SEO is like the human body. All parts of it have to be working properly or else the whole thing shuts down. Many people focus on the optimization aspect of SEO but expect that alone to boost their ranks to the point of stardom. But it doesn’t work that way.
Link building is extremely important, both internal and external. You would be surprised with how your rankings change based on the links you build around the web for yourself. It’s an essential part of running a business, website, or organization in the late 2010s, and if you’re not already focusing on it, you’re missing the bus. Here’s a little run down fo the value link building brings to your SEO campaign:
Reaching Your Target Audience Through Keyword Research
Keyword focus reaches its peak potential with link building. After you set up your website to be crawled for keywords, link building is what will boost your site in the SERPs for said keywords and phrases. Link building is a big part of the reason that when someone searches for your valued keywords on Google, they click on your website, not someone else’s. Nobody likes going through page after page on Google, so your goal should be to get closer to the first page. And hopefully in doing so you’ll be selected, reached out to, and ultimately purchased from more.
Now, this will require some serious keyword analysis and research on your part. It can be a grueling process but definitely beneficial. You’ll need to analyze competitors, related keywords, consider searcher intent, and make a detailed seed list to account for all of the necessary phrasings and situations. Ultimately though, it will get you seen and hopefully be a step toward your ultimate goals, whether that’s profit, action, or visibility.
The Backlink Reputation
Think of your backlink portfolio like your professional recommendations. The way Google reads your site is that the more people are talking about you (and the higher authority they hold for certain keywords), the more you deserve to be seen. If high rankings were a job position, backlinks would be the references you put on your resume, and Google’s algorithm would be the hiring manager. So you need to get out there and build yourself some links.
It’s also important, however, to realize that your backlink portfolio can ruin your rankings as well. Bad links — like those on spam, pornography and gambling websites — are looked upon unfavorably by Google. The content of the links matters, and such links work like a bad recommendation. If someone you didn’t trust told you to trust someone, would you trust them? Same thing here. So go forth and build your link building strategy around many different kinds of links in quality places: guest blogs, fixing broken links, press mentions, and the like.
Metrics Tools
The ultimate point of SEO is to get you seen and for viewers to take action in your favor. The problem is that sometimes, you don’t know how often you’re being seen or if you’re just being seen without any action being taken. That’s important to know because it will be a deciding factor in what to do in order to increase those actions. For instance, if you’re on the first page of a highly sought for search term but your sales aren’t changing, then you may have to change the way you make your products, the cost at which they’re sold, or how you present them.
Some of the best metrics tools are the MozBar, FATRANK, the Majestic Backlink Analyzer, and the SEMRush tool. These are particularly helpful when it comes to building those external links on other websites or seeing what competitors are up to. But nothing really beats Google Analytics for seeing how well your link building is going.
This is because Google Analytics measures all aspects of website traffic as well as information on the kinds of people and behavior happening in these interactions. So if you need to see how you’re reaching your target audience, or if you need to adjust your target audience, and what kind of actions your website is encouraging and getting, then pay attention, because it’ll be the best measure of what’s happening there. With better link building, you should be seeing more organic traffic without having to pay for ads to crawl up the SERPS.
What’s your experience with link building and the value it’s brought to your SEO campaign been? Feel free to share in the comments below!
