So Links, you are done creating content that is rich with keywords. You now know what people are searching for, answers to their queries, and how to understand search engines. However, having an insight into all this does not guarantee you high rankings. To beat your competitors in the race for the top spots in the search engine results page(SERP), you need to build authority links. And the way for you to establish authority is to earn links from websites that are authoritative. After that, you will only need to develop your brand and nurture an audience who will assist in amplifying your content.
Among all the search engines, Google links, as the main target of many online marketers, has been quite a secret keeper when it comes to its search algorithm changes. However, in this case, Google has already confirmed that links and quality content are two of the most essential ranking factors for search engine optimization(SEO).
In this stage, you must be sure about which website to trust. This is because most reliable sites link only to other reliable sites, while spammy sites link only to other spammy sites.
Before we move to the process of link building, we must first learn what links actually are.
What are links?
Backlinks, also known as inbound links or external links are HTML hyperlinks that lead from one site to another. They are the currency of the Internet since they run a lot like real-life status. In the real world, if you are in a foreign place and ask for the best hotel resort to stay at, you can ask one or more locals. If they point out to the same hotel resort, then you can assume that the same place they told you must be really famous and reliable. The same goes for the virtual world. Backlinks are what point people from a site to the site they want to visit when looking for it. Links can also be treated as votes from websites or blogs that give your site popularity and visibility on search engines.
What is Link Building?
Link building is the method of gaining links on other websites. Earned organic links immediately raise the status of a website and its ranking position in Google or in other search engines. Links that you created by yourself are risky and come with them the chance of penalization by the Google webspam unit.
One problem you might have is when your website content is not drawing attention from organic links or social shares. At some cases, unnatural links can help you but be reminded that it can’t help you in the long run.
E-A-T
Links still have value in most circumstances, but Google is regarding sites that have no Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness, or to make it short, E-A-T. A huge chunk of E-A-T is obtaining mentions and links on reliable websites.
Those who give importance to E-A-T are rewarded. E-A-T is growing more and more powerful, as search develops and strengthens the importance of answering for user’s intention.
Upon gaining the knowledge about E-A-T, you must already have a pointer now if you have a site that does SEO.
How to make successful links
- Build one-way backlinks
There is a process called the broken link method, and it is very effective when making one-way backlinks. The procedure includes talking to a webmaster to tell him about broken links on his website. While doing this, you suggest other websites to succeed that link. And here, of course, you name your own site. Because you are giving the webmaster a service by informing the broken links, the possibilities of a backlink back to your website are great.
- Build image links
When you’re writing blogs, you should regard applying custom images on your website. If you’re not very good at designing, no problem, you can always use tools like Canva for free. If you have a bit of cash to pay, you can always use Fiverr and pay somebody else to generate custom pictures.
Eventually, you some people will take your photos without giving links. In these cases, you can always enforce that they should link back to your site.
- Reclaim links
If your website is old, some may casually mention you and your company in shares or blogs. But when they discuss your brand, they don’t always link to your site. What can you do about this? Simple. You can always email these people to link their mentions to your website.
This might sound so simple and friendly, but it works very well most of the time.
Naturally mentioning your brand means that they already like your business, and it would make them feel privileged if you ask them a favor.
- Build internal links
Internal links are transferring link juice, and you can apply your anchor texts. If you have a stable internal linking structure, you can help visitors easily move around your website and enhance the overall user experience.
If you are running WordPress, you should do it manually, even if there are other options that can do automatically. It is recommended that the number of internal links should only be below 100.
- Know your competitors’ methods
To keep up with the competition, you can spy on your competitors. By doing this, you can study their earning tactics and marketing approaches which you might haven’t noticed.
Tools like SpyFu, Monitor Backlinks, and many others are great options you can use for this step.
Conclusion
Even if link building is risky and difficult, it’s something that you really need for your site’s success.
Even if buying links might sound helpful, the best option for you is the step-by-step method because it’s something you can benefit from in the present and future of your business.
