Any digital marketing strategist knows that link building is an essential component for improving your online presence. This search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is just one way to boost your website’s trustworthiness and get Google to crawl your site more often.
But what exactly is it, and how does this marketing jargon lead to results? Here’s what you should know if you’ve ever wondered about the benefits of outreach-based link building.
What is link building?
Link building is a digital marketing strategy to get other websites to link to your own website. Some companies partner with other local businesses and trade links in a quid pro quo kind of method. Others send out a strong piece of content with a link to a trusted source and ask them to post their site. It takes a little bit of legwork, but this aspect of SEO is a great way to boost your website’s authority.
Why do I need link building?
Link building seems simple; after all, it’s just getting a your website’s link on another webpage, right? While this means more of an online audience may be able to see your website, it also works to attract Google’s attention, too.
Backlinks are actually a vital tool for Google’s crawl bots. It’s through backlinking that Google is able to rank websites in relation to other, similar websites. If you manage to get your website’s link posted on a website with a high domain rating, known as its DR, this makes your website look better in the eyes of Google.
The more strong backlinks your company utilizes, the better your website will look to Google. And when your website becomes a reputable, trusted source of information, you’re more likely to appear at the top of Google’s search engine results.
Unfortunately, the opposite idea is also true. If you backlink to shady websites that use keyword stuffing and spam, this will look even worse for your website. Be sure to do business with trusted websites that have a reputation for professionalism.
What are some benefits of link building?
The biggest benefit of link building is that you can improve your domain rating. In theory, this gets you closer to reaching the top page of Google. But there are also other aspects of link building that can benefit your business.
Link building also helps build brand awareness around your business. As you establish a high-quality brand, competitors and consumers will begin to recognize your company as a reputable source of information in your field. Paired with other SEO strategies, like blog content creation and pay per click advertising, you’ll become even easier to find online.
Again, link building comes with a little legwork, but it also means that you build a rapport with other sites. Though most websites only include one or two backlinks to your company, you never know when you might be able to reach out to that company for advice, referrals, or other business opportunities. You should never miss the chance to build relationships with other companies in your field.
It’s also a long-term investment for your company. Unlike pay-per-click advertising or other one-off forms of marketing, your link on a website will last for as long as the link is present and active on their site. Though it might seem scary to put your link in the hands of another website, these active links typically stay on another webpage for years, offering you ample benefits for visibility and SEO.
Link building is just one way to boost your company’s visibility and digital marketing strategy. For more information, don’t hesitate to reach out to a trusted digital marketing company.
