Link building represents a mix of SEO practices used to favor and acquire links for a specific website that are not naturally occurring and are aimed at improving search engine rankings. Link building has changed significantly over the years.
In the early stages, it was enough to provide a website with an increasing number of links, and the site’s ranking would quickly soar.
However, Google’s algorithm has evolved to the point where today it is difficult, if not impossible, for a website to achieve significant positions in the SERP (Search Engine Result Page) based solely on the number of incoming links. This is because Google now considers many factors, some of which are known, while others are not. The key word in this regard is: quality. Google tries to understand whether a website’s external links come from reliable sources and whether they were artificially constructed. We know well that Google’s goal is to ensure that search results always meet users’ expectations. Therefore, the issue of link building has become very delicate. If the world’s most used search engine realizes that a website has artificially acquired links, it could proceed to penalize it.
Thus, doing link building incorrectly could really be counterproductive because it would not only fail to improve the website’s ranking but could even cause it to lose important positions in the SERP for certain keywords. Therefore, Google always tries to reward websites that, through consistent and correct work over time, have managed to earn spontaneous and quality links from reliable and credible sources.
How Links are Evaluated by Google
After this introduction, let’s now look at some of the factors that Google evaluates regarding link building. Google tends to analyze the frequency with which a site obtains links. If the site in question receives links always at the same frequency (for example, same day and same time), the search engine becomes suspicious and understands that something is wrong. Another important aspect to consider is the site from which the link originates. A not-so-correct practice involves sites used solely for the purpose of creating links to other sites. These are undoubtedly low-quality sites, and Google certainly cannot turn a blind eye to such a situation. Be careful also with the destination page of the link. A link always directed to the same page of a website is considered suspicious, especially if it is a page other than the homepage. The discussion related to anchor text (link text) should not be underestimated either. The text of the link is an important factor because it is often used to indicate keywords. The problem is that if this tool is abused and all incoming links are constructed with the same anchor text, Google could penalize the website in question. All of this is often identified with the concept of spam links.
The importance of links on the web
A link is an important element of the web. Hypertext, an absolutely central concept of the Internet, was created to allow connections between various resources, and thus, these tools have always been given a certain importance, as have search engines, particularly Google. The problem arises when these links, as we have seen, are not distributed naturally but with the aim of deceiving search engines. The best thing to do for those who intend to promote a link-building strategy is to create different types of links or, even better, rely on specialized link builders. This means opting for a mix of all the factors previously considered. In short, it becomes essential not to always use the same anchor text but also to vary the frequency and the page to which the link is directed.
Link Building to Create Value!
Link building becomes important if it creates value. The value is determined not only by the number of links but also by the authority of the sources and, of course, by the content offered by the site receiving the link. A link is useful if it actually adds information or, in any case, if it allows for a deeper understanding of a particular topic.
Different Ways to Do Link Building
There are many ways to do link building correctly. One of these is undoubtedly article marketing. On the Internet, there are sites that offer the opportunity to use space not only to publish content but also to insert a link to the site the user is interested in. These are free services, but they do not all work the same way. Some websites are more stringent, meaning they conduct strict checks on the content written by a user and only publish the article if it is considered correct from various perspectives. Conversely, there are also websites that do not pay much attention to these aspects and publish everything that is submitted to them. It should be noted that these sites do not host just any type of content, but generally, it is possible to write guides or create articles that resemble a product sheet, with the aim of providing information about a product or service offered by a company. The fact that these sites allow the insertion of links should not encourage users to abuse these tools. It is always better to insert only one link per article, trying to choose a different anchor text from those that may have been used previously.
Another tool that allows for proper link building is press releases. Obviously, we are not talking about the traditional paper press release, but a press release written and distributed for the web. It should report something about a company or a brand. It could be news or an event. The important thing is that it is something that might interest the reader. It is an informational tool, and on the Internet, there are many sites that offer the opportunity to write press releases with links to the site mentioned in the release itself.
You can also do link building with a simple comment. On the Internet, there are many blogs and forums that cover a wide range of topics. Most of these participation and discussion tools offer the opportunity to insert links. Even in this case, attention must be paid to how link building is done. The worst thing you can do is respond to a comment directly with the link. This would risk not only incurring a penalty from Google but also being removed from the forum. Therefore, if you want to use this tool, you need to add interesting and quality comments. The link should be included only if it is in line with the topic being discussed in that blog or forum and if it can represent a real deepening of the subject. If these few but simple rules are followed, even comments in communities can be an important link-building tool and, consequently, a positive factor in terms of search engine ranking.
Nowadays, we often hear about guest posts. These are articles published through a blog or web portal but written by the person in charge of the website to be ranked. Therefore, in the guest post hosted on a blog, for example, it is possible to delve into topics that are connected to the site hosting the article, and it is possible to link to the web pages you want to rank.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning directories, which can be defined as ‘sites of sites.’ This might seem like an ingenuous or incorrect definition, but in reality, directories are sites that list websites belonging to specific categories. Obtaining a link from a directory can still be a good way to do link building, provided that there is no link exchange between the directory and the site you want to rank.
Obviously, finding websites willing to insert links to other sites is not easy at all. It is clear that doing link building correctly and effectively requires a significant expenditure of resources. It is necessary to establish a dialogue with those who manage websites, seeking a ‘give and take’ that adds value to both sites and does not involve unfair or deceptive practices. This is precisely why this task is often delegated to specialized professionals like link builders, whose job is to establish loyal relationships that often turn into friendships with each individual editor or webmaster. The link builder is a valuable collaborator for both webmasters who already have some understanding of the SEO world and want to increase the authority of their sites on the web, and even more so for web agencies that need a large number of web spaces to meet all their clients’ requests. Relying on a freelance link builder with a good reputation on the web who also works with passion and dedication facilitates the process of acquiring links. In the end, acquiring new links will allow anyone with a website, whether it is a blog opened out of passion or a company site to sell their products, to reach the main objective: monetizing.