As much as things change regarding SEO, link building is still a big part of the process. This technique definitely helps, but it’s incredibly misunderstood and often poorly implemented. This topic has been covered before, but it’s worth revisiting to find out the latest about link building and how to formulate your strategy.
Quality Versus Quantity
This should go without saying, but you want quality backlinks. It’s great if you can get quantity, but always default to quality. A few backlinks to some great, high-ranking sites will elevate your site. Dozens of backlinks to sketchy, not-so-great ranking sites will, in the best case, do nothing, and in the worst case, tank your site.
A Perfect Match
Selecting a host site for a backlink is the perfect time to be judgy. Check the potential host site’s domain authority and review their site to determine if it’s a good fit. Keep in mind that a high domain authority is great, but a site with a mid-range DA can still be a good option and provide value.
The host site should be relevant to your site. For instance, if you own a bakery, a backlink from a lifestyle blog that focuses on nutrition and well-being, or a travel site that references your establishment as a top-rated place to visit in your city, are both excellent matches.
A backlink from an exterminator or a law firm may not be so great for a bakery. These businesses are so far apart that those links will not provide the same value as the first two examples. That’s not to say you should purposefully discourage any marketing cooperation between local businesses. If you have a connection to a local company that isn’t relevant to yours, they can help your overall brand awareness by posting to social media about how much they enjoy working with you or love your products. Those connections can help your marketing efforts, but not so much in the capacity of SEO.
Create Something Worth Sharing
If you want people to link to your site, make your site worth linking to. Create high-quality content that is engaging, educational, and interesting. No one is going to link to a site that is boring and ridiculous.
The Places You’ll Go
Some people will tell you that backlinks from another site should exclusively lead to your home page or a landing page. That’s it. You should do that if it makes sense, but don’t limit yourself to only linking to one page. If you have lots of great content, then link to it. Each hosting site is different, so link to the page that makes the most sense given the host, their audience, and the content containing the link.
Maybe you have a page explaining a part of your business or a blog post that ranks really well. If it makes sense to link to those pages, then do it. Linking to relevant pages provides a good user experience, encouraging visitors to stick around, ultimately helping your site. Another perk of linking to various pages is that it helps those various pages rank. You want as many pages as possible to rank, and a diverse linking portfolio helps that happen.
Need Link Building Help?
Link building helps sites rank, but it’s part of a larger SEO strategy. Reach out if you have questions about link building or SEO in general. I specialize in SEO and have years of agency experience that I can put to work for your site to help you rank and reach your customers.
