What is link building?
Link building is an SEO practice of constructing hyperlinks that link to a website in order to improve search ranking. Link building is also referred to as inbound links, backlinks, or external links. The intention is to increase the quality and number of backlinks that connect to the targeted website which search engines consider when prioritizing websites thus increasing its SERP (search engine results page) rank and boosting visibility and traffic. The process of link building is to implement backlinks in an authentic and strategic manner.
The next sections discuss the components for building high-quality links and ideas for increasing your SEO link building strategy.
4 components for building high-quality links
An SEO link building strategy significantly favors quality links over quantity links, therefore link building is not seeing how many backlinks you can get to your website but rather the nature of the backlinks. In fact, if an external link is considered spammy or of low quality, it can negatively impact your website ranking and quality score. Below are four components for building high-quality links.
1. Authority
The authority of the site that includes your website’s backlink significantly impacts the value of the link. If the website is highly credible and recognized then the backlink has more authority as compared to a website that is seemingly trivial. For example, a link from Buzzfeed will generate significantly more authority than a start-up blog.
2. Relevancy
While authority plays a critical role, the website still needs to be relevant to your business. For example, if you are a construction business but your link is from a clothing company with no correlation between the two, then the link loses its value. Instead, websites that are relevant to your industry and highly recognized will provide the most quality.
3. Earned
Before, link building was all about the quantity, therefore the practice of acquiring links through unnatural ways, such as paying for backlinks, was a common practice. Now search engines are able to recognize patterns of spam backlinks that are acquired in unauthentic ways and penalize that website. Instead, ensure your backlinks are editorial links, meaning the website’s author included your link because it provided value to the content.
4. Qualified
While increasing SERP rankings is the objective of implementing an SEO link building strategy, the ultimate goal is to provide quality content to the targeted audience, Therefore, if your backlinks are not bringing in qualified leads, then the links need to be reevaluated so the traffic being sent to your website aligns with who would be interested in your products and services.
6 SEO link building strategy ideas
Below are six ways to improve your SEO link building strategy that address the different practices to authentically gain backlinks. Before implementing these strategies make sure to consider the four components of a high-quality link so your efforts are appropriately directed in order to deliver the most beneficial outcomes.
1. Blog
One of the most popular forms of establishing link building is to create a blog. By producing consistent, educational or entertaining content, it allows others to engage, share, and link to your blog posts. It gives other websites and users content that is easy to interact with while enabling the means of backlinks.
2. Resource page
A resource page is an informative web page with the purpose of curating helpful resources for the targeted audience. Start by researching resource pages that directly correlate to your website’s content in order to reach out and provide your link as a reference. Often times a resource page links to blogs, which is another reason why blogs improve SEO link building.
3. Social media
When your business creates a social media account, you are opted to include your website’s link which allows users to quickly access your website. This is an easy way to contribute to your overall link building strategy while increasing direct website traffic from the platforms.
4. Promotion and involvement
When your business is attending an event or sponsoring a local organization, this provides a gateway for promoting that event or announcement in order to build links for your website. It is an influential practice of building quality links by just promoting the activities your business is already partaking in or hosting. Other promotional ideas include community outreaches, loyalty programs, local competitions, workshops, seminars, etc.
5. Partners
As a business you have established business relationships among clients, partners, affiliates, etc. that offer a platform for SEO link building. You can build high-quality backlinks by reaching out to these relationships about including your link in a natural way on their website. For example, if the website mentions your website as a case study or cohost for an event, inquiring for your business’ link to be included is a way to build links.
6. Refurbish content
In regards to your other marketing efforts, you can repurpose content that you know performs well in order to maximize that content’s influence. For example, if there is a blog that consistently brings in qualified leads, refurbishing it for other platforms or publications, such as an infographic, video, email campaign, etc., can further its reach and gain links.
Link building is a powerful SEO practice that can greatly impact your SERP ranking in order to gain online traffic and produce sales. Understanding the components of what is considered a quality link ensures your backlinks are benefiting your website rather than negatively influencing its rank. Once you understand what type of links are favorable, the next step is constructing a SEO link building strategy. While the ideas listed above are a great and reliable way to start building high-quality links, there are many creative ways to increase your backlinks.
