Web 2.0 refers to publisher sites that allow users to create their pages with a unique URL. For instance, social media platforms are a common type of web 2.0 sites you’d find across the web, but they are far from the only ones. Video-sharing platforms or social bookmarking sites also fit into this category.
But what are these sites for? Well, web 2.0 sites are great to help a brand’s link building efforts. There is a bit of a debate as to whether web 2.0 links still work in 2020, and if they help brands reach their SEO goals.
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Understanding Web 2.0
Web 2.0s are a very specific type of link a brand can receive. For example, if your website has a blog section, that doesn’t mean you have a web 2.0 link. It’s just another section of your website. A web 2.0 type of blog would be setting up, for instance, a Tumblr page, and sharing content there.
In the past, it used to be very difficult (and expensive) to create websites and build an online presence. Nowadays, brands and even people can share a piece of content on a personalised page within just a few minutes, and reach their target audience.
But how beneficial are web 2.0 backlinks for SEO efforts?
Link Building and SEO
Search engines love links because it helps them navigate a site. The more backlinks a site has, the better it is seen by Google and other search engines. That’s because each of these backlinks is treated as a vote of confidence that showcase domain authority. If you focus on building links on other high-quality websites, you will begin earning them organically and increasing your page authority.
And this is where web 2.0 might have a problem. When you have a web 2.0 link building tactic, it can be very easy to fall prey to certain black hat tactics that could ruin your SEO efforts.
A web 2.0 link is something you create yourself, such as a free blog on Tumblr. You can virtually set up any number of these pages and accounts, and try to bring traffic to your site through anchor text placed through all your blog posts. But this tactic may not work at all, as it can be seen as “spamming the web,” as Google Webmaster Trends Analyst John Mueller puts it.
To really drive it home, Mueller goes on to say: “So just to be really clear like this kind of activity has zero value for SEO.”
So, what should you do?
Web 2.0 backlinking isn’t necessarily all bad, but it’s the approach that matters here. If you start setting up tens of blogs and accounts for your brand, Google’s grey hat hackers might be quick to catch on and lower your ranking as a result.
Backlinking takes time, but the right approach is the only one that can truly help your SEO efforts. A traditional backlink is earned, usually through:
- Quality content
- Relevant content
- Guest posting
- Collaborations with other brands (interviews, campaigns)
- Increasing offline visibility (community outreach to encourage news sharing, for instance)
Such tactics are meant to, in a sense, attract the attention of other, high authority sites to take notice of your brand and reward you with a link. You can speed up the process a bit by, say, writing a piece of content as a guest on another quality site, but for the most part, these links are built through good, old-fashioned, hard work.
Let Us Help You With Your Link Building Strategy for Your Brand
Australian Internet Advertising is here to help Sydney businesses increase their domain authority through a high-quality backlinking strategy. We don’t rely on spammy web 2.0 links to get you more online visibility.
Get in touch with us now, or call our office at 1300 304 640.
