Updated January 13, 2023
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Link building can be an extraordinary SEO powerhouse. But many businesses don’t understand how to use it to their best advantage. In this multi-part series, we’ll explain: 1) how link building is a critical factor in SEO ranking, 2) what to look for in managing links and 3) common mistakes to avoid losing valuable SEO equity.
Link Building, A Ranking Factor for SEO
Before I get ahead of myself, let me start with some link building basics. When a website is popular and important (read: providing interesting and recent content that attracts an audience), the more links it will gather. Why? Because other businesses or internet marketers will credit this website when writing their own content (e.g., a blog post). Gathering links, like votes of confidence, is an indicator that Search Engine (SE) algorithms can use when calculatting SEO rankings. Without fresh and interesting content, you don’t build an audience. Without an audience, links aren’t made to your content.
But creating content is a long-term strategy, one that requires (gasp) effort and consistency. So, why not buy votes of confidence? Welcome to a Black/Grey Hat technique, and buyer beware. Google and other SEs are working diligently to catch those who try to cheat the system. Search Engines make their money by having humans — and lots of them — use their site for a successful search engine experience. Purchased links is like buying votes; it’s contrary to why Search Engines have loyal users. In essence, you want quality and quantity. So, buying links helps only one side of the equation. In the SEO industry, the practice of focusing on accumulating as many inbound links as possible, regardless of context of the originating site, is called linkspam. And that’s a definite no-no if you’re looking to compete on the web for the long run as there are definite purchased link penalties.
In the next installment, we’ll go into more detail about how to gather and manage your website’s links.
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