Where Do We Get SEO Authority From in the First Place? - Episode 94 - Grumpy SEO Guy

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Where Do We Get SEO Authority From in the First Place?" - Episode 94

Released on February 5, 2025

In Episode 94 of the "Grumpy SEO Guy" podcast, the host delves deep into the intricate concept of SEO authority. Addressing common confusions and misconceptions, the episode provides listeners with a comprehensive understanding of how authority is established and leveraged within the SEO landscape.

Introduction: The Grump Behind the Expertise

Grumpy SEO Guy opens the episode by highlighting a prevalent issue in the SEO community: the confusion surrounding the generation of website authority. With 14 years of agency experience, he aims to demystify the process and provide actionable insights to his listeners.

"I'm grumpy today because people are confused about how you generate authority in the first place."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [00:00]

Defining Authority in SEO

Authority, as explained by the host, is a pivotal ranking factor in SEO. To simplify the concept, Grumpy SEO Guy introduces a hypothetical scale ranging from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the highest possible authority.

"Imagine a value that goes from 0 to 100. This is just a random range that I'm picking... 100 is the most authority you can have, and 0 would be none."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [00:45]

He clarifies that new websites don't start with zero authority but possess a minimal level, typically between 0.1 and 1 on this scale. Only penalized websites are considered to have zero authority.

The Role of Backlinks in Building Authority

Central to the episode is the assertion that backlinks are the sole source of authority. Grumpy SEO Guy emphasizes that authority cannot be derived from other factors such as site speed or content quality.

"Authority only comes from backlinks. It does not come from site loading speed, does not come from content."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [12:30]

He illustrates how backlinks from established websites significantly boost a site's authority compared to those from new or less authoritative sites.

Authority Metrics: PR, DA, and DR

The podcast touches upon various metrics used to estimate authority, including Google's PageRank (PR), Moz's Domain Authority (DA), and Ahrefs' Domain Rating (DR). Grumpy SEO Guy notes that while these metrics are approximations, they provide a framework for understanding a website's authority.

"They are all estimates of page rank... All new websites had zero PR, right? In real life it was probably between 0 and 1."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [05:15]

The Hyperlink as Currency: An Analogy

To elucidate how authority accumulates, the host presents an analogy comparing authority to money. Just as individuals with more money can give larger sums, websites with higher authority can pass more authority through their backlinks.

"If you have a dollar, you could give somebody a penny... If you have a dollar, you can't give somebody $100. But if you have $1,000, you could give somebody a hundred dollars. That's how authority works."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [18:45]

This analogy underscores the cumulative nature of authority, where initial small gains can lead to substantial authority over time through strategic backlinking.

Dispelling Misconceptions: Content Quality vs. Authority

A significant portion of the episode challenges the commonly held belief that high-quality content alone can secure top search engine rankings. Grumpy SEO Guy argues that while content is necessary, it is not a direct ranking factor.

"Quality of content is not a ranking factor. Now, there's plenty of charlatans and scammers that try to tell you that it is."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [20:30]

He contends that the SEO ecosystem operates more as a popularity contest, where authority and relevancy play more critical roles than the inherent quality of the content.

Ranking Factors Overview

Grumpy SEO Guy outlines the four primary ranking factors essential for SEO success:

No Penalties: Ensuring the website is free from any penalties that could hinder its performance.
Content: Having content on the site, irrespective of its quality.
Relevancy: Ensuring the content is relevant to the targeted keywords and user intent.
Authority: Building authority through backlinks from other reputable sites.

"If you're a beginner, there are four ranking factors. They are in order. One, have no penalties. Two, have content. It doesn't need to be bad, it doesn't need to be good. It just needs to exist. Three, have relevancy, and four, have authority."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [22:10]

He recommends listeners refer to Episode 51 for a more detailed exploration of these factors.

Practical Implications and Strategies

Throughout the episode, Grumpy SEO Guy provides practical advice on building authority:

Focus on Backlinks: Prioritize acquiring backlinks from established and authoritative websites.
Avoid Penalization: Ensure adherence to SEO best practices to prevent penalties that could nullify authority.
Understand the Limitations of Content: While maintaining content is crucial, recognize that it alone won't drive rankings without accompanying authority.

"A backlink from Amazon.com... that's going to help you a lot. But if you buy a brand new website and backlink to yourself from the homepage, that's not going to help you very much."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [16:45]

Conclusion: Authority as the Cornerstone of SEO

Grumpy SEO Guy wraps up the episode by reinforcing the centrality of authority in SEO rankings. By fostering genuine backlinks from reputable sources, websites can enhance their authority and, consequently, their visibility in search engine results.

"That's how authority works. What authority does."
— Grumpy SEO Guy [25:20]

He encourages listeners to focus their efforts on building and maintaining authority through strategic backlinking, dismissing the overemphasis on content quality as a standalone ranking driver.

Key Takeaways:

Authority is Paramount: Backlinks from authoritative sites are the only direct source of SEO authority.
Metrics Are Estimates: Tools like PR, DA, and DR provide frameworks but are not definitive measures.
Content Exists, But Isn't King Alone: While necessary, content quality does not directly influence rankings without authority.
Strategic Backlinking is Essential: Focus on acquiring backlinks from reputable and established websites to build authority.

For those seeking to elevate their SEO game, Episode 94 offers invaluable insights into the mechanics of authority and its indispensable role in achieving top search engine rankings.

Transcript

Grumpy SEO Guy (0:00)

This is Grumpy SEO Guy, episode 94. How do websites even have authority in the first place? You're listening to Grumpy SEO Guy, the SEO podcast that doesn't waste your time with nonsense that doesn't work. I'm the grumpy SEO Guy, and I'm sharing with you the strategies that have helped me successfully run my SEO agency for the last 14 years. In this podcast, I'll be sharing my knowledge and experience, discussing tips and strategies, and trying to help you cut through the confusion that permeates this industry. If you listen to this podcast, you will know more about SEO than 99% of people on the planet. Ready? Let's get started. I'm the Grumpy SEO Guy. Let me tell you why I'm grumpy today. I'm grumpy today because people are confused about how you generate authority in the first place. So in this episode, we're gonna talk a little bit about that. So somebody asked me, they said, hey, if authoritative websites have lots of authority and new websites have no authority, where does authority even come from? Okay, in this episode, we're going to discuss that, and we're going to talk more about authority as a ranking factor. But before we do that, my lawyer tells me that I have to say this right now. A quick disclaimer before we get started. Everything I say here is based on my experience and opinion from 14 years in the industry. I don't officially know how Google or any other search engines work. Everything I say here is hypothetical and based on my experience, this podcast does not constitute advice or services. What worked for me may or may not work for you. Okay, back to the show today. So the question was not entirely correct. Listen, a new website is not zero authority, but it's very, very low. So I want you to imagine a value that goes from 0 to 100. And this is just a random range that I'm picking. Okay? This is not. Dr. This is not DA. Okay, this is just random grumpy SEO guy made up value. Okay? It goes from 0 to 100. I want you to imagine 100 is the most authority you can have, and 0 would be none. Okay? All websites, except for penalized websites have some authority. Oh, I'm pretty sure that if a website is not indexed, it also has no authority, because think about it like this. If somebody doesn't think that your website is valuable enough to be indexed, why would it even matter how much authority you have to provide in a link? It wouldn't, right? Like, it wouldn't. I'M not entirely certain that's the case, but I'm pretty sure that websites that are not indexed have no authority. Which, by the way, is the reason why when we're describing how to create a pbn, and that's in episodes three, four and five, we say wait to create the backlinks until your websites are indexed. Okay, so a brand new website that you just purchased today, I don't mean an expired domain, I mean a brand new website that wasn't ever registered before and you just bought it. Okay, that website will have authority, but it won't have a lot. It might have 0.1, it might have 1. Guys, I don't know what the number is, but it's something like, remember the scale goes from 0 to 100. That new website probably has somewhere between 0.1 and 1 authority. Okay, so it's not nothing, but it's very little. Okay? Now the only websites, as far as I understand, that have zero authority are penalized websites. And the reason I say that is because back in the day when PR was a measure of authority, and hopefully you realize what I'm talking about because we've talked about this before, PR implies page rank. It's an authority metric. It's actually from Google and they used to publicize it, but a long time ago they stopped because people were selling backlinks based on the PR of of the domain. So you know, they're like, well, we don't want this to happen. I'm assuming that's the reason. So anyway, Google stopped sharing pr. I believe they still use it, but they stopped sharing it and meaning they stopped letting people know what it was. And so then all these other companies started that provided estimates of what they think authority is, which are all just approximations of pr. So for example, you've got Ahrefs, they have something called Dr. You've Got Moz, they have something called Da. Lots of other companies have their own versions, but they are all estimates of page rank. So anyway, the reason I say the only websites that have no authority are penalized websites is because previously when you could actually view pr, sometimes you would see a value of negative one. And that would happen as far as I understand, with penalized websites. So all new websites had zero PR, right? In real life it was probably between 0 and 1. Because the authority system like makes no sense if new websites have zero authority. That can't possibly work. We'll explain this a little bit more in a minute. But as far as I know, when a website got penalized and Guys, this was a long time ago. So I'm trying to remember when a website got penalized, it would say PR negative one and like it would like the thing. I think it changed to like red or something like that. Like there was a little in the browser, there was a little like bar and it went from like 0 to 10. And I was like, how much PR you had? And then. But I think this might be wrong, I can't remember. But I think if it got penalized, it would say neg. It would be like negative one and it was like red or something. I can't. Anyway, so I'm pretty sure that penalized websites have no authority, which, you know, seems fine. Like why should a penalized website have any authority? It probably shouldn't because it's penalized. Anyway, look, so brand new websites, remember in, in the grumpy SEO guy made up range of values, probably have somewhere between 0.1 and 1 on the scale that goes from 0 to 100. I would assume the only websites that have no authority are penalized websites. And then the more authority you have, basically the higher your likelihood of ranking for a keyword and also the more authority you will give from a backlink. Okay, so if you think about it like this, all websites when they're created have let's say 0.1 authority, right? And then their links don't provide very much authority because if you only have 0.1, your link is not going to give a full 0.1 authority. It's going to give some of that authority. So, you know, you start linking to people naturally, whatever. We're not talking about manipulation here, we're just talking about linking on the Internet as it would normally happen. And you get websites that will eventually get more authority because they're getting good backlinks anyways. That's where authority comes from. Now you're like, well, wait a minute, but how would a Website get like 50, like 50 authority? Remember we're still using this like pretend scale right here. How would you get 50 if new websites only have like one? There's a lot of websites on the Internet. And what happens is when you start getting backlinks because you're a popular website, you get more authority and then suddenly your backlinks provide authority. Okay, not all backlinks are created equal. A brand new website that links to you might provide, I don't know, maybe like 0.05 authority. I'm just making up numbers here, right? But a very established website that gives you one backlink might give you Five or probably not that much. I don't quite know how the math works, but a lot more. Right. In other words, if you get a backlink from, you know, Amazon.com or something. Right. Okay, let's be very clear about this. If you get a backlink from the homepage of Amazon.com not some inner page that like, has no authority, but like the homepage of Amazon.com that's going to help you a lot. But if you buy a brand new website and backlink to yourself from the homepage, that's not going to help you very much. It's going to help you a little bit, but it's not going to help you nearly as much. Why? Because Amazon has millions of backlinks and it's got tons of authority. So that's the best way that I can explain it. And remember, authority only comes from backlinks. It does not come from anything else. It does not come from site loading speed, does not come from content. Look, authority, we've talked about this in other episodes. Authority only comes from backlinks, okay? In order to rank, you need authority and you only get authority from backlinks from other websites. The Internet is not about making the best quality content and getting rewarded with a high search engine result. That is not how SEO works. The Internet is basically, for lack of a better description, a popularity contest where popular web pages and you know you're popular because you have backlinks from other popular web pages or authoritative web pages rank higher in the search engines. So people like to say, and yes, I'm repeating myself because there's always that person who's like grumpy as yo guy. He repeats himself all the time. I sure do, because I never know if this is your first episode or not. Some things are important anyway. The only place to get authority is from backlinks. A lot of people like to tell you that it's about how good your content is. Oh, and we can write content and this content is so good it will make you rank. No, it won't. Quality of content is not a ranking factor. Now, there's plenty of charlatans and scammers that try to tell you that it is. They sell you SEO courses that tell you to write really good content and use your meta descriptions and your H1 headers and you will rank. Well, no, that is, that is that all of that together is like 1% of the game. Okay, yes, you need content on your site, but good content versus bad content is not the reason you rank. I'm sure you have searched for something online, clicked the top result, which, according to these people, should be the best quality result. And anyway, you started reading it and you're like, wow, this doesn't help me at all. And you click back, hmm. Imagine that it's because quality of content is not a ranking factor. But you know what is a ranking factor? Authority and relevancy. In fact, there are four ranking factors. If you're a beginner, there are four ranking factors. They are in order. One, have no penalties. Two, have content. It doesn't need to be bad, it doesn't need to be good. It just needs to exist. Three, have relevancy, and four, have authority. And if you want to learn more about those and the stuff that you need to know about them in detail, you should listen to episode 51, which is called the four things you need to rank. But anyway, authority is an important ranking factor, and it only comes from backlinks. There is no other way to get authority. Anyway, here's an example. Maybe this will. Maybe this will help explain everything. I want you to imagine that everybody has a dollar. If you have a dollar, you could give somebody a penny, right? Like, you understand what I'm saying? If you have a dollar, you could provide somebody with $0.01, right? Because you have a dollar, you can give a person $0.01. Now, if 100,000 people who have a dollar all give the same person a penny, that person will have a thousand dollars, okay? If 100,000 people all give the same person a center, that person will have $1,000, okay? That person could now give somebody a dollar or $10 or $100, okay? Because they have $1,000. If you have a dollar, you can't give somebody $100. But if you have $1,000, you could give somebody a hundred dollars. That's how authority works, okay? When it all started, everybody had very little authority. But by backlinking, eventually some websites developed greater amounts of authority. And now a backlink from those websites provides more authority. That's like the easiest way that I can explain it. Everybody starts out with $1, okay? But some websites are so good that everybody links to them. And this is like everybody giving somebody a penny. I don't know. Just, you know. And then eventually those websites get lots of authority. Eventually those people get lots of money, okay? And then a backlink from those websites provides more authority, just like people with more money can give more money because they have more money. That's how it works. That's where authority comes from. That's what authority does. All websites to the best of my knowledge, all websites that are not penalized have at least a little bit of authority, and new websites have a very little amount of authority. Not none, but a very little bit. That's how authority works. Hopefully now everything is understandable. Thanks for listening. Don't forget to subscribe and if you enjoy this podcast, please leave a review. It would really help the show out. I hope this episode was helpful. If you have any questions or want to suggest a subject for a future episode, you can email me@hellorumpyseoguy.com if you email me, please either whitelist my email address or check your junk folders because I've been told that my replies are going into the junk folder. And it's probably because we're talking about things like SEO and backlinks and I think those words will classify an email as spam. And if you want to support the podcast because it's the best source of SEO information on the planet and it's free, you can do so@patreon.com Grumpy Seoguy and I will talk to you later. You're listening to Grumpy SEO Guy, the SEO podcast that doesn't waste your time with nonsense that doesn't work. Join us next Wednesday when we talk about low authority PBNs.