What Is Link Building and How Do I Obtain Links?
As you may be well aware by now, there are literally hundreds of ranking factors that Google takes into account when determining which site to display on the SERPs (search engine results) and the specific order they appear.
And to make things worse, these factors are continuously being updated all the time. So what used to be a major ranking factor a few years ago might not be as effective these days.
However, there is one key ranking factor that has been around for a while and looks like it’s not going anywhere any time soon: backlinks.
This article will provide an in-depth look at link building, its benefits, types of links, and strategies for building high-quality links.
What Exactly Is Link Building?
Link building has become an integral part of SEO strategies because search engines use links to evaluate the credibility and authority of a website.
The more quality links a site has, the more trustworthy it appears to search engines, and the higher it will rank in search results.
The Benefits of Link Building
Link building offers several benefits, including:
- Increased organic search rankings
- Improved website traffic
- Increased online visibility and brand exposure
- Enhanced credibility and authority in your industry or niche
- Building relationships with other websites in your industry or niche
Types of Links
There are several types of links to consider when building a link profile:
Internal Links
Internal links are links that point to other pages on the same website. They are essential for improving the user experience and guiding users to relevant pages on the site. Internal linking can also help distribute link equity across the site, improving search engine rankings.
External Links
External links are links that point to other websites. They are valuable because they can help establish your site as a trustworthy source of information, and they can also increase traffic to your site from other sources.
Dofollow Links
Dofollow links are links that search engines can follow and use to evaluate the authority of a website. These links pass link equity from the linking site to the linked-to site, which can improve search engine rankings.
Nofollow Links
Nofollow links are links that search engines cannot follow. These links do not pass link equity from the linking site to the linked-to site, but they can still drive traffic to your site and increase brand exposure. They contain a rel=”nofollow attribute in their HTML code.
The instances you typically see these links can be include and are not limited to the following scenarios:
- Links in comments: this allows to fight ‘comment spam’ as it reduces the seo equity with links associated to comments.
- Affiliate and sponsored links: when you include the nofollow tag you are making sure not to violate the big G rules about buying backlinks.
- Links to other site you don’t want to support: sometimes you are linking to external resources you don’t want to transfer your seo equity.
Strategies for Building High-Quality Links
Building high-quality links requires a strategic approach. Here are some effective link building strategies to consider:
Guest Posting
Guest posting involves writing and publishing an article on another website with a link back to your site. This strategy can help you build relationships with other websites in your industry and generate high-quality backlinks.
A good way to find guest posts opportunities for your niche is to type “your niche” + “write for us”.
Once you find some guest posts opportunities, make sure to read their guidelines and contact their webmaster with your unique guest post pitch.
Competitor’s Backlinks
Using SEO tools such as SemRush or Ahrefs will enable you to quickly scan through your competitors’s link profiles and emulate their success. You should consider analysing their backlink profile as follows:
- Link relevance: Would a backlink from that specific page be specific to the content you are promoting?
- Link strength: What is the actual authority of the page that is linking back to them?
- Difficulty: Is it going to be possible for you to get the same backlink?
Then you can create your email outreach campaign contacting the website owners to replace your competitors backlinks or to include your backlink as an additional resource.
Broken Link Building
Broken link building mainly involves the process of looking out for other websites that have inactive links and suggesting them to use your content as an alternative option to link back to.
Skyscraper Technique
The skyscraper technique involves finding the best article on a certain topic and creating something that is better, more relevant and interesting than the prior article. You then reach out to websites that link to your competitor and offer them a link to your website instead.
Infographics
Infographics are visual representations of data or information. They are highly shareable and can attract a lot of backlinks. Creating high-quality infographics and distributing them across the web can help you generate high-quality backlinks from relevant sources.
Link Reclamation
Link reclamation is the process of finding mentions of your brand or online website that do not include a link and requesting that a link be added. This strategy can help you recover lost backlinks and generate high-quality backlinks from relevant sources.
Resource Page Link Building
Resource page link building involves finding relevant resource pages in your industry and requesting a link to your site be added. This strategy can help you acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable sources and increase your online visibility.
Social Media Link Building
Social media link building involves promoting your content on social media and encouraging others to link to it. This strategy can help you generate high-quality backlinks from relevant sources and increase your social media following.
Influencer Outreach
Influencer outreach involves getting in touch with other influencers in your same industry and requesting them to vouch for your content or include a link to it. This strategy can help you generate high-quality backlinks from relevant sources and increase your online visibility.
Collaborative Link Building
Collaborative link building involves partnering with other websites or businesses in your industry to create content and share links. This strategy can help you generate high-quality backlinks from relevant sources and increase your online visibility.
Common Link-Building Mistakes to Avoid
While link building can be a powerful strategy for improving search engine rankings and increasing online visibility, there are several common mistakes to avoid, including:
- Focusing on quantity over quality
- Building links too quickly
- Overusing exact match anchor text
- Ignoring link relevance and context
- Not diversifying your link profile
Conclusion
Link building remains an essential component of any successful SEO strategy. By building high-quality links, you can increase traffic, improve search engine rankings, and boost online visibility.
By following the strategies outlined in this article and avoiding common mistakes, you can create a strong link profile that helps establish your site as a credible and authoritative source of information in your industry or niche.
As you can see, this can be quite a tedious and onerous process whilst also ensuring that you are running a smooth business. You will quite probably struggle to find the hours in your day to ensure you tick all the items from our list.
That’s why you need an SEO Agency. At eWebsites we specialise in building high-quality links for your website. Contact us today at 0418 657 1914.
