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SMX March 2022 Measuring Link Building You're Doing it Wrong

This document discusses how to better measure the effectiveness of link building efforts. It begins by comparing common link building metrics like number of links, domain authority, and page authority to the underlying mechanism of PageRank. PageRank is presented as a proxy for traffic and popularity that is sensitive to the number and quality of links. The document then recommends taking a phased approach to measurement using both faster indicative metrics for prospecting and slower actual metrics for reporting. It also stresses the importance of internal linking structure and link relevance. The key takeaways are to focus on the underlying mechanism of PageRank, measure in phases, consider internal links, learn from concrete metrics, and move beyond superficial metrics to traffic and rankings.

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Measuring Link Building (You’re doing it wrong)
@THCapper @THCapper
@THCapper @THCapper
@THCapper @THCapper Recap: (with t-cap) The status quo
@THCapper Link building KPIs
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA Link building objectives
@THCapper Link building KPIs Link building objectives LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA Rankings(in order to achieve…)
@THCapper Link building KPIs Link building objectives LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA Rankings(in order to achieve…) Traffic(in order to achieve…)
@THCapper Link building KPIs Link building objectives LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA Rankings(in order to achieve…) Traffic(in order to achieve…) Revenue
@THCapper Link building KPIs Rankings(in order to achieve…) Traffic(in order to achieve…) Revenue Link building objectives LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA ?=
@THCapper Link building benefits
@THCapper Link building benefits Brand impressions
@THCapper Link building benefits Brand impressions Traffic
@THCapper Link building benefits Brand impressions Traffic Endorsement
@THCapper Link building benefits Brand impressions Traffic Endorsement Rankings
@THCapper @THCapper Disclaimer
@THCapper
@THCapper
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@THCapper @THCapper Agenda
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links Why we use these metrics
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links Why we use these metrics Better measurement
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links Why we use these metrics Better measurement What to do next
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links Why we use these metrics Better measurement What to do next
@THCapper @THCapper Hold that thought & imagine it’s 1998
@THCapper
@THCapper Ancient history People navigate the web with links
@THCapper Ancient history People navigated the web with links Links, therefore, were a proxy for popularity
@THCapper Ancient history People navigated the web with links Links, therefore, were a proxy for popularity This is Google’s main insight & why they won
@THCapper Ancient history People navigatee the web with links Links, therefore, were a proxy for popularity This is Google’s main insight & why they won* *gross oversimplification
@THCapper @THCapper Back to 2022
@THCapper Is it still true?
@THCapper Is it still true? We still use links, but they’re on SERPs and feeds
@THCapper Is it still true? We still use links, but they’re on SERPs and feeds Google has better data on popularity anyway
@THCapper Doesn’t matter
@THCapper Doesn’t matter Core methodology still underpins how Google works
@THCapper Doesn’t matter Core methodology still underpins how Google works Albeit more nuanced
@THCapper Doesn’t matter Core methodology still underpins how Google works Albeit more nuanced Albeit with more layers on top
@THCapper AKA Link equity 🙂 Link flow 🙁 Link juice 🤮 Linking strength 🤔
@THCapper @THCapper So how does it work?
@THCapper PageRank
@THCapper @THCapper A proxy for popularity
@THCapper PageRank A Imagine this is the internet.
@THCapper PageRank A Imagine this is the internet. What is the probability a random browser is on this page?
@THCapper PageRank A Imagine this is the internet. What is the probability a random browser is on this page? = 1/n Where n is the number of pages on the internet.
@THCapper PageRank A 0.85*A For that value of A: What about the one page it links to?
@THCapper PageRank A 0.85*A For that value of A: What about the one page it links to? 0.15*A
@THCapper PageRank A 0.85*A For that value of 0.85*A: What if A links to two pages?
@THCapper PageRank A 0.85*A /2 0.85*A /2
@THCapper PageRank A 0.85*A /2 0.85*A /2 0.85*0.85*A /2
@THCapper PageRank A 0.85*A /2 0.85*A /2 0.85*0.85*A /6 0.85*0.85*A /6 0.85*0.85*A /6
@THCapper Key features of PageRank Proxy for traffic
@THCapper Key features of PageRank Proxy for traffic Domain agnostic
@THCapper Key features of PageRank Proxy for traffic Domain agnostic Sensitive to obscurity of linking page
@THCapper Key features of PageRank Proxy for traffic Domain agnostic Sensitive to obscurity of linking page Sensitive to number of links
@THCapper @THCapper Let’s Compare
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA
@THCapper Link building KPIs LRDs # of Links # of Links over x DA # of dofollow / non syndicate links DA Features of PageRank Proxy for traffic Domain agnostic Sensitive to obscurity of linking page Sensitive to number of links
@THCapper More nuance Reasonable surfer Anchor text Semantic relevance Noindex, nofollow, etc.
@THCapper @THCapper Takeaway: Focus on the Mechanism
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links Why we use these metrics Better measurement What to do next
@THCapper @THCapper Pros & Cons
@THCapper Domain level metrics (e.g. DA)
@THCapper https://moz.com/blog/ new-domain-authority
@THCapper Domain level metrics (e.g. DA) All things being equal, how well will a page on this domain rank? “ ”
@THCapper Domain level metrics (e.g. DA) − PAGErank − Indifferent to link specifics − Wrong question + Available beforehand + Google ambiguous about domains + Universally understood + Trained on rankings
@THCapper Page level metrics (e.g. PA)
@THCapper Page level metrics (e.g. PA) − Wait for page to be crawled − Somewhat domain sensitive + Much closer to value of link
@THCapper Traffic metrics (e.g. impressions, referring traffic)
@THCapper Analytics metrics (impressions, referring traffic)
@THCapper Analytics metrics (impressions, referring traffic) − Access issues − Wait for data + Google’s holy grail + Captures non-SEO value
@THCapper Outcome metrics (e.g. rankings)
@THCapper Outcome metrics (e.g. rankings, revenue) − Causation vs correlation − Effect of individual link lost in noise + Obvious commercial relevance
@THCapper @THCapper Agenda Why we build links Why we use these metrics Better measurement What to do next
@THCapper The challenge The precision & nuance of referral traffic and The ubiquity and availability of domain metrics
@THCapper Metrics for Links Fast | Slow Actual Indicative
@THCapper Metrics for Links Fast | Slow Actual Indicative DA Spam Score # of links
@THCapper Metrics for Links Fast | Slow Actual Indicative DA Spam Score Reach # of links
@THCapper Metrics for Links Fast | Slow Actual Indicative DA Spam Score PA Reach # of links
@THCapper Metrics for Links Fast | Slow Actual Indicative DA Spam Score PA Reach Referral Traffic # of links
@THCapper Metrics for Links Fast | Slow Actual Indicative DA Spam Score PA Reach Referral Traffic Rankings # of links
@THCapper @THCapper Takeaway: Measure in phases
@THCapper Fast | Slow Actual Indicative DA Spam Score PA Reach Referral Traffic Rankings Metrics for Links Prospecting Reporting Post Mortem # of links
@THCapper Ideal world The precision & nuance of referral traffic and The ubiquity and availability of domain metrics
@THCapper @THCapper Caveats
@THCapper @THCapper ● Link targets ● Relevance
@THCapper @THCapper ● Link targets ● Relevance
@THCapper Campaign link External page Campaign page External page Product page
@THCapper Campaign link External page Campaign page External page Product page Your lovingly placed link
@THCapper Campaign link External page Campaign page External page Product page Your lovingly placed link Lots of dilution
@THCapper Campaign link External page Campaign page External page Product page Your lovingly placed link Lots of dilution A bit more dilution
@THCapper Campaign link External page Campaign page External page Product page Your lovingly placed link Lots of dilution A lot more dilution?
@THCapper Homepage link External page Homepage External page Product page Other £££ page Other £££ page