Why your brand shouldn't settle for less when it comes to Link Building SEO?
Let's begin with how link-building is viewed today by search engine rulers.
Some people see link building as the SEO's "Fools' gold."
Meanwhile, movie fans would say it's a poisoned chalice.
For the fairy tale geeks, it's a tainted apple from a scheming witch.
If it were an animal, we'd call it a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Whoever aced the metaphorization, link building was once upon a time,
a gift that kept on giving.
After a few years, it evolved into a Trojan horse that brought all the digital toxicity into many domains.
Either way, the process requires you to maintain a healthy number of backlinks to stay ahead of the competition. This is the case even if "quality" isn't in a black hat firm's vocabulary.
As a result, the past decade has generated a bulk of porn media linking to parenting sites, pet shops that suddenly have something to say about casinos, and food blogs that feature the best free VPN services.
Hilarious, right?
Remember how search engines gave us ridiculous results for our school research in the early 2000s? Those were the days, thanks to these spammers.
We've gone nostalgic there for a second. Let's save it for our next topic.
Fortunately, the giant search engines took the initiative and policed the realm they gave birth to. Spoiled black hatters must be severely punished, and the day finally came.
To kill off the irrelevant, low-quality referral links and garbage content strongly competing with the good ones, Google implemented a major tweak in its algorithm, favoring the organic approach to growing a website.
When the axe slashed through in the form of Google updates, everyone got caught with their pants down.
Thus, spam link building and other black hat processes have diminished, and hopefully, contractors had their pockets filled by the time their craft became toxin.
All sites that flooded their digital assets with low-quality links and crass content saw how their sales and traffic went downhill overnight.
In a more devastating story, the bad investment of black hat SEO led to the "fall from grace" of some brands that solely relied on shortcuts.
Still, many people are engaging in link-building techniques.
But why is it still worth it?
Link Building Still Gives Your Content A Push
In today's digital age, the internet is inundated with countless websites, all vying for visibility and a larger share of the audience.
To navigate this competitive landscape, businesses must adopt effective strategies to enhance their online presence. Among the crucial techniques in the digital marketer's toolkit is link building.
Despite the bad rep, link-building remains a crucial process.
It still gives your content the right amount of push to be recognized. Like in social media algorithms, content with enough engagement wins more clout and a special spot in the trending section, even if it's mediocre.
Simply put, Google and other intelligent machines have not yet achieved the perfect formula for a more sophisticated scoring system. It'll be close, but we bet it'll never be as perfect as many have expected them to be.
Regardless, the search engine tech has already leaped millions of steps from where it was before.
This shortage is a small loophole that justifies the expense of stimulating your content's ranking with solicited attention.
Thus, more clients will come looking for link building services to acquire a decent number of live link referrals. But there will be great caution this time.
As the digital world becomes more refined, the quality, not the quantity, of these links will matter. As long as the digital firm focuses on the high-quality acquisition of these links, your brand is safe from the current penalties.
Quality Over Quantity: The Paradigm Shift
The perception of link building has evolved significantly over the years. While in the past, the focus was primarily on the number of backlinks to a site, Google's algorithms have since shifted towards prioritizing the quality of these links.
In this context, quality refers to links from reputable and authoritative sources relevant to your website's content. High-quality backlinks demonstrate to search engines that your site is a credible and valuable resource, leading to improved SERP (Search Engine Results Pages) rankings and greater organic traffic.
Our team at DigiSenpai sees and plays it differently. For some time, we have been vocal about our belief in a content-focused SEO campaign:
For as long as you do quality content, you will be fine.
The next section will explain why.
Crafting Compelling Content
Arguably the most effective way to acquire high-quality backlinks is by creating compelling content.
High-quality, relevant, and unique content naturally attracts backlinks, as other sites will want to link to your content to enrich their own.
The focus should be on providing value to your audience, answering their questions, solving their problems, and offering unique insights.
This method of earning backlinks ensures they are relevant and high-quality, as they are organically obtained from sites that find your content valuable.
Gain backlinks without the intent to do so. That's the path Google wants you to take. And there's no better way to do it than creating top-notch, engaging, and value-adding content.
Fostering Meaningful Relationships
Another fundamental strategy for high-quality link building is fostering meaningful relationships within your industry.
Building relationships with influencers, industry experts, bloggers, and other businesses opens opportunities for backlinking. This approach often involves outreach—connecting with these individuals or businesses and presenting them with your high-quality content, which may be of interest to their audience.
The resulting backlinks are valuable because they come from relevant and authoritative sources.
Guest Blogging: A Double-Edged Sword
Guest blogging is another efficient way to generate high-quality backlinks. This involves writing articles for other websites or blogs in your industry, which allows you to include a link back to your site.
However, this tactic should be used responsibly. While it's an opportunity to obtain backlinks, the primary goal should be providing value to the readers of the host blog.
Search engines have grown wary of guest blogging solely for link-building purposes, and the misuse of this strategy could lead to penalties.
DigiSenpai engages in guest blogging with full awareness of what will happen if we fail to follow some important steps. One of which is providing value-adding content that serves both the prospects' websites and ours.
The difference between spam guest blogging and a legitimate one may be difficult to see as they share the same outreach process. However, our team at DigiSenpai puts more effort into the quality of our connection and the content we generate.
If you'd like to know more about how we do things differently, contact us, and one of our amazing project managers will be happy to explain the process to you.
The Role of Social Media
While social media links are typically "nofollow" and don't contribute directly to your site's SEO, they still play an indirect role in link building.
Sharing your content on social media platforms exposes it to a wider audience. This increased visibility improves the chances that others will realize the value of your publication and link to it from their websites, leading to high-quality organic backlinks.
Quick FAQs About Link Building
We created this section to benefit those looking for a more straightforward answer about SEO and link-building.
Is link building still relevant?
Yes, but it is importnant to note that the nature of link building has evolved over the years, shifting from quantity-focused to quality-focused.
Is link building considered a push every business needs to increase their digital presence?
Yes, but it isn't the only one. While link building can be a valuable tool for increasing a brand's digital presence, it isn't a one-size-fits-all solution. Its effectiveness can vary depending on the business and industry, and it should be part of a broader, holistic approach to SEO and digital marketing.
Can an SEO campaign be complete and efficient without link building?
Yes, an SEO campaign can be complete and efficient without explicitly focusing on link building, as links naturally come if you publish high-quality content. But due to the dense competition, it's easy for the content to get drowned. Thus, link-building is an optional tool to get your first link referrals to help establish authority and trust.
Does link building bring quicker results?
Yes. The effectiveness and speed of results from link building can greatly depend on many factors, such as the quality of the links, the competitiveness of the keywords, and the existing authority of your website. Despite the potential to bring instant results, it should not be seen as a long-term strategy and not a quick fix.
High-Quality Link Building as a Cornerstone Strategy
High-quality link building is not a quick fix but a strategic, long-term investment. We remind our clients that they must continue these campaigns despite the spikes in their presence. While we earn money out of it, there's genuine science to the computation of SEO juice from link building that justifies our recommendation.
Yup, it's good business for both sides.
The process involves much more than just acquiring as many links as possible. It's about establishing your brand as a credible and authoritative source of information. It's about creating content that provides value to your audience and naturally attracts high-quality backlinks.
As we progress into 2023 and beyond, it's clear that high-quality link building will continue to play a vital role in SEO strategies. Brands that understand this and refuse to settle for less will be rewarded with improved SERP rankings, increased organic traffic, enhanced brand visibility, and a robust online presence.
As the digital landscape evolves, the importance of high-quality link building will only increase, solidifying its position as a cornerstone strategy for brands aiming to thrive in the digital space.