Link building is an essential process in search engine optimization (SEO) since it helps to increase a site’s ranking on search engine result pages. But let’s first take a closer look at what link building is and why it is so crucial for organic SEO? This blog post explores the need to build links, the advantages of link building and the techniques you can use to improve your site’s ranking.
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What is Link Building?
Link building is a process of getting third party links that points to your website or web page. These links, called backlinks, are like “recommendations” that tell the search engine your site is worthwhile, full of good information, and relevant to the search. Any other site linking to your site gives Google the impression that the site is important enough to be linked to hence improving its ranking.
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Why is Link Building so Important in Organic SEO?
Matt Cutt, of the Search Engine Watch, has stated that link building is among the most important factors ranked by search engines. Here’s why:
Boosts Search Engine Rankings: Linking from other sites increases the chances of the search engine giving your site a higher ranking because of the credibility of the linking site. High quality links are deemed as recommendations, pointing to your content as being useful and relevant.
Increases Website Traffic: Link building not only helps you in ranking but also brings traffic from other sources. When people click links from other sites to your site, it puts your site in front of the right audience and potential buyers.
Builds Domain Authority: Links from other authoritative sites cause your site’s DA, or Domain Authority, which is a measure of how well a site will perform. Higher DA means higher probability of ranking well on the SERPs.
Enhances Brand Credibility and Awareness: Guest posting and link building through partnerships with other relevant and popular sites develop brand recognition and credibility of the business.
Improves Crawlability and Indexing: Backlinks are particularly useful in helping search engines to locate and incorporate your website’s pages into SERPs, hence the value of backlinks.
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Different Link Building Techniques
Not all links are the same and having a good plan helps in getting the right kind of back links. Here are some common link-building strategies to help you succeed:
Guest Blogging
Another good strategy of acquiring backlinks is guest blogging on credible sites within your line of business. Not only do you get exposure from contributing valuable content to other sites but also you get a link back to your site. Always make sure your guest posts can enhance the value of readers and make sure you don’t repeat what everybody else is saying.
Broken Link Building
This includes the identification of dead links on other sites and suggesting what could replace the dead link with a link to the content. This is well welcomed by many site owners as it makes them correct broken links and also improves user experience on their sites.
Skyscraper Technique
In the skyscraper technique, you look for authoritative content in your area of interest and produce a better, more extensive piece. After reposting, contact the web resources that have shared the initial piece and offer them to provide a link to the improved version.
Influencer Outreach
Another way to gain backlinks is to cooperate with industry leaders that can repost or link to your materials. They have many followers and their word can enhance your site’s reputation and attract a lot of visitors.
Directory Submissions
Another method is also included in the list of backlink building techniques, and it is web directories submission to the reputable ones. Be sure to select the directories of high authority and those that are specific to your industry. It is important to note that directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and listings that are specific to certain niches are good traffic and authority generators.
Create Shareable Content
Link building is also easy with infographics, videos, and other types of guides because they are shared widely. Other websites are more likely to link to your resources if the content is fresh, attractive, and informative from a different perspective.
What Not to Do in Link Building
While link building is beneficial, it’s important to avoid certain practices that could lead to penalties from search engines:
Buying Links: Buying links is prohibited and can cause serious penalties from Google and lower your site’s credibility.
Using Low-Quality Websites: You should avoid linking your site from such sites as this will reduce your ranking and make your site less credible.
Excessive Link Exchanges: Linking with other websites too often may seem to the search engines as manipulative behavior.
Link Building and Its Measurement
To ensure your link-building efforts are paying off, track your progress with the following metrics:
Domain Authority: If the number of DA is rising, it means your website is getting more trustworthy.
Organic Traffic: Check using Google Analytics whether there is an increase of organic traffic from the search engines to your website.
Keyword Rankings: Monitor the position of your chosen keywords to find out if link building is bringing you up the SERPs.
Backlink Builder: To monitor new backlinks, and to assess their quality, there are several tools available such as Ahrefs, Moz or SEMrush.
Conclusion
Link building is one of the most effective strategies for organic SEO since it can yield tangible results in terms of website ranking, visits and brand acknowledgment. It is therefore important that by using the right techniques and concentrating on good quality links you can improve your website and increase its chances of ranking higher on the search engines. But remember, it’s always better to adhere to ethical link building strategies because the quality of links is far more important that quantity where SEO is concerned.
Begin creating those links today, and see your website grow in terms of traffic in the organic search engine rankings!
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