“Parasite SEO is a result of Google’s link-based algorithm favoring root domain authority to such a degree that relevancy is chucked out the window.”
Charles Floate
On Link Building With Site Authority:
“If I come into any niche that has only smaller websites and smaller authority websites ranking at the time, I can just essentially immediately rank first page and then potentially within the same week rank number one for that keyword utilizing a page on one of those larger sites.”
Charles Floate (See his full interview with our previous host Mark Preston)
On Sharing Case Studies:
“If a trillion-dollar corporation is going to say definitive statements in its guidelines and try and be the internet police… then I’m going to definitely play a character or a role in whatever realm that they have created where they are judge, jury, and executioner.”
Tactical Advice: Don’t build links to money pages directly
“We don’t actually link to our money pages. The actual pages we’re trying to rank. We just link to our supporting pieces of content. And then those link internal links to our money pages.”
Take Aways & Summary Of Mark’s Interview With Charles Floate
Link building remains one of the most debated and challenging aspects of SEO. In a recent interview, Charles Floate shared several candid insights about his approach to link building and what really works.
On the evolution of paid links, Floate notes that there’s been a dramatic shift in the industry: “We found that over the last kind of eight years or so, it’s gone from around 15 percent of people when they reply to our emails asking for money to 80 to 90 percent of our campaigns.” This reflects a broader change in how website owners view the value of their digital assets.
When it comes to analyzing potential link opportunities, Floate emphasizes the importance of thorough vetting: “They don’t check the link profile, they don’t check the keywords the site’s ranking for, they don’t check the domain history, they don’t check the whois, they don’t check the way back machine.” This comprehensive approach to link evaluation helps avoid potentially harmful connections.
Regarding his foundational approach to new sites, Floate advocates for a measured strategy: “We don’t actually link to our money pages. The actual pages we’re trying to rank. We just link to our supporting pieces of content. And then those link internal links to our money pages.” This demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how to structure link building campaigns and not get greedy when you’re building your authority but think about how trust is spread throught the site.
On the topic of free versus paid links, Floate acknowledges both paths are viable: “You can build free backlinks. It’s just that your time is going to be significantly more investment than your cash will be.” This pragmatic view highlights the eternal tradeoff between time and money in SEO.
Perhaps most importantly, Floate stresses the critical importance of proper link analysis to avoid potential issues: “If you end up building a link that is either neutralized, which happens more often than not, or let’s hope not becomes toxic then you’ve just paid to actually harm your website.”