If you’re reading this blog, you probably already know that linkbuilding is a crucial element of any SEO strategy. SEO is always changing, but linkbuilding is imperative to compete online and we don’t anticipate that will change any time soon.

But it can sometimes be unclear as to why linkbuilding is important and what types of links are important for SEO. That’s right – not all links will help SEO efforts, so it’s worth taking the time to learn about different types of links and the role that they play in linkbuilding, before you spend the time trying to secure one on another website.

Linkbuilding is as time-consuming as it is important. But, you can save time and effort by learning how it works. We’ve outlined the most important things to know about linkbuilding below to help get you started.

 

What are the different types of links?

When it comes to linkbuilding, a link isn’t simply a URL hosted on another website. There are different types of links and it’s important that you know the difference between them in order to get the results that you’re looking for.

A follow link is the gold star when it comes to linkbuilding. They are the links that count towards your PageRank, your SEO points and your Search Engine ranking. The more reputable the website that links to your follow link (normally websites with a high Domain Authority) the better your page will rank.

Then we have no follow links, which don’t provide any of the benefits of a follow link (besides still potentially bringing people to your website). No follow links will not count towards your PageRank, your SEO points or your Search Engine ranking. A no follow link is created with the no follow link HTML tag and was created in order to stop SEO spammers. The best way to identify a no follow link is to either check the source code or use MozBar, which will highlight follow and no follow links for you.

 

Why should you build links?

If anyone asks you why you are spending time linkbuilding, feel free to use our handy list below to explain why it’s worthwhile:

  • Boost your Keyword Rankings
    • Lots of good quality links mean higher keyword rankings, which is a major boost for your overall SEO efforts.
  • Increased traffic
    • This one’s easy – the more links you have out there leading back to your website, the more traffic you should get.
  • More leads
    • A good linkbuilding strategy will give you higher levels of qualified leads. Just ask Access Self Storage.
  • Increased revenue
    • Following on nicely from the above, the more qualified leads you have, the more revenue you can make in the long term.
  • Company growth
    • Ultimately, any and all digital marketing efforts have the long-term aim of aiding company growth. Linkbuilding is an important part of any SEO strategy and therefore, when done correctly, should achieve all of the above, which aids company growth.

 

How to build a link

Now that you’re sold on the idea of linkbuilding, it’s only right to give guidance on how to get it done. There are a few ways you can do it and all require a mixture of intuition, research and a bit of imagination.

  • Leverage personal or professional relationships
    • Do you know someone who runs a website with a high DA? Are you part of a trading body that has a website with a high DA? Start thinking about your personal and professional network and see where you can get a follow link placed with someone. People are more likely to offer follow links to people they know.
  • Invest in the right tools
    • As mentioned before, Moz is a great tool to invest in if you’re taking your linkbuilding and SEO seriously. Its Link Explorer tool helps you conduct competitor analysis and link reclamation (locating and fixing broken links). These are tough jobs to do manually, if not impossible, so invest in tools that will help you.
  • Use your professional expertise to get editorial placement
    • If you’ve been doing your job for long enough, you’re likely to have some pearls of wisdom to share with websites and magazines that specialise in your field. Use that knowledge and share it with your peers.
  • Great content
    • If you’re hosting great content, there’s every chance that another website will want to link back to your page. So keep posting worthwhile content that is SEO ready for other people to find and link to.

 

Linkbuilding can be a lucrative element of your SEO strategy. When done right, it can produce significant results. The more reputable the website that links to your follow link (normally websites with a high Domain Authority) the better your page will rank. You can follow the ranks with a proper rank tracking tool like Linkio which will help you in your link building activities by giving you the right anchor text usage and analytics over your competitors.

If you’re looking for a B2B SEO Agency London to help you get those all-important links, then get in touch with our Director, Luke, to discuss your brief.