What is link building and why does it matter?

While search engine optimization and link building have been intertwined for as long as there has been an Internet, the value of acquiring quality inbound links has never been greater. If you want to compete for online attention and links to your site, you need to understand how important link building is as a part of a good SEO plan.

Whether you’re just getting started with link building or have been doing it for a while, this blog will shed light on the topic, its relevance, the different kinds of links, and the ways in which they may aid your company.

What is the meaning of link building?

Simply said, link building is the act of gaining inbound connections to your website from other online resources. Search engines look at both internal and external links to your site when deciding what makes a good link.

If another website links to yours, Google will interpret this as a vote of confidence that yours is an authoritative source on the topic. Google tends to give preferential treatment to sites that have received more links from other credible sources. This is referred to as “link juice” among search engine optimizers.

Link building is a time-consuming aspect of search engine optimization because of the wide variety of approaches available for doing so and the varying degrees of difficulty among them. Also, not all connections are equal. Links from trustworthy sources, like the BBC, are much more useful than links from random blogs that are not related to yours.

What is link building and why does it matter for SEO?

It decides which pages should rank higher in the SERPs, link building is an integral aspect of search engine optimization services. It aids search engines in discovering new web sites.

On the topic of link-building, Google has this to say:

“In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by creating high-quality sites that users will want to use and share.”

That is to say, you shouldn’t just build links for search engines. Instead, you should focus on getting links because you have great content that people want to share.

Google considers link building to be a major ranking component, along with:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and content optimization
The reliability and credibility of the web page
Instantaneousness of site loading
Mobile-friendliness
Factors that influence the user experience

Good and bad SEO link building techniques

As with other things, there is a proper and improper method of going about constructing backlinks. Organic SEO strategies that are in line with Google’s webmaster standards can lead to long-term success and the best performance.

To increase your website’s rankings in search engines, you may use good SEO strategies, often known as white-hat SEO (I hate this term – all link building goes against Google guidelines). Google does not approve of any link building. Without it, your organic traffic will suffer. Link building strategies that are good for SEO might include:

Submission of a Guest Post
Sharing your work with the world on social media
Building Infographics
Establishing Connections using profiles
Participating in discussions on high-profile blogs and articles
Using maps and listings to promote your company online

Unethical yet effective SEO strategies may boost your website’s visibility in search results. Google disapproves of these practices and may impose a manual penalty on your site if they determine that your approaches violate their quality rules. These may be very time-consuming to remove and can cause serious disruptions to your SEO rankings and performance. Some examples of so called bad SEO practices are:

Private Blog Networks
Generated Links using Software
Manipulating Content – Excessive use of keywords
Spun content that is not unique
Link building using too many exact match anchor text
Too many links from the same IP (spammy platforms/sites)

Follow v Nofollow links

A link’s “nofollow” or “follow” attribute indicates to Google’s crawler that it should be taken to the site or not. Clicking on “follow” links shows Google extra trust in a link.

An additional “nofollow” option is also available. Take note of the rel=”nofollow” tag that has been added below:

By doing so, you may prevent Google from giving this link any “link juice,” also known as PageRank. By doing so, you’re essentially instructing Google to disregard the connection entirely and exclude it from your backlink profile.

When would you want to use a nofollow? They’ll come in handy more often than you’d think. Webmasters have full control over the external links that lead to their pages when they use nofollows.

Before the nofollow tag was introduced, spamming SEO methods were often used by webmasters to artificially increase their site’s rankings. By turning off “follow” on links marked with the nofollow attribute, spammers are discouraged from submitting useless links.

While bogus blog comments and websites are still there, their impact on credible sources has been diminished.

Those “nofollow” links probably don’t seem to fit in anywhere. Nofollow links can be found in:

Blog Comments
Forums
Some Edu and Gov sites
Wiki pages
Some profile links
Many guest post platforms
Some web 2.0 backlinks

Users are at liberty to add and publish links in such venues. Since it is impractical to filter every single spammy link, the website administrators have the option of adding a “nofollow” to all links contributed by other users.

Find out why certain links to your site are “followed” and others are “nofollow”.

How can Link Building services benefit my business?

There is a variation in search engine rankings due to links, as we have explained. Even though the ways to get and use links have changed over time, link building is still an important part of any SEO plan.

Building inbound links can help grow your business or brand in a number of important ways that go beyond improving your website’s search engine optimization.

Establishing a name for oneself (building the brand)

In the proper hands, link building can be a powerful tool for expanding your online presence and gaining credibility as a market leader. You want your business to be at the forefront of your industry; content marketing tactics that incorporate high-quality content development and guest blogging may help you accomplish this. Showing off your company’s expertise can do wonders for its brand recognition, and as an authoritative voice, you’ll be known for the content you write in the field and rewarded with high-quality backlinks.

Building traffic streams

Gaining a quality inbound link from a popular resource will boost your visitor levels and, in turn, your link juice. In general, the quality of a website’s traffic may be gauged by the quality of the sites it links to. This isn’t only true of the most popular websites; often, targeting a smaller, more devoted audience via a niche blog is more effective than trying to appeal to a bigger, more generic one.

Constructing relationships

Outreach to related websites and blogs is a common part of link building techniques, whether you’re trying to spread the word about a new article, infographic, or sale you’re having. Even while getting links is the primary objective of outreach, it may also help your company forge lasting connections with influential figures in your field. Your reputation, circle of contacts, and credibility may all benefit from these associations. The ability to build relationships with other people and earn their trust is invaluable, whether they are the site owner or important influencers.

Improving chances of a sale

Sales are increased as a direct result of increased exposure to prospective buyers brought about by referral traffic from related websites. Gaining higher search engine rankings is only one benefit of link building; another is the influx of targeted visitors you’ll get via referrals. Consequently, you’ll be able to expand your product line and tap into a new market, thereby increasing sales and income.

There’s no sign of link building’s significance in SEO declining any time soon. Google will put the search results that link to the most popular and reliable sources at the top of the list when showing them to users.