Links play a vital role in determining the ranking of websites on search engines such as Google. They are often referred to as the "currency" of the internet and are crucial for establishing a website's authority. The number and quality of links that a website has can directly impact its search engine ranking.
Search engines use links to determine how trustworthy and credible a website is. When a website has many high-quality links from reputable sources, it is considered more authoritative and relevant. This, in turn, can lead to a higher ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Wikipedia is a prime example of a top-ranked website on Google and other search engines. This is largely due to the numerous links from various websites and blogs that point to Wikipedia's content. As a result, Wikipedia pages often appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for any queries.
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| A chart by Ahref shows Wikipedia backlinks and referring sites |
Wikipedia has a vast amount and in-depth content on a wide range of topics, making it an attractive destination for those seeking information. Additionally, many websites and blogs link to Wikipedia as a source of reliable information, which further boosts Wikipedia's authority and ranking.
In this article, I will guide you through the process of link building. You will learn what link building entails, the various types of links, how to effectively build links, the best strategies to employ, and the available tools to create high-quality and effective links that improve your website's ranking.
Building links effectively requires a combination of strategies, such as guest posting, broken link building, and outreach. You will learn how to use these strategies to create high-quality links that improve your website's ranking. It
Finally, you will be introduced to various link-building tools that can help automate and streamline your link-building efforts, making the process more efficient and effective.
With that said, let's get started.
What is link building?
Simply put, link-building is the process of earning hyperlinks from other websites to your website or from other pages of your website in others to gain a high rank on Google search pages. It is also concerned with the art of fixing broken links and optimizing others for a good SEO
Links serve as a "vote of confidence" that indicates to search engines the significance and trustworthiness of your website. The greater the number of high-quality links a website has, the more authoritative it is perceived to be. There are two major ways of building links. (1) Internal link and (2). External link building.
Two Forms of links building
1 Internal link building
This refers to the practice of linking different pages of your website to one another within a page's content. This traditional method of building links can help optimize your website's on-page SEO and assist search engines in crawling and indexing all the pages on your site.
.png "internal link buiding") |
| This a screenshot from one Wikipedia page of how to properly build an internal link |
By linking to other pages on your website, you create a hierarchical structure that can help visitors navigate your site and locate the information they seek more easily. Additionally, internal links help distribute page authority and ranking power throughout your website, potentially improving the ranking of all pages on your site.
To effectively link your blog posts to other pages on your website, it is essential to ensure that the pages you link to are relevant and related to the content of the post. By linking to related pages, you provide visitors with additional information and resources on the topic they are interested in, thereby improving the user experience and potentially increasing engagement and time spent on your site.
Overall, internal link building is a crucial aspect of SEO and website optimization, and it can help improve your website's search engine ranking, user experience, and engagement metrics.
Building broken link
Broken link-building is an effective internal link-building strategy that can greatly improve your website's on-page SEO and overall performance. When a link on your website no longer works, it can negatively impact user experience and lead to a higher bounce rate. Additionally, search engine crawlers may also consider broken links as a negative factor when evaluating your website's ranking.
To avoid this problem, it is important to regularly conduct a broken link audit on your website and repair any links that are no longer functioning. This process is known as broken link-building.
To get started with broken link-building, you can use various tools that can help you identify broken links on your site. Once you have a list of broken links, you can either remove them or replace them with working links. You can also reach out to other website owners and inform them of broken links on their site, offering to provide a relevant replacement link from your website.
By regularly conducting broken link-building on your website, you can improve user experience, reduce bounce rates, and enhance your website's SEO performance.
2 External link building
This refers to the process of acquiring links to your website from external sources. This practice is crucial for building domain authority and improving your website's search engine ranking. When reputable websites link back to your site, it signals to search engines that your content is valuable, informative, and relevant to the topic at hand.
When your website has numerous links from reputable sources, it is considered more authoritative, which can lead to higher search engine rankings, increased traffic, and improved brand visibility.
While external links may win you more authority, internal link-building also plays a vital in terms of on-page SEO. If linked correctly, it can help Google to know about pages of your website which can lead to more indexing of many pages on your site.
How to get backlinks from other websites
Truth must be told, earning high-quality external links is not an easy task, as it requires creating compelling, informative, and shareable content that other websites will want to link to. Below are some recommendations you can use to get links from other websites
Create a high-quality content
Creating high-quality content is important for capturing the attention of users and attracting links from other sources. When users find your content informative and engaging, they are more likely to share it on social media or link to it from their website, which can boost your website's authority and search engine ranking.
Wikipedia is a prime example of a website that has established itself as a trusted source of information. Many people choose to link to Wikipedia articles because the platform's content is compelling and of high quality. Each article on Wikipedia is carefully researched, written, and edited by a global community of contributors.
This process helps to ensure that the articles are accurate, comprehensive, and trustworthy, which is why Wikipedia has become a go-to source of information for many people.
When creating content for your website, it is essential to focus on providing value to your audience. This means creating content that is informative, engaging, and useful, and that addresses the needs and interests of your target audience
Writing guest posts for a reputable website
Another way to get backlinks from other websites is through "guest blogging".
Guest blogging is a marketing strategy that involves creating and publishing one or more articles on websites other than your own.
While guest blogging is a tactic that allows you to reach new audiences and establish yourself as an authority in your industry, it also allows you to link back to your website.
To start guest blogging, look for platforms that welcome guest writers and start writing. Niches that are related to yours are recommended.
For example, if your website is about marketing you could link up with 'Hubspot' as the company is wholly related to inbound marking. Other platforms welcome multiple niches. Platforms like Quora, Linked In, and Medium are such.
It is important to keep in mind that being a guest blogger does not necessarily mean that you must create a completely new article every time. Instead, you can repurpose a topic that you have already covered on your website. However, it is crucial to ensure that you do not plagiarize any of your previous work.
When guest blogging, it is important to always include a link that directs readers back to your website. Doing so not only provides a valuable resource for readers but also helps to establish your website as a reputable source of information within your industry at the same time rank well in Google searches.
Although guest blogging can be a useful strategy for link building, it is important to note that Google has deprecated much of its value. This is because some individuals intentionally paste links on every page they visit, without providing compelling or informative content that can address users' needs and concerns. As a result, Google now places a greater emphasis on high-quality content and the natural, organic acquisition of backlinks. Learn how to Avoid Google's Spam Book: A Link Building Method to Steer Clear Of
Building quality links through email outreach
If you are already familiar with email outreach(even if you are not), here is how you can use it to get backlinks from top bloggers and journalists
Finding likely linkers
Likely linkers are people or site owners who will like to link your site. They may be in the same niche as you are. Let me show you how.
First, search for your targeting keyword on Google. Check the example in the screenshot below. Let's say I search for "Paleo diet recipes"
Copy the first link you see. Head over to the keyword research tool. In this example, I will be using "Semrush". Log into your account. On the dashboard sidebar, click Backlinks Analytics,
next, click Backlinks
All the websites on the list are all likely linkers.
To reach out to website owners via email, you may need to use email finder tools to locate their correct email addresses.
If you do not know their email address, you can use Hunter.io tools to help you find it.
To use this tool, simply go to the search bar and paste the URL of the blogger or website owner you want to connect with.
This will bring up a list of all the available emails associated with the domain, as shown below.
However, if you are looking to reach out to a larger site, combing through this list can be a daunting task.
In such cases, it is recommended to use VoilaNorbert, which can help streamline the process and quickly locate the email addresses you need.
Visit voilanorbert.com
Using these email finder tools can be an effective way to connect with website owners and enhance your link-building efforts.
It is important to ensure that your outreach is personalized and relevant to the recipient, to increase the likelihood of a positive response.
Personalize and send your email
When it comes to scaling outreach, using scripts can be a valuable time-saving tool. However, it is important to ensure that your outreach emails do not come across as generic or automated.
To achieve this, it is recommended to personalize your outreach by including relevant details about the recipient or their website. This can help to demonstrate that you have taken the time to research and understand their needs or interests.
It is also important to review and edit them to ensure that they sound natural and conversational. This can help to build rapport and establish a connection with the recipient, which can increase the likelihood of a positive response.
Rapping up
In conclusion, link building is an essential aspect of website optimization and SEO, as it directly impacts a website's search engine ranking. Links serve as a "vote of confidence" for search engines, indicating a website's trustworthiness and relevance.
Internal link building can improve on-page SEO and assist search engines in crawling and indexing all the pages on a site. Broken link-building can significantly enhance user experience and SEO performance.
External link building, on the other hand, is crucial for building domain authority and improving a website's search engine ranking. Effective link building requires a combination of strategies, such as guest posting, broken link building, and outreach, and can be streamlined through the use of various tools.
By employing these strategies, website owners can create high-quality and effective links that improve their website's ranking and visibility.
In our next article, you will learn about things to avoid in link building.
Read it here ⇾ Link building you should steer clear off
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SEO