Link Building Strategies: Why is Link Building Important?
Now that we’ve reviewed what the heck link building is all about, we next move on to its importance. Why do we need to do linkbuilding? What are its immediate and direct effects on your website search engine results page rankings?
The Link Rule
We’re all trying to make our websites friendly to search engines to rank higher. It’s a no-brainer to get into the search game since it’s still the number one activity done online. So since we’re trying to rank higher, we have to play by the search engine’s rules.
And the rule is: More quality backlinks, rank higher.
It’s simple, really – the more links you have coming into your site just means that more people are referring you for something you’re good at. That ‘something you’re good at’ is what they put in as the anchor text – but that’s a whole new different topic altogether.
Links aren’t easy to get – just as people’s referrals aren’t easy to get. Unless, maybe, you pay them – which I personally don’t recommend. That’s why Google used the link factor – because people will only link to you if they find value in what you have to offer them.
Your number of Links is the only way Google can see how valuable your site is to other people. And the truth of the matter is, even if you have lots and lots of valuable content, if people don’t link to you, the search engines won’t acknowledge your site as valuable. Why?
Because search engines are machines. They’re blind about how valuable your site is. They can only see through links.
To sum it all up: More links -> More value -> Rank higher -> Happy Webmaster
Updates: Over the years, Google had been stricter with link building techniques that were implemented by SEO specialists or even those who claimed to be specialists. Now, it’s not the quantity that matters, but the quality of each link – will the reader be interested with where you direct him? Will he learn something? Is it useful? Is it really necessary to put that link there?
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying that quantity doesn’t mean anything at all – of course we want links everywhere, but make sure that those are of value, and were planted on sites that are credible enough, or atleast soon-to-be credible.
We have an article that discusses why less links is better just in case you want further explanation.
This update doesn’t mean you don’t have to read the rest of our lessons about link building. The truth is link building is still a big factor for SEO success.
This entry is part of the SEO Hacker School series: Link Building Strategies
You can also check our comprehensive all-in-one guide about Effective link building strategies
