I keep reading that the best way to have a site rank well is to write good content which will somehow encourage other sites to link to you. I'm finding that no one is just giving links away. I am listed first on a site that specializes in listing quality sites for my keywords. The link they give is a no follow link. This site is listed ahead of mine. I have hundreds of no follow links to my site, maybe 20 are ones that I put out there to show off my content. Everyone is so afraid of giving link juice to someone else that no one is linking to anyone else if they can help it and if they do; it is a no follow link. This is the biggest flaw in Google's attempt to make popularity through linking, the main factor in their ranking. It has only achieved making sites afraid to link to anyone. There is a feeling that giving links away reduces your own value.
Google wants the links to be organic. Organic means someone sees your stuff, they find it useful and are motivated because of that to pass it on to others. The likelihood that lackluster content is going to be 'passed on' is not very high. It's gotta be good stuff in order for people to want to share it. That's the reason Google is stressing 'high quality content'. The higher the quality, the more likely it is to be passed on, thereby generating those elusive backlinks. More info on this topic can be found here, via the Google Webmaster's Blog.
ddsuze, I hear you. At the very high end of relevant, rich content, there doesn't seem to be much trouble gaining "organic" links. People just naturally want to link to really great stuff. For most of the rest — even good, decent quality content — readers seem mostly to be content just to read it, enjoy it, and move on. No link. Don't give up, though. My experience is that, over the years of posting good content to your website, there will be hundreds, then thousands, of organic links that will come your way.
High quality content is not only important to rank above others but also so that when people do come to your site, they actually find it useful and not "spammy".
The reality is, linking away to other websites doesn't reduce value at all. In fact, your rankings actually increase when you have outbound links on your page that's relevant lol. But I definitely agree with you, their system is flawed indeed. That's why trying to win at SEO by using strictly White Hat tactics is almost pointless. I have yet to see someone that's making $10,000/Mo because they've stuck purely to their White Hat ways. The reason why it doesn't work anymore is because the system is already rigged. It's kind of like playing in the major league baseball. Much of their culture is on low-key steroids, and nobody is talking about it. And it's because of this, it's almost hard to compete "Naturally" when the playing field is already unfair.
To rank high in the search engines, we need to engage our customers with our content. If a visitors spend a certain amount of time, scrolling your pages, that tells google that your site could be a interesting one, and consequently it will rank higher over a period of time.
Hi, I totally agree with when they say content is king, and that to quality and unique. If you have quality content and informative content on your side then you can certainly gain backlinks by submissions to high pr websites which will surely provide you backlink if only you have beneficial content. So its not a myth at all. Hope this would help, Men's Suiting Fabrics - Siyaram
This is true. Other sites are not just going to link to you. It's not about link juice now. Google is not looking at that anymore. They are looking at who linked to your site and shared it to others and how many times it has been linked to and shared after that. As Senobia said "high quality content" is the key. Keep in mind that everyone on the internet writes good content, so what you want is to publish articles that amaze, interest, or entertain people whilst providing value. Tough, I know. But if you are used to writing good content for your users, then this is just like going an extra mile for them and for your site. Have a good weekend!
Unique Content is really important for a site. Google gives preference to such sites as Google likes uniqueness. Also people will definitely want to link to your site, if you provide quality and information to the users.