Blog awards are nice and flattering. They're even better when they are awarded to you for your blogging. It's nice to be appreciated and complimented.
Back in 2009-2010 many blog awards were all the rage, and believe me. They made their rounds several times over in the genealogy blogosphere, not to mention in many, many other blogging niches. Everyone was complimenting everyone, linking to everyone, and proudly posting their blog awards on their sites with links back to the creator of the blog award. Everyone was feeling pretty good...
Back in 2009-2010 many blog awards were all the rage, and believe me. They made their rounds several times over in the genealogy blogosphere, not to mention in many, many other blogging niches. Everyone was complimenting everyone, linking to everyone, and proudly posting their blog awards on their sites with links back to the creator of the blog award. Everyone was feeling pretty good...
However, what everyone failed to realize {or at least most folks} was that this was a SEO {Search Engine Optimization} strategy, or tactic, designed to mostly benefit the creator of the blog award. I say "mostly" because every blog award encourages each recipient to give it to 3, 7, or 10 {or any other random number} recipients. Thus, making the award and the link go viral. And I say it's an SEO strategy, or tactic, because it was designed to increase the inbound links to the creator of the blog award, which was kind of gaming the Google Search Results because Google's algorithm favored those blogs or sites who had many inbound links. Many inbound links to a blog or site can indicate that blog or site is an authority or influential about a particular topic.
Which is all fine and dandy if this was still 2009-2010 and Google hadn't introduced their Panda and Penguin updates to their algorithms. Google wants to make sure that every time you search for something in Google that it returns back to you results that are of a good quality and that are what you are looking for. And a site or blog that has created a blog award and thus received a higher ranking not by legitimate means but by gaming the system should not be up at the top of the search engine results list {SERPS}. Therefore, Google tweaked their algorithms so that these sites get penalized in search results.
Not only does the original site get penalized in search results, but the blogs who contributed to the original blog's linking tactics may get penalized as well in search results. I say 'may' because the process could be construed as a blog network, which is also penalized by Google in search results. Loosely defined, a blog network is a group of blogs with a common interest that promotes itself as well each other's blogs. {And that could cover a lot of things. Note my usage of the word 'loosely'. I'm trying not to get too technical here.}
And there are other SEO linking strategies and tactics that are both acceptable to Google as well as no-no's. A very good blog post that explains all the ins and outs of SEO linking strategies is from the company CMS Buffet, Linking Strategies: The Complete Guide. It's written for businesses {their potential clients} so that businesses can understand what's acceptable and what's not regarding SEO linking strategies in our new Panda and Penguin Google World. It's quite lengthy, but it does touch upon blog awards and their accompanying badges. Basically, it says you can still hand out legitimate awards, but the trouble comes when it starts to grow, or go viral. {That whole now-you-give-it-to-3-7-10-blogs-you-think-deserve-this-award-virality thing}. Blog awards, according to this blog post, are not "Black Hat Linking Strategies," but they are iffy when it comes to how Google treats them when deciding how to rank your blog or site in their search results.
But? What do family history bloggers {the ones who are not trying to monetize their sites, but research and find cousins, that is} need to know about Search Engine Optimization {SEO}?
Just keep blogging about your ancestors. If you want to show appreciation of someone's blog, visit their blog, read their posts, and comment on them. Tell them you like what they wrote, how they wrote it, that it touched you deeply, that y'all are related, understand and laugh at their sarcasm, etc. Be natural about it. And when folks take the time to comment on your blog posts, acknowledge them. Converse with folks in your blog comments.
Then on your favorite social media network, tell your friends about their blog. Share it.
In other words, network.
And if you do get nominated for a blog award? Thank the person who nominated you. Do it profusely for they've given it with a pure heart out of appreciation for your writing and sharing, and five will get you ten that's the only reason they gave it to you. So thank them. However, be cautious about placing links back to other sites with blog award badges, or at least the viral aspect of it.
~Caroline
Other related blog posts you might be interested in:
Blogging Genealogy: SEO
Want More Cousins to Visit Your Genealogy Blog?
3 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Genealogy Blog
Which is all fine and dandy if this was still 2009-2010 and Google hadn't introduced their Panda and Penguin updates to their algorithms. Google wants to make sure that every time you search for something in Google that it returns back to you results that are of a good quality and that are what you are looking for. And a site or blog that has created a blog award and thus received a higher ranking not by legitimate means but by gaming the system should not be up at the top of the search engine results list {SERPS}. Therefore, Google tweaked their algorithms so that these sites get penalized in search results.
Not only does the original site get penalized in search results, but the blogs who contributed to the original blog's linking tactics may get penalized as well in search results. I say 'may' because the process could be construed as a blog network, which is also penalized by Google in search results. Loosely defined, a blog network is a group of blogs with a common interest that promotes itself as well each other's blogs. {And that could cover a lot of things. Note my usage of the word 'loosely'. I'm trying not to get too technical here.}
And there are other SEO linking strategies and tactics that are both acceptable to Google as well as no-no's. A very good blog post that explains all the ins and outs of SEO linking strategies is from the company CMS Buffet, Linking Strategies: The Complete Guide. It's written for businesses {their potential clients} so that businesses can understand what's acceptable and what's not regarding SEO linking strategies in our new Panda and Penguin Google World. It's quite lengthy, but it does touch upon blog awards and their accompanying badges. Basically, it says you can still hand out legitimate awards, but the trouble comes when it starts to grow, or go viral. {That whole now-you-give-it-to-3-7-10-blogs-you-think-deserve-this-award-virality thing}. Blog awards, according to this blog post, are not "Black Hat Linking Strategies," but they are iffy when it comes to how Google treats them when deciding how to rank your blog or site in their search results.
But? What do family history bloggers {the ones who are not trying to monetize their sites, but research and find cousins, that is} need to know about Search Engine Optimization {SEO}?
Just keep blogging about your ancestors. If you want to show appreciation of someone's blog, visit their blog, read their posts, and comment on them. Tell them you like what they wrote, how they wrote it, that it touched you deeply, that y'all are related, understand and laugh at their sarcasm, etc. Be natural about it. And when folks take the time to comment on your blog posts, acknowledge them. Converse with folks in your blog comments.
Then on your favorite social media network, tell your friends about their blog. Share it.
In other words, network.
And if you do get nominated for a blog award? Thank the person who nominated you. Do it profusely for they've given it with a pure heart out of appreciation for your writing and sharing, and five will get you ten that's the only reason they gave it to you. So thank them. However, be cautious about placing links back to other sites with blog award badges, or at least the viral aspect of it.
~Caroline
Other related blog posts you might be interested in:
Blogging Genealogy: SEO
Want More Cousins to Visit Your Genealogy Blog?
3 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Genealogy Blog
