In a general sense, relevance is defined as “the quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate.”

To put it in the simplest way possible, when something is relevant, it basically means that it matters.

So enough defining things, now that we have unraveled what relevance really means, it is just about time to relate it to our topic – search engine optimization.

This is a reminder to choose relevant keywords.

How is relevance relevant to the study of search engine optimization?

See what I did there? Okay, on to the topic… Imagine, if you are in the business of food, and let us say that you manage an online food business. Of course, you would want to promote your business for it to reach millions of people.

Naturally, your website or any part of your website would never use the words “summer fashion,” “clothes,” “apparel,” “lipstick” and so on. This is not an online clothing store, or a business of selling clothes.

In the digital world, these simple things like ranking for relevant keywords related to your line of business. So, it does not matter how many links you really get, you will never in a million years rank for queries or searches that are related to an online clothing shop.

If you use it to your advantage, you could reach your target audience.

Now, imagine, you having the same online business, an online food shop and you get links from a very successful chef’s page or a trusted online market’s blog?

Imagine, what that huge influence can do to your humble online shop, right? It could give you the opportunity to branch out to different people and to reach millions and millions of customers and I am not even exaggerating. When you very relevant link from a reputable person, this changes the game. Compared to the first example, this second scenario is ideal.

Links and relevance are closely associated.

To break it down very clearly, you basically just need to be involved with links that can do good to your page.

Keep the links that are related to your line of business or content in general for it to reach your target market. In short, the relevance of the linking page, and the linking site, impacts how valuable a link might be considered.

That is how relevance generally works.

The main point of this article is for search engine optimization professionals or even the enthusiasts to understand that quality matters.

At the end of the day, it is really not about the number of links or mentions that you get.

More than anything else, consider the relevancy and the quality of the links to your website.

if you get a million links from a page that is completely unrelated to your website, it does not really count as “good” link. Google might be suspicious that you are getting links from questionable sites. So, do not even bother thinking about it. You can disavow shady links; just read Google’s guide on how to properly disavow links.

Always go for quality!

Whether it is food or clothes, we are always looking for the best quality. In SEO, do the same. Prioritize quality over quantity and substance over form.