Link Building: The Overlooked Strategy Hindering Your SEO Results

Many business owners and marketing professionals have heard of SEO, and many understand how important posting content on their site is for their results, but most businesses miss out on a crucial piece to SEO success: backlinks. What is backlinking and why is building these links so important? Let’s dive in! 

Importance of a Link Building Strategy

At its core, link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to one’s own. These hyperlinks, commonly known as backlinks, act as virtual endorsements or votes of confidence. When a reputable website links to another, it signals to search engines that the linked-to site possesses valuable and relevant content. Consequently, search engines are more likely to rank the linked-to site higher in search results, as it is perceived as a reliable source of information regardless of how good the content on the website is.

Understanding link building is understanding the fundamental principle of how search engines operate. Search engines, like Google, aim to provide users with the most relevant and authoritative results for their queries. To achieve this, they employ complex algorithms that analyze various factors to determine a website’s quality and relevance. In this context, links serve as a fundamental metric for assessing a website’s credibility.

The simple SEO formula for success is as follows:

Keyword Rankings = (High-Quality Content) + (High-Quality Links)

Even the most optimized websites will struggle to see their keywords ranking at the top of search results without a proper off-page SEO strategy. Don’t be a business who has a website that is just full of good content with no means of generating traffic and leads!

Factors of a High Quality Link

Knowing we need high-quality links to accompany our content online, we need to understand what kind of links we need to earn. Can we just go out and build a bunch of directory listings or pay a guy in India ten bucks for 100 links? The answer is as follows…

1. Quality of the Links

Not all links are created equal; search engines prioritize high-quality links from reputable and authoritative websites. These links carry more weight in boosting a site’s search engine ranking compared to links from less reputable sources. As such, a strategic link building approach involves not only acquiring links but focusing on obtaining them from authoritative domains. Think about it, Google is looking for references, much like if you were to write a research paper. A source from a university study is going to hold a lot more weight to your argument than a paper written by a 3rd grader. This is the same concept online. A link from a reputable source like princeton.edu is going to signal a lot more significance than joesblog.com that was published a few weeks ago (I have no idea if joesblog.com is an actual website or if it was published a few weeks ago). 

Understanding Domain Authority

Domain Authority (DA) is a vital metric for understanding how your website is going to rank amongst competitors. Developed by Moz, DA measures the credibility and influence of your website, impacting search rankings. Here’s a brief breakdown to understanding and leveraging Domain Authority:

• Quantifying Credibility: DA is scored from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating a stronger online presence and better potential for ranking.

• Link Quality Matters: Quality, not just quantity, of inbound links significantly influences DA. Aim for relevant, authoritative backlinks.

• Industry Benchmark: Compare your DA with competitors to gauge your standing within your industry.

• Continuous Improvement: Building and maintaining a robust link profile ensures a healthy DA. Regularly update content and engage in ethical link-building practices.

Understanding and actively managing your website’s Domain Authority will enable you to outrank competitors in your niche. Google is going to favor your competitor who has the same type of content as you nine times out of ten if they have a stronger Domain Authority than you. 

2. Relevance of the Links

Earning authority links from high-DA sites is mandatory for white hat link building strategies, but the link also needs to be relevant to the content on your own website. While quantity is also a consideration, the contextual relevance of links hold greater significance. Search engines analyze not just the number of links but also their thematic alignment with the content they point to. Links from websites within the same niche or industry carry more weight, signaling to search engines the content’s contextual authority. If you are running an SEO strategy for a landscaping company then you want to make sure you aren’t earning links from an article that is totally unrelated to landscaping. Ensuring relevance in link building not only enhances SEO but also establishes a website as a credible source within its specific domain, leading to better quality connections in that industry. 

Examples of Link Building Strategies

There are many ways to earn backlinks from other sites, but I won’t lie, it’s tough to earn high-quality backlinks. Many writers spend their entire career building relationships with publications in order to get an article featured on their website, and that one article might only have one or two links in it. So, aside from hiring an SEO agency, here are some ways you might be able to earn some links on your own. Oftentimes businesses will have an SEO partner work on link building alongside some of their own efforts on local directories and PR. Here are some examples of how people earn links: 

• Guest Blogging:
  • Contribute high-quality, relevant content to authoritative websites in your industry.
  • Include a link back to your site within the guest post, leveraging the host site’s credibility.

• Broken Link Building:
  • Identify broken links on reputable websites within your niche.
  • Reach out to the website owner, suggesting your content as a replacement and providing a link.

• Skyscraper Technique:
  • Identify popular content in your niche.
  • Create superior, more comprehensive articles and resrouces and reach out to those linking to the original, suggesting they link to your improved version.

• Resource Link Building:
  • Create valuable resources such as guides, infographics, or tools.
  • Reach out to websites, suggesting they link to your resource as a reference.

• Ego Bait:
  • Create content that features industry influencers or businesses.
  • Notify those mentioned, encouraging them to share the content and link to it.

• Social Media Outreach:
  • Leverage social media platforms to share your content and connect with influencers.
  • Encourage social sharing, increasing the likelihood of obtaining organic backlinks.

• Local SEO Link Building:
  • List your business on local directories, industry-specific platforms, and community websites.
  • Participate in local events and sponsorships, earning local backlinks.

• Testimonials and Reviews:
  • Provide testimonials for products or services you’ve used.
  • Ask for a backlink in return for your testimonial.

• Collaborative Content:
  • Collaborate with other businesses or influencers on content creation.
  • Co-authored pieces can attract a diverse audience and earn quality backlinks.