When reviewing your SEO strategy, an important part that often gets overlooked is link building. SEO often looks at optimizing keyword usage. However, some forget that SEO is about viability and relevance, which is what the algorithm always looks to maximize. Link building, put simply, is the process of building a list of hyperlinks from other blogs and sites, back to your own content. Google and other search engines investigate the links between individual pages to determine what counts as a relevant link. In this article, we will explain the importance of link building, and ultimately, an effective strategy for this process.
What are the benefits of link building
Algorithms do not have the same recognition of value that humans have. We, as humans, can determine whether content is good or bad based on our own experiences and general good sense. The algorithm cannot do this, so it relies on social proof and authority to determine whether content is relevant and good quality. Therefore, a link from a reputable site back to your own content is usually a good indicator to the search engine that your content is worth reading. It follows that content with more backlinks from various sources would rank higher.
Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own website. Link building is important because it is a big factor in how search engines like Google rank web pages.
What is link building and how does it work?
Is link building still relevant to SEO
When search engines were first created, people successfully figured out the logical and mathematical logic that the search engines were using to rank pages. This created unfair competition, as playing logic against itself was not in the best spirit of competition. As such, Google changes its algorithm every 6 months. The field of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) improves every day to try and track these changes. One thing that has stood the test of time is quality links. This helps search engines discover new web pages and helps market entrants have a smoother transition towards their desired market.
As you improve site’s visibility, you should know that link building remains one of the most effective SEO tactics. Since Google continues to factor in high-quality backlinks to determine a site’s credibility, investing in a link-building campaign can potentially grant you more ranking and conversion opportunities.
30 Statistics That Prove Why Link Building Is Still Important in 2021
Developing a great strategy to improve your link building
There are enormous benefits of link building. It may not come as a surprise that there are certain SEO methods that are unethical and disapproved by Google. It is generally great to stay away from these things, similar to staying away from breaking the law: if you get caught, there will be repercussions from the search engine, critically injuring your web presence. Here are the top 6 approved methods of link building:
- Promote your content
There is a reason why blogs, sites, and content owners do not let anyone advertise themselves, they are using this space for their own content and their own promotions. Sponsoring other blogs to write about your own content and link back to you is a generally great way to build authority and influence using already established channels.
- Guest posts
Guest posts have all the benefits of promotion, and best of all, it is usually free. A mutual guest post agreement allows you to write content pieces for another audience via their own blog or site, and then link back towards your own content.
- Building online relationships
Guest posts, cross-posts and other collaborative joint content can be created via content creators in the same industry. It is important to view your competition as friends, rather than enemies, as there is a big enough metaphorical slice of cake for everyone involved.
- Commenting on other authoritative blogs
Certain blogs have comment sections, which allow users to interact with content and site administrators. Readers will often read through comment sections to get more information or answer any questions they had while reading the article. If your comment is there, coupled with your username, they will be incentivized to click through to your blog.
- Answering questions
Similar to the above, posting on popular advice forums such as Reddit and Quora will increase exposure and links back to your site. Be careful to not make it sound too obvious that you are promoting your content, as moderators will usually delete these comments. Genuinely answer questions, and link back to your content only when it is allowed or asked.
- Directories
Before the internet, businesses allocated a large portion of their marketing budget to being listed in telephone directories. This hasn’t changed, as business and online directories for your business can be found and subscribed to. Check out your local business development office, as they usually have free resources on getting your site listed.
What makes a quality backlink
The best links have the power of sending referral traffic back to your site. A great backlink has these three qualities:
- The link’s primary purpose is driving traffic to your site
The most rare and valuable sources are having journalists and editors cover your piece, and linking back to your own site. Keep an eye out for PR opportunities.
- The link is in alignment with your own content
The content that links back to yours should be relevant and complement your own industry, as toxic link building will damage your reputation.
- The link comes from a trusted source
Look to be covered by authoritative and well-known blogs.
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