Not Living for Link Building?
If link building is at the bottom of your to-do list, you’re not alone. This tedious, never-ending task has consistently been rated as a least favorite task for business owners and marketers alike.
So, if it’s such a pain in the seat of your chair, do you really have to do it? Is there a way to make the process of link building easier?
What is Link Building?
Link building is the process of getting other websites to list links back to your own, and one of the ways for Google to know whether your content is relevant, valuable or authoritative.
The links can come by way of web content like blogs or other web page copy, and they help drive organic, relevant traffic to your site. They also help search engines identify the connections between your website and the ones that link to it, which is how they determine how your page relates to search queries.
This is where the quality of your links come into play.
How Do You Build Quality Links?
Honestly, the ideal way to acquire links to your website is the organic route. Collecting links without asking for them is every SEOers dream come true, and it doesn’t happen easily.
Organic link building happens when your website is worthy, meaning you’ve got something deserving a direct reference. This nougat of value could be stellar content that’s helpful and informative, an outstanding product that consumers are eager to brag about, or an aspect of your service that won’t be found elsewhere.
Any and all of these things tend to take time, so don’t be disappointed when the web doesn’t recognize your awesomeness right off the bat. While you wait, there are some solid ways to pave the way for linkability.
Build Relationships
You may be tired of hearing it but, once again… networking. Make connections with relevant brands or websites in your industry. When you do a little extra outreach, you’ll find other businesses who are happy to swap content and trade links. You may even build long term relationships that do more for your brand over time.
Build Your Brand
When you show the world (and the web) that you know what you’re doing, the links will follow. Proving yourself as an expert in your industry might start with creating informative and truly helpful blogs, and could lead into other elements like video tutorials or helpful resources.
Establishing yourself as an authority in your field will help you gain the respect, links and traffic that will take your SEO to the next level.
Build More Content
The real key to link building or link earning is having something to link to. Merely existing on the internet won’t do the trick.
Include pages on your website that function as valuable resources and perfect places for others to link to. Blogs, graphics, tools and research studies are your best friends here, so don’t be afraid to create and feature as many as you can.
A Link on a Long Chain
Like most other SEO or digital marketing tactics, link building will only take you so far on its own. In order to really have the process do its thing to the fullest extent, you’ve got to pair link building with other SEO basics like on-page SEO, great content and a user experience that brings it all together.
Helping your brand achieve premium online visibility is a never ending process that requires constant thought, effort and support. Like many other challenges and processes, it gets a little easier as you chip away at it one day at a time.