100+ DMOZ listings? That’s impressive. I know the DMOZ links gave me a big lift. I think Google likes human editing – anything that’s been checked-over by a human. Hence DMOZ and Wikipedia external links are important, and I still insist that people’s browsing behaviour (gathered via the Google toolbar) is very important for that same reason: it means a real human being likes the site, as opposed to some automated algorithm.

Yet – with all this info they have now (they are tracking your search engine clicks too, and a lot more – adsense?) – there is still a ton of spam in the SERPs. Obvious obvious spam – ie blogger pages that redirect and so forth.

So again – while your site’s quality is not being questioned, I believe the fact that you have a ton of authority sites linking to you (and thus driving your rankings up) is a no-brainer.

I’ve had sites with 100+ DMOZ listings – I’m not saying its a viable and smart strategy

Andy, I’m not talking rubbish (thanks!). I’m merely repeating what Google said themselves in their 2005 patent:

“You might be wondering how they get information about your site’s
traffic since you’re not providing them with your log files or traffic
reports. Well, Google has some nifty big brother spyware installed on
tons and tons of people’s browsers in the form of the “Google
Toolbar.” In order to use certain functions of the toolbar, users
have to agree to allow data to be transferred back to Google, which
includes which sites they’ve visited, and how long they were there.
Now, this isn’t any cause for alarm if you’re a Google toolbar user,
as they’re not actually identifying you personally (as far as I know).
They are simply taking the aggregate data that they receive and then
using it for whatever purposes they see fit. It actually makes
perfect sense that they’d use this data to perfect their ranking
algorithm. Highly trafficked sites are popular sites, and Google
would want to ensure that their searchers easily find popular sites.”

Yes, I think the Google toolbar is excellent – it’s the best way of finding quality sites – by looking at user behaviour. Much more accurate than incoming links.

Yes, I think the Google toolbar is excellent – it’s the best way of finding quality sites – by looking at user behaviour. Much more accurate than incoming links.

Utter utter rubbish. Another self appointed SEO expert steps up to the mark.

A lot of people moan about Google along the lines of “Oh, my site has dropped down three pages”. People blame Google, and they don’t look at the quality of their own site. It’s a very competitive world out there – if your site drops it’s undoubtedly because better sites have come along. I find Google do a superb, accurate job generally. Bloody good company.

ALL I am saying is that all these authority links have boosted you in Google’s eyes, and have sent you skyrocketing to the top