The place of links in website ranking is well established. Links are a key ranking factor and Google have, over the years, worked hard to deal with its abuse by poor quality websites who only ramp links for ranking gains and reduce the quality of its search. Even if Google has recently said links are no longer as weighty as they were, links are still a key factor to take very seriously. Links impact heavily on the authority of your domain; but they have to be quality links to make valuable impact on your business.

So the big question is “how does Google want you to build links? That is the focus of this article and we will deal it in as much detail as possible.

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In this post, we will be covering:

• Link building basics
• The importance of links
• Link building tactics – how to build quality links

Link Building Basics

We will begin with an understanding of link building. So let’s attempt to answer the question: what is link building.

What is Link Building?

Link building essentially means acquiring inbound links (backlinks) to a website. Keep in mind that these links will have to come from other websites. The goal is basically to increase the popularity of the website, build its reputation and authority and, of course, to get the website to rank higher in the search engines.

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The Importance of Links

Primarily, most search engine optimization professionals as well as website owners engage in link building to gain better ranking in the search engine results pages and to grow their website traffic. But there are more to link building that should make it a top priority for every website owner. We will do a brief summary of the key reasons you need to build links.

Link Building Will Increase Your Website Ranking

One of the key reasons link building is such an important factor is its critical role and importance in search ranking is because it is an important search engine ranking factor with Google. Whatever Google give even the slightest seriousness, any serious website manager should give it as much weight as possible. This point cannot be overemphasized, as stated above, Google is reducing the importance of links as a ranking factor but links are still important for ranking in Google search engine result pages.

Links Help Grow Website Popularity

The more links you have on other websites, the more you are likely to get clicks to your own website. Apart from the popularity that comes with increased search engine placement, having more links on other websites pull traffic to the linked website. This is especially relevant and impactful when the link is tied to an anchor text which further gives the reader the opportunity to learn more or better understand the subject matter.

Links Help Content Indexing

Google has acknowledged that one way it discovers web pages is through links to it. Building links can therefore help Google index your content. The more content Google discovers and indexes, the better your website will rank in the search engine. This applies to other search engines.

Links Increase Brand Popularity, Reputation and Website Traffic

The more links you get, the more likely people will get to read your content and that increases the popularity of your brand. When you become known for quality content, your reputation also increases favorably. Links help people to locate you from other websites. That increases your website traffic, builds your domain authority and clearly tells search engines that you have a quality website that other people consider valuable and worthy of linking to. 

Links Increase Domain Authority and Trust

It should be noted that domain authority and Trust flow are not Google metrics. Domain authority is a metric developed by MOZ to predict how well a website is likely to rank in the search engines. Because it basically uses most of the indices used in Google’s assessment, you will find some correlation between DA and website ranking. However, a high domain authority does not guarantee high ranking because DA can be increased with spammy links and this does not work with Google anymore.

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How to Build Quality Backlinks

A lot has changed with the way Google views and assesses links. Not all links matter and not all links add value to a website. In fact, Google has said that a page could be of high quality and still not be so relevant for the web. Here is our guide on the best ways to build quality links.

In summary, build links naturally. Avoid aggressive tactics, avoid desperation to get links with hopes that it will help your ranking. While we do not intend to exhaust the best and acceptable link building tactics in this post, here are our best recommendations:

Build Links With High Quality Content

The best links you will get are those that add value to internet users. When a link provides value and enriches a content because it is related, Google do love such links and they do have strong impact on website ranking. Quality content will be those that provide the answers searchers seek and may provide additional links to verify researches and quotations. Quality content turns out to be a reference point for a particular subject matter. When you write authoritative content and build links around them, you are sure to be rewarded by Google with better ranking.

Create Links With Anchor Texts

Use the right anchor texts to create links. The texts should be relevant within the context of the discussion to attract clicks. Anchor texts do not necessarily be built around keywords. They should be used naturally and contextually and should add value to your content. Remember that you are writing for humans and not robots.

Please note that keyword-rich anchor texts are no longer a good practice and can be seen as some king of over-optimization of an attempt to manipulate the search engines. They often come with penalties including a massive loss in ranking.

Take Advantage of Your Own Internal Links

Do not ignore internal links. People click and read your linked content will further have access to more links and content on your website through your internal links. An effective use of internal linking could further enrich your content, make it more valuable and boost your website ranking.

The good news is that Google says internal linking is a high-impact ranking factor. However, it should not be overused simply because it can support your desire for better ranking. Over use of internal linking can be viewed as an attempt to manipulate Google search and that will certainly backfire.

Read more: Link Building Strategies That Boost Search Engine Ranking

Link Building – The Don’ts

A link to your website is like thumbs up and Google actually recognizes that. But the reality is that not all links count positively for your website. For example, you make a comment on a discussion forum and use the opportunity to insert a link. In some cases, the link you have added may not even be relevant to the discussion, Can that represent a thumbs up? The answer in an emphatic No! So while link building can be beneficial, some links annoy Google and works against your goals. We will take a look at some of them – the most common.
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1. Link Bait

Link bait should naturally be good but it is disliked when its intension is not to add value to users who have access to the resource but just aimed at building links. Link bait is a deliberate link building program and not encouraged.

2. Reciprocal Link Building

This is a sort of you link to me and I link back in return. This is a reciprocal link building strategy. It encourages influencers to link to website and in return, they also provide a link back.

Although it is not a good way to build links, it can sometimes be rewarding. For example, you can interview a popular industry player and publish the interview on your website. The influencer in return links back to the interview to popularize it. When the goal is to get links, it becomes a bad SEO strategy.

3. Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is an effective way to build links but can be counterproductive on low quality websites. While it is not safe on low quality websites and creating links in author bio could turn out to a cheap link building strategy, guest blogging is still worthy of exploring.

4. Directory Submissions

Directory submission had been one of the easiest ways to get a backlink. Sometimes, the link is acquired instantly. Today, directory submission is no longer an acceptable link building strategy and will only hurt your SEO efforts.ng strategy.

5. Blog Commenting

This is quite similar to directory submission and are still adopted by some desperate SEOs looking for links. They simply comment on a blog and use that opportunity to include a link in their comments. It is simply a bad SEO practice that hurts.

6. Contributing In Niche Forums

Although forum links can generate some substantial traffic, they are no longer considered to be quality links and we do not recommend building links with forums.

7. Link Purchases

Some websites simply buy space for link placement. They can acquire links on thousands of websites with hopes of improving their link profile. But it actually hurts.

Other Key Considerations For Better Search Engine Ranking

Good ranking in the search engines does not only depend on how well you build quality links. There are other search engine ranking factors which can help you build the authority of your website and make a good impression in search ranking. Because Google controls over 90 percent of search traffic, most discussions on search ranking are centered on Google’s recommendations and our recommendations here will also focus what Google loves and have recommended in its Guidelines. So, let’s get stated.

On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO refers the basic SEO activities involving the things you do to optimize your page. These involve such critical elements including page title, page description, page speed, user experience and mobile friendliness, URL structure, keyword optimization, content quality, structured data (schema markup), internal and external links, image optimization amongst others. Now let’s briefly explain each of these items.

Page Title

The page title is probably the most important element of SEO. It defines the primary focus of the page and tells the search engines, what the page is primarily about. It is also the very first line that users see in search results and therefore, it is important and strongly influence clickthrough rates. Titles need to be descriptive enough and accommodate keyword variations. Read more on this in this post: 30 Most Important Google Ranking Factors For Beginners

While there is no specific limit to the length of a page title, it is generally recommended to keep it within 55-60 characters. This is not a rule, however, long titles often get truncated in the search engines and that is something that can affect clickthrough rates.

Meta Description

Th meta description tag is  small snippet that provides a description of your page or post. It is also visible in search and can affect clickthrough rate. t is recommended to keep this tag around 150 characters. Let it also be clear that page description should be written in natural language and not stuffed with keywords.

You may want to learn more on writing a god meta description in this post: SEO Guide to Write Optimized Meta description

Page Speed

Page speed is a very important on-page SEO factor. It is a critical component of SEO which affects user experience and it is also a Google ranking factor. Of course, a slow website hurt users and usually will have a very high ounce rate. This indicates to Google that the website is either of low quality or does not really provide the answers that users seek. That means it can hurt the quality of the Google search and therefore does not deserve to be ranked top in the search engines. You can improve page speed by compressing the page size, optimizing CSS and JS, optimizing images and taking other measures.

Fortunately, page speed is something you an improve. Here is a complete guide on how you can boost your website speed: Basic Tips and Tricks That Can Boost The Speed of Your Website

User Experience and Mobile Friendliness

User experience is a Google ranking factor and therefore should be taken very seriously. It is intrinsically ties to mobile friendliness and while the title of this sub-section may suggest they are two different components of on-page SEO, they are actually tied together. Google want website users to be able to view pages on all devices. Users should not have difficulty with that nor do they need to be adjusting their screen to view parts of a page.

It is very important to note that Google is currently emphasizing user satisfaction. Therefore, pages that do not seem to provide user satisfaction or show strong signs of user dissatisfaction such as high bounce rates may not rank top in search engines. The fact is that Google itself is also very concerned about the quality of its search engines and ranking poor quality websites at the top of its search results would essentially mean reducing its search quality.

To learn more on user experience, read the article: How to Optimize Your Website to Boost User Experience

URL Structure

Google love clean, readable, search engine friendly URLs. Fortunately, most content management systems have an inbuilt functionality to turn on search engine friendly URLs. You can also improve your website URL structure with the htaccess file. Read more about URL structing in this article: Useful URL Structuring Tips That Will Help Higher Ranking

Keyword Optimization

Keyword optimization had been a long practice that supports website ranking. However, that i no longer the case. Let it be understood that while keywords in content can help search engines understand the context of your page, help Google to understand where the page should be ranked and the relevant keywords to which the page should be associated, the use of keyword itself is not a ranking factor anymore. To learn more on how keyword impact on EO has changed, read this article on Popular SEO Tactics That Have Become Obsolete

Content Quality

Content quality is an important element of SEO. As had been emphasized throughout this article, Google is interested in quality content and will certainly reward quality with better ranking. Google has its quality guidelines. However, let it be emphasized here that Google assesses quality based on how much users are satisfied with the content. That would mean that the content provide answers to the questions users seek answers to.

Therefore, you will have to deal with the subject matter in as much detail as possible.  One mistake people make in respect of content quality i to think that quality content is related t content length. It is not actually not about content length. It is about how much the subject matter is treated to give the user all the information that answers the questions the user seek. That will signal expertise, experience, authoritativeness (E-E-A-T), and can earn the trust of users as a credible source of quality information on the subject matter.

You can read more on this subject in the article: How Google Assesses Website Quality

Off-Page Optimization

This represent optimization techniques that are generally not within the control of the website designer or developer and are not implemented on the website. This would include link building, social media marketing, influencer marketing, brand mentions and customer reviews.

Link Building

This is the subject matter of this post and will need no further explanation.

Social Media Marketing

Promotions on social media are all still a component of link building. However, they are usually not intended as a link building strategy. Social media posts however have capacity to bring your brands to a lot of new customers, popularize your brand and increase its value to customers.

Influencer Marketing

Some businesses use celebrities for promotions and this can greatly bring the brand to the knowledge of millions of people. It also convey some trust in the minds of those who feel that for the brand to be promoted by a celebrity, it must have a credible reputation.

Brand Mentions

Google picks every mention of your brand and it adds up in the assessment of your brand popularity. Of course, the more popular your brand becomes, the more value it is believed to be offering.

Reviews

Reviews can indicate a brand’s relevance and how well it is serving the interest of users. There are however several considerations to make of reviews. How often the revies come, how much satisfaction with the brand that the reviewers express and so on. When reviews keep coming, it suggest to Google about your website popularity, and the enthusiasm of users to commend or express the experiences. Constantly having new reviews will actually indicate an active website.

You can read about our full coverage of on-page SEO in this article: 27 On-Page SEO Checklist for Top Search Engine Performance

Conclusions

Links are good but before you choose a particular link building strategy, the most important thing is to find out how Google looks at it. In the business of growing traffic organically and search engine ranking, always go with what Google says and not just with what works today. Finally, build links naturally and the best way to do this is to produce high grade content that people find worthy of linking to.