Grab your pencils and paper, and get ready to learn some of the ins-and-outs of effective link building. Whether you have just started your search engine optimization journey, or you’re an SEO professional, there is always room to learn about new and successful link building information.
In this article, we will go more in depth about link building and how to administer good link building practices, but first we need to cover some of the basics.
What is Link Building?
Directly defined, link building is the process of acquiring links, also referred to as hyperlinks, from other websites to your own. Links also provide the user an opportunity to jump from page to page on the web. This practice will generate more visitors and user activity to your webpage. The rise of interest in good link building began once Google started building their algorithms around links. Link building has become more advanced, therefore making it a popular practice in 2018.
The Importance of Link Building
Having a proper link building strategy can take your optimization efforts to the next level. According to their algorithms, each search engine will look at your links to determine your ranking based on how well the link itself is built, where links for your site are distributed, and how developed your authority is. The more good links you have, the better opportunity you have to be noticed.
Good Links vs. Bad Links
Often times, new business owners or entrepreneurs will link, link, link, solely hoping to gain popularity. Try not to get too caught up in winning recognition, because bad links could cost you your search engine rank. Remember, there is a difference in good links and bad links.
- Good Links: These types of links are usually found on pages relevant to your own. They should be in the same niche as your website. For example, if your page or business is about gardening, you should try to pursue backlinks from websites promoting gardening tools, DIY gardening tutorials, etc.
- Bad Links: Whether they are organically placed or paid for, it is crucial to avoid spammy links. If you are looking to rank higher, and have a higher authority on search engines, be sure your links are being placed in non-spam, trustworthy sites.
Don’t forget, search engines have begun penalizing websites for links are that low quality or spammy. Which means, now is a good time to look into what kind of websites or pages are linking to yours before they start to affect your online appearance.
Things to Look Into
Are you afraid bad backlinks are affecting your optimization? If so, here are a few things to look into, to ensure that you are not being held back by factors out of your control.
- Check Your Website. Let’s be honest, you’ve put tons of time into building your website. Why let that go to waste by having your website ruined by a few bad links? Check your website thoroughly to determine which links may be holding you back. If you find that your website has broken links or spammy backlinks, it is time to look deeper into the issue.
- Remove Bad Links. Removing bad links can actually be quite simple. There are several tools to help you identify, remove, and fix faulty or bad links.
- Link Placement. Don’t make everything a link. If search engines get to your website, and it is filled with links every few words, search engines may mistake your website for a spam site. If you are looking to develop more links in an approachable way, consider creating a sitemap, or even writing more blog posts.
While simple, those key factors could really help to improve the way search engine spiders crawl your website.
We’ve displayed the basics, but we want to hear from you! What is the best strategy you have for good link building? What has been the most effective tool you’ve used for removing or fixing bad backlinks?
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the Tampa SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in Tampa to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
