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What is link building & how does it work?

Link building is an integral part of our SEO marketing roadmap, and here’s why. Think of links as votes of confidence for your website. The more websites Google sees in your business, the more reputable your business is, which results in higher rankings. Search engines, especially Google, use links as one of the top factors to determine how valuable and trustworthy your content is. However, there’s a catch – Google is smart. It’s become pretty good at spotting unnatural link patterns, so not all links are equal. Let’s dive in.

Internal vs. External Links

Internal Links

These are links within your website that connect different pages together. They're like signposts guiding users to related content on your site.

External Links
(Backlinks)

External links, aka backlinks, is when your website is linked on other websites to bring users BACK to your website (or vice versa).

Link Quality - Not All Links Are Equal

Links, like brownies, come in different flavors, and some are more tasty than others. For instance, a link from a popular website carries more weight than a random link from a less popular site. Imagine you own a restaurant – getting a link from a restaurant review on a high-authority website like The Guardian or Tripadvisor is like hitting the jackpot. In contrast, a link from your aunt’s cooking school website, though well-intentioned, won’t do as much for your SEO or rankings.

So What Matters in Link Building?

When it comes to link building, not all links are as impactful as others. Several factors determine how beneficial a specific link is:

1. Global Popularity

Imagine link popularity like a popularity contest in school. The websites that get the most attention, by having more links from others, tend to rank higher. Think of Wikipedia as an example – millions of links – it’s the cool kid who everyone wants to be friends with. It’s linked by an infinite amount of websites, and that’s why it often lands at the top of search results. Google’s SEO algorithm has huge respect for Wikipedia!

2. Local Popularity

Now, think of your popularity within your local area, like having loads of friends from your neighborhood. When websites similar to yours (in content or theme) link to you, search engines take notice. For example, if a well-known food blog in your country or county links to your restaurant’s website, search engines see the connection and consider it a vote of confidence. Boom, higher rankings.

3. Anchor Text

Anchor text is jargon or simply the fancy term for the words used in a hyperlink to describe the page it brings you to. It serves two purposes: describing the linked page and enticing people to click. These words matter because they provide context. For instance, if your shoe store’s website is linked with the anchor text “best shoe store in town,” it tells search engines that your website is a valuable resource for shoes. However, if the same keywords are used excessively, search engines might suspect spammy tactics – closely related to keyword stuffing. Big no, no. While you can’t control the anchor text others use when they link to your site, you have control over improving your internal links.

4. Link Context

Even if it’s the first time you ever read about building links, you can still probably imagine that links are most valuable when they relate directly to your content. If you’re reading about gardening and suddenly find a link to a car repair manual, it’s confusing for you (and Google), which results in no improvement in ranking. The transition from one page to the linked page should be smooth and logical, meaning it should reflect the context.

5. Source of the Link

As mentioned, the source of the link is everything. Again, imagine it like recommendations for a restaurant. If a renowned food critic recommends a place, you’re more likely to trust it than if your cousin’s friend mentions it. Links from authoritative, trusted websites carry more weight in the eyes of Google and other search engines. Google has clever ways to tell the big players from the small ones, and it values links from the popular sites more than the less-known ones.

90% of marketers

use quality content as their core strategy for link building.

[Source - searchlogistics.com]

What We Do - Our Link-Building Strategy

Here’s the inside scoop on our link-building strategy – considering all the above,  as part of our SEO roadmap, we research and register your website in over 30 reputable & niche-related websites. But that’s just the beginning of our marketing roadmap’s Foundations Stage. 

We also take care of your internal linking strategy, weaving links into your blogs, landing pages, social media, email campaigns, and more. The result? This makes your website rank higher for target keywords which drives traffic, increases revenue, and grows your customer base. So, let’s start building those bridges. Till the next one! 

Established in 2019, our marketing agency offers tried and tested digital services to build solid foundations and enhance your online presence with a custom marketing roadmap for your business.
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