What is Link Building?

So, link building becomes a powerful tool for boosting rank and traffic. Besides the higher rank on search engines, you can also expect more traffic from the online users that click through the links on other sites that will bring them to your web pages.

All this began with the creation of PageRank by Google. This is the name given to the algorithm that the search engine has come to depend on for determining the quality of web pages. According to Google, it is like a voting system that gauges what web pages are most important. The more links you have, the more votes of confidence you are receiving from other pages.

Not all links will, however, bring these benefits. Search engines use algorithms that analyse the various SEO tactics used by marketers to determine the quality of their content and establish ranking. These algorithms change with time. There are multiple reasons for this including misuse or unfair manipulation of the ranking process.

Certain types of link building strategies have been found wanting and resulted in algorithm changes designed to ensure improved ranking that displays the most relevant results to user queries.

In SEO, the goal is to get a website and its web pages highly ranked. A lot of research and strategy goes into this. By the time a page is posted, search engines will have crawled all over them. This is to pick out the salient aspects of the content and add this to their indexes.

In determining how relevant a page is likely to be to online users, the search engine algorithm will judge the value of the content through such factors as keyword usage, HTTP encryption, page speed, and mobile optimisation. Links that connect from other sites will also be valued. Consideration will be given to the number of links and the quality of the sites they come from.

If more high-quality sites are the ones creating links, then you can expect a better ranking for your website.

It is also important to note that the more links you have from high-quality sites, the more discoverable your website becomes. This is because search engines also use links to identify new web pages and websites. Once they follow links from more established and quality websites and repeatedly find their way back to a page, the more relevance it is given and the higher ranking it is assigned.

The downside to all this is that some marketers took note of the behaviour of the algorithms and attempted to manipulate them. Later updates to PageRank sought to remedy this problem by revising link building techniques and penalising those that over-optimised.

Outbound links are those you incorporate into your content that point towards or take online users to other websites. While we have mostly focused on inbound links, outbound links do also play a major role in boosting ranking. They can help to better define the niche and authority of your website to search engines.

They also provide a chance to connect with other related bloggers ad businesses who can in turn link back to your site and also contribute referral traffic. Because the content is your own, you have full control over defining if these links are nofollow or dofollow.

Inbound links are also referred to as backlinks. These are the links that are created on other domains and lead online users to your pages. These links have the greatest influence over ranking.

They are the ones that are counted almost like votes of recommendation in your favour. As mentioned, the better quality sites that provide backlinks, the better ranking you can achieve. Both inbound and outbound links are also referred to as external links.

Internal links are another form of linking that connects different web pages within the same domain or website. These links are normally created as a means of navigating through a website. They also help to establish connections between related content and help share link value.

Link value is spread across all the links on a web page. As it connects to related content on other web pages in the same domain, the link value is further divided on the subsequent page.

Internal links are important because they help search engines understand the relevance of web pages, how they relate to one another, and their link value.

When adding new content to your website, you should link it to whatever other articles, videos, infographics, or other material that relates to the same topic. This contextual linking will confirm to search engines that the content is related and provide links that make it discoverable. Ensure that if this article was inspired by more comprehensive content, it also links back.

This comprehensive content can also be referred to as your cornerstone. It should be the most complete article on whatever topic you are covering that has all other content that is related link to it and vice versa.

Setting up a related section is also ideal. You can make use of plugins to manually do so, ensuring that the content whose links you are listing fall under the same or related category. You can also add a recent posts section. Even if not related, it is a good way to promote your more recent content on the side or below the post. Navigational links and taxonomies help to keep your website organised and easily navigable.

Also, pay attention to what you put in your anchor text. Search engines will use this as a guide on what your page content is about. When linking off of anchor text, be moderate in your use of links and ensure your keyword choice is well-varied and relevant for good ranking. Avoid spam-like phrases and repetition. Diluted rather than optimised anchor texts can be helpful in this post-Penguin update era.

The choice of keywords on which to build content is typically guided by the words and phrases that your targeted audience is most likely to input when on search engines. A business needs to take time to understand their clientele and what they want. This research can be time-consuming, but the wealth of knowledge will play a critical role in content value.

Keyword research tools can help identify variations of keywords, phrases, and queries that are of most interest to your target audience, and their volumes. This research can even bring up topics that you never expected your audience would want more information on.

When selecting the keywords and phrases on which to build your content, do not just focus on those with high volume numbers. Give some consideration to low-competition keywords. They may even lead to your carving out a niche for yourself that could prove strategically beneficial to your business.

For a more targeted approach that narrows down to an audience that is most relevant to your business, do factor in the long tail of the search. Though less popular, long-tail keywords do have a good conversion rate as they account for the more specific search terms that online users input.

As a part of your research, also consider what your direct competitors are up to. It is preferable to avoid taking the same route when they are already ahead of you in the use of particular keywords. Seek out high-volume keywords that your competition is not ranked for. These could be the opening you need to raise your visibility.

Link building can be an exhausting and time-consuming endeavour. There are so many areas to be covered and updates to keep up with. Outsourcing some of the work to an external agent leaves the site owner with more time to deal with more fundamental and real-world aspects of their business. It may seem like an expensive affair, but you will probably spend less on these services than what you additionally earn during the same period when focused on your core business.

Experienced agents are well adapted to understanding how link building works and keep updated on industry changes that may impact their clients. A good provider should be able to evaluate a website’s link profile and advice their client on what areas need addressing.

Be careful when selecting a marketer that will undertake your link building efforts. Understand that you get what you pay for so avoid cheap deals that may result in poor content and links that damage your ranking rather than boost it.

Search for a team that is reputed for being dependable, knowledgeable, and authoritative in their own area of expertise.

Make a review of their website to see how well they have managed to execute content and link building strategies to build their own rank. You can even ask for a portfolio of their clients to see if they are capable of delivering as promised. Be sure to clearly outline your needs and expectations. At the same time, understand that link building takes time so be patient about results while tracking the efforts being made.

Be aware of the sites your provider will be using to build links from. It is important to give effective guidance on what kind of results you are looking for and how you expect them to be delivered. You can achieve this through such efforts as profiling the level of domain authority, site/publisher reputation, and types of links you expect. Have the provider take you through their link building strategies to avoid concerns such as link schemes that could negatively affect your ranking.

It is noteworthy that search engine algorithms continue to be updated and refined. Each time an update takes place, some sites lose ranking while others rise (sometimes) because of the quality of link building tactics that have been applied. While link building can be sometimes complex, marketers should have a reasonable idea as to whether or not the strategy they are using is shady or not. Keeping abreast of new developments in link building should also be prioritised.

Focus on building relevant and authoritative links from customers and partners in your industry. Continuously build your content and strive to make it high quality, fresh, interesting, and unique. Also, keep your content visually appealing and engaging by taking advantage of such tools as video content and infographics.

Incorporating interactive content like infographics, quizzes, polls, and interactive e-mails will prove more engaging and entertaining to your audience. This can also allow marketers to capture important data from users that can guide future content building and aid in building a more distinct niche presence that will encourage your audience to keep following you and boost conversion.

Be location specific to match long-tail searches from the most potential customers. Real-world engagement should also not be underrated. Having your brand recognised by news sites and blogs for such activities as sponsoring charities, hosting events, running sales promotions, and more, also contributes.