Google TrustRank: The Definitive Guide
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Google TrustRank: The Definitive Guide

Brian Dean

Written by Brian Dean

Google TrustRank: The Definitive Guide

In this guide you’ll learn everything you need to know about Google TrustRank.

What it is.

How it works.

(And most important of all) how to get it.

Let’s dive right in.

What is Google TrustRank?

Google TrustRank helps Google and other search engines combat web spam. Specifically, TrustRank measures so-called “trust signals”. These trust signals help them evaluate whether or not core ranking signals (like links and content) are legitimate.

Even though TrustRank was initially created by Yahoo! and Stanford engineers, Google has revealed that they also use TrustRank in their algorithm.

For example, they filed a patent for: “A search engine system provides search results that are ranked according to a measure of the trust…”

trustrank patent

Google has also made official statements like:

“So PageRank is the most well known type of trust. It’s looking at links and how important those links are.

So if you have a lot of very high quality links, then you tend to earn a lot of trust with Google. There’s over 200 different signals that we use in our ranking.

But you can kind of break them down into this notion of trust and how well you match a particular query. We use several words – reputation, trust, authority.”

In other words: Google upranks websites that they trust. And they measure that trust in their algorithm with TrustRank.

But how does TrustRank actually work?

That leads us to our next section…

How TrustRank Works

I’ll go into a lot more detail on how this works soon.

But you can look at TrustRank like a filter.

If Google sees your links and content as trustworthy, they pass the filter.

But if your TrustRank is low, these signals are seen as not legitimate…and are blocked.

Needless to say, you want Google to see your site as a trustworthy resource. If not, your rankings are going to suffer… big time.

Can you Measure TrustRank?

Short answer: kind of.

Longer answer:

Moz has developed a metric called “MozTrust“.

moztrust

MozTrust is the closet thing we have to measuring TrustRank directly.

It’s not perfect. But it’s a helpful starting point.

For example, here’s my MozTrust:

moztrust number

1 means that that your links are almost 100% spam. 10/10 would be a site like Harvard.edu. So 6.09 is actually pretty good.

With that, it’s time for me to show you how to maximize your site’s TrustRank…

Step #1: On-Page Trust Optimization

Here’s how to generate on-page trust for your site.

1. Link Out to Authority Sites: I know you’ve seen those lame paper-thin affiliate sites in Google.

Did you ever notice that they NEVER link out to other sites?

Can you say red flag?

But look at any REAL site, like The Huffington Post or NYTimes.com: they’re linking out to sites left and right!

And so should you. Linking out is a fundamental on-page SEO strategy.

Plus, one well-done industry study found a correlation between linking out and higher Google rankings:

outbound link study

Keep in mind that the sites that you link to reflect on your site

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

2. Privacy Notice, Terms: Make sure your site has a thorough privacy notice, terms of use and/or affiliate disclosure. These are “boring” pages that Google pays attention to.

After all, all Adsense publishers are required to have this info on their site, which tells me that Big G thinks it’s important.

3. Bounces and Blocked Sites: Google’s RankBrain algorithm now takes into account user interaction is a ranking factor.

In fact, Google even gone as far as to consider how many Chrome users block your site.

google using chrome blocked sites

You can imagine how shady a site must be for people to actually block the entire site.

And the same goes for sites with high bounce rate: if your site provides trustworthy information why is everyone in such a rush to leave?

So make sure you keep an eye in your bounce rate and “time on page” in Google Analytics.

user experience signals

Then, do what you can to keep people sticking to your site like superglue.

4. References and Sources: Consider having a list of sources and references at the end of certain articles.

references section

This shows Google that your content is well-researched (and therefore most trustworthy).

Step#2: Look and Act Like a Big Brand

Google has been VERY big on brands lately.

How can you, some guy banging out WordPress sites in his underwear, possibly look like a big brand?

(Even if you are just some guy banging out WordPress sites in his underwear).

Easy. Build brand signals.

Remember: Google is just a site ranking machine (also known as an algorithm).

Google doesn’t know that Pepsi is a brand because it saw their Super Bowl commercial last year. They identify brands from online brand signals.

And they take brands VERY seriously because they trust brands.

In fact, here’s what Google CEO Eric Schmidt has this to say about brands:

“Brands are the solution, not the problem… brands are how you sort out the cesspool.”

Here’s how to step out the cesspool, take a long shower, and look like a big bad brand:

1. Branded Domain/Site Name: Forget exact match or phrase match domains. The EMD update made it very clear that exact match domains don’t do jack. Instead of MostComfortableMaleThongsX.com, go for ComfyThongs.com.

Rocking a branded domain sends the message that you’re a unique brand…not some SEO-obsessed loser trying to rank for one keyword.

2. Thorough About Us Page: Don’t skimp on your about page.

Real brands have MASSIVE about pages that talks about their company, mission statement, etc. Make an epic about us page that tells your story.

3. Active Social Media Accounts: All big brands are super-active on social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and the like. Even if you run tiny site, get your social accounts rocking and rolling.

4. Branded Searches in Google: People search for brands, whether it be Ikea, YouTube or John Deere. You know that Google considers you a brand when you get sitelinks, like this:

sitelinks

But you don’t have to be on the Fortune 500 to get the brand treatment.

Sitelinks appear when you build killer backlinks AND get people to search for your brand in Google.

How do you do that, you ask?

The simple answer: create an awesome site πŸ™‚

5. Brand Name Anchor Text: People naturally link to brands with brand name anchor text. So if your site is Thongs4Less.com, you better get some links with the anchor text: “Thongs 4 Less”.

Step#3: Trustworthy Domain Info

Did you know that Google is a domain registrar?

But they don’t sell domains.

Weird right?

The reason they went through the trouble was to spy on your whois info. You see, when you’re an ICANN-approved registrar you can check whois information all day long, unlike us mere mortals.

Here’s what you can do to get more trust from your domain info:

  • Register your domain for 2+ Years: Google wants to see that you’re in this for the long haul. Although the influence of domain registration in SEO has been debated to death, it’s something that can’t possibly hurt you and might help you…so go for it. I personally register my domains for 5+ years.
  • Make it public: No real company has private whois (check if you don’t believe me). Make sure that the address is real or this can backfire.
  • Put whois info on your contact us page: To really show Google I’m all about transparency and openness, I usually put my whois address and phone on my contact or privacy notice page. This is a another brand signal. Posting your address tells Google that you have an “office” somewhere (even if your office is your mom’s basement).

Individually, these may seem like tiny things, but look at it this way:

Which site seems more trustworthy to you?

Site #1: Private whois and no contact page that’s expiring in 3-months.

Site #2: Real address and phone number that matches their site’s official contact info…AND has 5 more years before the domain expires?

Thought so.

Step#4: Trusted Links

And here’s the big one. Like everything in the Google universe, trust revolves around links.

And they do it based on an SEO version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

The trust you get from other sites is often referred to as TrustRank.

Here’s how it works:

Trusted Links

Basically, there are a group of highly-trusted “seed sites”, such as .govs, .edus, NYTimes.com etc.

Google hand picks these sites and gives them a 10/10 TrustRank.

Obviously, getting links directly from these sites is best.

That said…

You can still get some of that trust by getting links from sites that have links from seed sites.

Or put another way:

Harvard.edu –> your site= best case scenario

Harvard.edu –>some other site –> your site = not too shabby

Harvard.edu –>some other site –>–>some other site –>–>some other site –>–>some other site –>–>some other site –>–>some other site –>–>some other site –>your site =not good

That’s why you should ALWAYS look at another site’s link profile before taking the time to get a link from them.

In fact, I focus a lot of my link building efforts on getting links directly from “seed sites”… or sites that have links from seed sites.

In my experience, these sites rank better AND are much more durable to updates.

Bottom line? You want the sites that link to you to be highly trusted sites.

Step#5: Google News Site Backlinks

In the eyes of Big G, Google News approved sites are some of the most trusted sites in the internet.

Think about it: news sites have to be trustworthy.

If you’re searching for “best rappers of all time” it’s possible that some guy will include Vanilla Ice on his list.

But news sites are held to a higher standard because their content has to be spot on.

If they post an article with the headline: “Justin Bieber Elected President of Ecuador”, then it better be true.

For a site to be included in Google News, they have to undergo a rigorous manual review before getting in (fun fact: I once submitted a site to Google News and was rejected).

That lends them a lot of trust in the eyes of big G.

The thing is, getting a real link from a Google News approved site isn’t easy.

You have to create something newsworthy… then promote it.

For example, I recently did a giant study of Google’s ranking signals.

search engine ranking factors study

Because that content contained something worth reporting on, several news sites wrote about it (and linked to the study):

forbes link

(That’s a link from Forbes. Needless to say, that’s a highly trusted site)

And those links significantly boosted my TrustRank.

Now I’d Like to Hear From You

Now that you’ve read all about TrustRank, I’d like to hear what you have to say.

Have you tried to optimize your site for trust?

If so, how did it go?

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

283 Comments

  1. Tim Love Avatar Tim Lovesays:

    Good grief! I am so looking forward to getting this report now! If looking at it from a meat and potatoes point of view; potatoes being what you give away free on your blog, meat being the stuff you charge for… I can’t wait to see what kind of stuff you start selling. Most of what you’ve included so far would have been in someone else’s paid ebook. Surely you’ve got some tasty β€œWagyu” beef steak information lined up?!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks for your support Tim and I hope you enjoy the report.

      Dude, my potatoes are just the appetizer. I’m working on the meat right now, and not to brag (Ok maybe to brag a little),
      but it’s gonna be some Grade A Kobe beef stuff. Get ready.

      1. David Avatar Davidsays:

        First of all and most importantly, I love Kobe beef πŸ™‚

        Secondly, thank you for this post. It really opened my eyes. I suppose with 2-3 years of internet business under my belt, I’m still a newbie and can imagine it shows… However, I work with a very passionate community who has helped music producers get an extra (and unexpected) source of income to allow them to actively enjoy their creative process of producing great music.

        SEO is something very new to us in general and it’s a real head-f**k getting to terms with what to do and what not. We have our own blog and post tips and tricks for DJs trying to push their career, so we put a lot of whatever time is spare in creating content, in the hope that original and quality (we are always improving thanks to posts like yours) content in the end will win.

        Sorry for this longwinded story, but I simply wanted to convey that your post has helped us improve our blog structure and that means a lot. So thank you Brian and any tips you have, please keep them coming.

        1. David Avatar Davidsays:

          … actually, a question just popped in and I wanted to quickly ask… You mentioned at the end of a blog, it’s wise to cite external links to website. Should these be rel=follow, or nofollow? Does it matter from our perspective?

          thanks for your help and no worries if you have better things to do πŸ™‚

  2. harsha Avatar harshasays:

    Wow , awesome report .

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Harsha!

  3. One of the more thorough SEO posts I have read since Penguin and I will be working on a lot of these recommendations over the next couple of weeks. It makes a lot of sense, thank you!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      My pleasure JC.

  4. Thank you! I was hit rather hard by penguin and haven’t really recovered. I’ve tried changing a few things that I read about but haven’t seen much of a result.

    It’s baffled me because I write unique content, some of which is long and “epic”. My links are for the most part natural (I haven’t gone out of my way to gather my own links except for may be a dozen articles in directories and about the very occasional blog/forum comment).

    I also am a staff writer for the 3rd most influential site in my niche (photography) and have direct links from my articles to my site. Still I rank poorly for most terms.

    I used to appear as a “brand” like in your example in Google search but not for months now!

    I’m going to implement all of your suggestions.

    Thanks,
    Rachael

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Rachael,

      There were a lot of legit, 100% white hat owners like you that found themselves caught in the Penguin filter. In my opinion, that update was meant to send a message…not necessarily clean up the SERPs.

      In other words, they don’t care if there were a few false positives as long as they scared the bejeezus out of the SEO community.

      If you’re serious about recovering from Penguin you may have to go all-out. That means following the steps outlined in this post and cleaning up any links that look fishy. Even then there aren’t any guarantees.

      1. Hey Brian

        do you mean by saying “Even then there aren’t any guarantees” that if i got hit by penguin or panda, i may NEVER recover??

        Thanks in advance.

  5. David Avatar Davidsays:

    Great info! Glad I found your site!
    David

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks for stopping by, David!

  6. Absolutely superb information. When is the Grade A Kobe beef steak ready:)?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Dom!

      It’s still on the grill. πŸ™‚

      Should be up and running in in about 2-weeks. I’ll send a message to my list when it goes live.

  7. Sy Trinh Avatar Sy Trinhsays:

    Dear Brian Dean! I have a question. How to check the trustrank of a website?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hi Sy. There’s no “official” place to check TrustRank. The best two metrics I’ve found are Majestic Trustflow and MozTrust.

        1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

          No problem :-).

  8. Goran Avatar Goransays:

    Wow Brian I’ve found you searching how one can build legit backlinks that will last and found YOU on google. I’ve read your free report too and i’ve already started to work on it so we’ll see.

    What you’ve mentioned in this post so far i already have on the niche website I am runing at the moment. I like to know if you can reccomend any tips for how to get those Google News backlinks as i’ve already checked and the are very stricted in leaving any comment links or so, of course as you said: if for them is hard to be in google news how can someone get backlink from them.
    Cheers

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Found me from searching? It sounds like that SEO stuff everyone’s talking about actually works :-). Besides press releases, there aren’t any easy ways to get links from Google News sites. If you can position yourself as an expert in your niche, sites like HARO can help you build relationships with journalists. Otherwise you’ll need to tap into old-fashioned PR.

  9. Goran Avatar Goransays:

    Ok, i got you now.
    Thanks a lot

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      No problem, Goran. Send me an email if you have any questions.

  10. Pozivnice Avatar Pozivnicesays:

    Hi Brian, thanks for this info. It’s awesome! And thanks for a response to my email and my questions, and to be honest with you, I was surprised when I saw your asnwer :).
    Also after reading through your blog, I realized I was missing some major points in both On and Off-page SEO. I’ll give my best in using your recommendations and I’ll get back to you with the result.
    Cheers

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      My pleasure! Let me know how the on and off-page strategies work out for you.

  11. Tino Avatar Tinosays:

    Loved the post, gave me some further insight and some useful SEO gold nuggets.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glad to hear that, Tino!

  12. Great post that delivers the message in an easy understandable way.
    Im lucky enough to have access to a tool that analyzes power + trust. Otherwise it would be hard to analyze the link profiles.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Esben. Is that an in-house tool?

  13. Great post Brian. Trust is a big factor in my eyes too, but it will comes down to something I firmly believe in which is, SEO is common sense matthewlpowers.com/seo-common-sense/

    Its more than SEO, but every element of your site. Site looks spammy, your in trouble. Links look unnatural, your in trouble. Content is crap. WATCH OUT

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glad you enjoyed the post, Matt. You’re right: I see a lot of people in SEO run before they can walk. For example, I’ve seen people use Buzzstream to do outreach for a poorly designed site with mediocre content. It’s not going to work without the proper foundation.

      You need to get the basics right (design, content, UX, branding etc.) if you want to do well with SEO.

  14. Charles Omotayo Avatar Charles Omotayosays:

    Google dont seems to recognize my at all but the post has really one a long way to enlighten me more. Indeed, trust is the key!
    Thanks for sharing…I really appreciate!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glad it helped you out, Charles. You’re right: trust is super important!

  15. quinn tyler Avatar quinn tylersays:

    Brian,
    Thanks alot for the info. It really opened my eyes and it was just what I was looking for. Good job!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      My pleasure, Quinn! Let me know if you have any questions about implementing these techniques on your site.

  16. chris Avatar chrissays:

    Wow impressive thinking it’s deep but true. My question is if you have already seen the google drop how can you rebuild your rep? I feel like it could be time to tear down and start over. Do you consult or do work on the side my friend?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Nice to hear from you, Chris.

      Recovering from a drop is a tough thing to do because there are so many potential reasons behind the drop. As you said, it sometimes makes more sense to start from scratch. I do some consulting, but I’m actually booked until 2014.

  17. Bruno Avatar Brunosays:

    Thank you so much man!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Sure, no problem, Bruno.

  18. Thanks a lot for these great guidelines

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      My pleasure, Tim.

  19. Jason Avatar Jasonsays:

    link hops? does this apply to subdomains too?
    You didn’t mention how your website reacts on mobile phones. If it has slow loading time , it is a negative too. I just got 4 main sites on a responsive design (static) and added a blog.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Yes, it applies to subdomains as well. You’re 100% right, Jason: a slow loading site can really hurt you.

  20. a Real eyeopener, thanks, but hey. Why can’t I find a Date on this site? Is there a reason? It’s just because I don’t know if this article is something new or If I should already know this…

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glad you learned something new, Marc. I don’t date posts because I don’t want people to think the content isn’t relevant because it’s a year or two old. I update everything on here regularly so it’s fresh and up-to-date.

  21. great article, it’s all correct you write, found it in a german seo forum!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Guten Tag, Steven πŸ™‚

  22. James Baldock Avatar James Baldocksays:

    Brian,
    Found this post in the SE and love your practical and helpful advice. Sometimes everyone seems to have an opinion, but no one can actually give practical tips and ideas to succeed. I appreciate your thoughts and your take on this!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks James. You’re right: the SEO world is (unfortunately) full of people that have a hundred opinions but not one practical piece of advice. Glad I could help you out πŸ™‚

  23. Jeff Avatar Jeffsays:

    Will a Google+ account allow you link to multiple URL’s?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Yes it will, Jeff.

  24. Hi Brian, just been looking over your site these past few days picking up some great info. I love the way you really expand on SEO myths and concepts taking them to the next level with some clear guidance and insight. Keep up the good work. Nick

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Hey Nick, thanks man. I appreciate that πŸ™‚

  25. I just thought of a question. After reading your article, I’m thinking it may not be a good idea to buy an expired domain name (I read about this technique in another one of your great posts). What if these are not trusted sites? Do you think that matters or is it just better than starting from scratch?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Good question, Mike. If you’re going to buy an expired domain you want to make sure it’s trusted and brandable. If the domain name doesn’t make sense for your site and brand then you’re better off starting off with a fresh domain name.

  26. Great bit of info here. I am SLOWLY moving up the serps, but as an amateur, its difficult to know which way to turn. Its a bit terrifying because a wrong link or two could spell disaster. Thanks for the insights!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks John. Fortunately, when you have a solid link profile, you can survive a few missteps πŸ™‚

  27. Namita Avatar Namitasays:

    Thanks for this post. My confusions regarding the concept of Trust Rank were cleared by this very well written post.
    And of-course the Penguin update explanation was superb. You have another follower.. πŸ™‚

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glda to hear that Namita πŸ™‚

  28. Very interesting post.
    In my opinion we have not yet lead such different thinking in France.
    Thanks

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Christohpe. TrustRank definitely applies to Google.fr, so it’s worth paying attention to.

  29. Nofollow links makes a trust rank too?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      They don’t, Gry. They have to be followed links to pass TrustRank.

  30. Reven Avatar Revensays:

    Thanks for this guide…:) Now i want to be a “Big Bad Brand”

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Yeah, Reven!

  31. Brian this is awesome piece of work, now i have a better understanding about the google search engine and also know little bit more how to avoid google penalties. Thanks a lot man for this wonderful article. I will be back very soon to consume more from you

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      I appreciate that, Rakesh!

  32. snay Avatar snaysays:

    Really true.
    On the contact us page of my website I have put different address than the whois address on my domain name. Can you guess what happen? He put my website on page 15.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Wow. Let me know what happens when you get them to match. I’d be curious to see if your site comes back.

  33. Carlos Avatar Carlossays:

    Thanks Brian. Greets from Mexico!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Cheers, Carlos.

  34. Bogdan Avatar Bogdansays:

    I usually avoid to have outbound links into my posts, but you article does make a lot of sense. But I think in everything you do it must be a fair balance.

    For example, if your blog has a lot of outbound links (to authoritative websites) and no inbound links from .gov .edu and so on websites, wouldn’t that negatively affect your website SEO?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re right: Bogdan. It’s a balance. But in general, you at least want some outbound links on your site or else your site doesn’t appear to be a legit member of the web.

  35. Excellent article, l gave you a backlink and l reffer you in my epic article in greek language, my blog is in greek, the 200 factors of google algorithm…
    Thanx

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks for the link, John πŸ™‚

  36. Nice Information Brian! πŸ™‚ I keep reading all your emails and posts! Thanks for this update as well

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Swayam!

  37. Great article, thanks so much. Now it is clear that some high PR ranked websites still score bad at Google…

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Randy πŸ™‚

  38. EZ93 Avatar EZ93says:

    its not often that i spend 20 mins of my life reading an article from end to end! I think your correct about the penguin update.. we all (me included ) jumped on the anchor text issues.. ive been wondering why walmart hits for our keywords, just for the mention of the fact that that particular item is NOT included! brands brands brands… its obviously really about trust.. it just had not solidified properly.. i think i will get the tattoo , as suggested on my head… thank you for taking the time to write such a well informed article..

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Glad you learned something new. You’re absolutely right: trust is HUGE!

  39. Carlos Avatar Carlossays:

    Wow, great post. OK,
    I have a site that is similar to Shopzilla except I also include more detailed product pages from Amazon. It is a computer generated site. It did well enough for the first few weeks then all of a sudden it dropped right off the search results. I have done all the things you have recommended except getting into Google news. Let’s see what happens. I can’t hurt anyways.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Let me know how it goes, Carlos.

  40. Carlos Avatar Carlossays:

    I think if you follow some of the basic principles it is possible to recover a site from a google drop. But, the advice in this article is gold. I apply this advice to all my sites now to greater successes.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Carlos.

  41. Great read Brian. Thanks for sharing this. One comment. You recommend to always put your whois address and phone on your contact page. You write that this is something you do too. However, checking your contact page ( https://backlinko.com/contact-2 ) that info is not there. Did you change your mind?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Jakob. It’s something I do with my web properties, not Backlinko. Fortunately, this site is big enough where I rather not share my apartment # with the world πŸ˜€

  42. Thanks for all of this information. As I am working AND working on my website myself, I am limited for time so posts like yours with direct pointers are extremely helpful.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      That’s what I do, Jerry: help business owners like you get more traffic so you can focus on building your business.

  43. I quite like Google updates, always seem to get ranking and traffic boosts as a result. Guess I’m doing something right πŸ™‚

    Bring them on!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      That’s how I feel now too, Dominic. It definitely beats cowering in fear over updates.

  44. Dang! How do you do it Brian? You must be paying a ton of people to research, surf, dig deep and read a ton of other articles, blogs etc….To come up with some of the best SEO posts anyone has ever written!

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      πŸ™‚

      I basically just eat, sleep and breathe SEO.

  45. Thanks! Great post. Do nofollow links pass trust flow?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      You’re welcome, Janet. In my opinion, they don’t. I consider nofollow links the same as a text-based mention in terms of SEO.

  46. How long it took to research and write this awesome article. Lot of good information. Thanks for your time and efforts.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      It look a while, Raj πŸ™‚

  47. Mike B Avatar Mike Bsays:

    Great article Brian. Love the raw attitude on this one πŸ˜‰

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Mike. I was feeling edgy that day πŸ™‚

  48. damon Avatar damonsays:

    G’day Brain,
    I learned a heap from reading this, like you said, SEO people are all telling me the same stuff! It;s good to learn something they aren’t telling, or they simply dont know themselves.
    Cheers mate!
    Damo

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Thanks Damon. Happy to drop some new knowledge for ya πŸ™‚

  49. Mate you put so much research into your posts, it’s a killer article. Well done.
    Definitely have to target brand names for long term results, I couldn’t agree more.

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      That I do, Jayde. Glad you found it helpful.

  50. Is the idea of using mechanical turk valid? I was under the impression that doing what was suggested is a bad idea?

    1. Brian Dean Avatar Brian Deansays:

      Like any tool, it depends on how you use it, Jeremy.

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