I assume that if Google’s algorithms can detect whether an entity is relevant to a topic, they can also detect when links are thematically relevant.

I suspect that Google’s algorithm prioritizes links that are consistent with the content of the referring and linked pages. Topical links are trust signals from authoritative websites that inform Google about the reliability and quality of your content.

So instead of wasting time collecting general links, focus on becoming a topical authority that people naturally want to link to.

Creating helpful content creates a good ripple effect

This is the ripple effect that occurs when you create helpful content:

• People land on your pages and read your content
• You spend more time, which improves your retention metrics
• You navigate to other pages
• You don’t return to the SERP for more answers
• They convert, take action and enter your funnel, likely resulting in a sale.

The leaks have shown that Google uses Chrome data and clickstream data to determine the overall quality of the site. If you create helpful content, people will automatically take actions that will improve your engagement metrics.

Brand Authority is Evergreen SEO

The leaks discuss various site-wide authority indicators that contradict Google’s previous statements denying the use of site-wide signals for ranking purposes.

Narrow-minded approaches are no longer enough. Instead of focusing on individual ranking factors, consider how people perceive your brand overall and how they interact with you across different platforms (including social media), not just your website.

To become the source of truth and slowly evolve into a memorable brand, you need a multimodal, omnichannel approach based on high-quality content.