There is a good chance that backlinking mistakes are killing your SEO. In Episode 083, SEO expert Alex Miller from the Rankings Institute shares data-driven backlinking tips, and Mark answers a listener question about safely changing WordPress themes.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• Why mass-generated links are destroying your money sites
• The quality-over-quantity link building approach backed by real data
• How to change WordPress themes without losing rankings
• Tools for monitoring your site through a theme migration

Alex Miller's Backlinking Tips

Alex Miller runs an SEO firm that serves other SEO firms, tracking the performance of thousands of client websites. His advice is based on real aggregate data, not speculation.

No mass links to money sites. If you are linking to your money site using mass-generated links, stop immediately. Mass article submissions, mass directory submissions, and mass social bookmarks will kill your site in the long term. The only exception is press releases, which carry higher authority. Even if mass links appear to work initially, the damage will catch up with you.

Quality over quantity. You can dominate rankings with as few as 50 to 100 high-quality links. Focus on acquiring guest posts on high page-rank sites and other editorially earned links rather than chasing volume.

Changing WordPress Themes Safely

Listener Chris is switching from Thesis 1.8.5 to Elegant Themes for better mobile responsiveness. Mark steers people toward Elegant Themes, WooThemes, and Genesis for their responsive design options and ease of use. Before switching, check these three areas:

• Keep your SEO intact. Use the Yoast SEO Plugin to maintain control over title tags and meta descriptions so the new theme does not alter your search listings.
• Watch for duplicate content. New themes can create archive, author, and category pages that duplicate your posts. Google treats this as spam.
• Monitor analytics. Install Google Analytics and consider a tool like CrazyEgg to track user behavior changes after the theme switch.

What's Changed Since This Episode

Mark recorded this in October 2014. The SEO principles remain sound, but the landscape has evolved.

Google integrated Penguin into its core algorithm in 2016, making link quality evaluation happen in real time rather than through periodic updates. The advice to avoid mass links and focus on quality is even more critical now.

Mobile responsiveness became a ranking factor. Chris's instinct to switch to a responsive theme was validated when Google rolled out mobile-first indexing. In 2026, non-responsive sites face significant ranking disadvantages.

The WordPress theme landscape has transformed. Genesis was acquired by WP Engine. Elegant Themes became known for Divi. WooThemes became WooCommerce under Automattic. Block-based themes and full site editing have emerged as major trends.

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• Yoast SEO Plugin
• Genesis Themes
• Elegant Themes
• Smart Passive Income — Pat Flynn's theme change case studies
• CrazyEgg — visual analytics

Listen and Subscribe

Listen to Late Night Internet Marketing on Apple Podcasts or subscribe at latenightim.com/internet-marketing-podcast/. Have a question for Mark? Call the digital recorder at 214-444-8655 or drop a comment below.