensive solution, but of carefully crafted tools, tools with an orientation towards certain desired results, tools based on values, but tools that can be redesigned and combined in contextually-relevant ways. A small data, “modular” future.

#patient #doctor #clinical encounter #clinical experience #healthcare #sociology #in-between #mini bio #tools #communication #interaction design

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