The internet is a competitive place. In fact, there are over 6 million new blog posts published every single day. That’s a lot of people vying for the top spot on SERPs.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is now crucial to making your site a success. Without it, your site simply won’t be able to rank high enough to be seen. And if no-one’s going to find your content, what was the point in creating it?
There are many SEO strategies to use. Some work better than others. Of them all, link building is one of the most essential.
Backlinks make all the difference to your site’s success. But what are they? And how do you get them? This is especially true in 2024, as the algorithms and tactics for successful link building have evolved.
Keep reading to find out all about links and link building techniques, which remain crucial in this ever-evolving digital landscape !
What is Link Building?
Knowing about link building is key to understanding its importance in the SEO world of 2024. You come across backlinks every day of your life on the internet. You’ve stumbled upon one every time you scroll a piece of content and see a highlighted bit of text, or a photo, that you can click on to visit a new page.
There are two types: internal and external.
Internal links take you to another page of the website you’re already on. External links take you to a page on a different website. Both are important to have in your content.
How Does Link Building Benefit Your SEO?
They’re of paramount importance. Think of them as a roadmap for search engine bots to follow. When sites get crawled by a bot, the links between pages connect the dots. Without a link, there’s no way for a bot to know the two pages are related.
They connect the pages of your website, and in turn, link your website to the wider web. The algorithms used by search engines (Google generally reigns supreme) make sense of the internet this way.
Internal links
These help with the navigation of your website.
They point users to related, valuable information. The longer they stay engaged, the longer they’re on your site. Google picks up on that increase in dwell time and interprets it to mean your site is awesome (people soon leave poor quality sites).
Equally, they build a bridge between the different pages of your site. That helps the bots crawl between them. If a page isn’t linked to, then it can’t be crawled as easily. It’s unlikely to be ranked as a result.
External links
These show Google that you’re a credible resource.
It might seem backward. Why would you link to another website if you want a user to remain on yours? It’s about providing value. Linking to a reliable, useful piece of information that backs up your own is only ever a good thing.
Only ever link to high quality, authority websites.
Google sees the link and automatically relates your site with the high-quality one. It’s like hanging out with the good kids at school. The teachers automatically assume you’re good too!
Each external link constitutes a backlink for the source. You want other high-quality sites to do the same for you. Google spots these backlinks and sees it as a vote of confidence.
The more votes you have pointed at you, the more likely you are to win on SERPs. People are backing your website.
Google uses this as direct evidence that you’re worth ranking highly.
Good Linking and Bad Linking
Not all links are made equal in the eyes of Google.
In the old days, it was all about quantity over quality. You could pay an agency overseas for 1000 links to your site and Google would reward you for it. But times have changed.
These days you can get actively punished (your site may be shoved down the rankings, or even removed) for doing this.
Instead, you need quality over quantity. One link from a high-quality, high-ranking, reputable website is worth 100 from unknown, seedy sites from overseas.
Lots of links of this ilk will set you up for SEO success and the growth of your site.
3 Ways to Build Backlinks
Now we know why it’s important, let’s turn to how to do it. Here are 3 ways to start building links right now.
1. Awesome Content
Content is king, as they say. And it’s true. Building backlinks, and getting the crucial link juice they provide, starts with awesome content.
High-quality sites will not link to you if it isn’t worth their time. They’ll have their audience in mind. They won’t point their users in the direction of poor quality.
Focus on making something incredible, which people can’t NOT link to. See what’s already out there, and make it better. Write with authority, provide value, write easy to read, detailed piece. Add images and videos, and humor too.
Do anything you can to create the best content possible.
2. Outreach
Step one is complete: you’ve created great content.
Now you need to tell people about it.
Email outreach is a powerful tool at your disposal. Get in touch with websites and influencers who might find your new post valuable. Be genuine and honest, and include a link to your new post, telling them you thought it might be of interest.
Did you link to a site in your piece? Why not email them to let them know. They might reciprocate.
3. Guest Posts
Guest posts are another recommended link building strategy.
Essentially, you write a great post for another website and include a backlink to your own piece (or page) somewhere within the copy. Guest posts usually aren’t paid in money. Your fee is the backlink.
It can seem like a lot of effort. After all, you have to find the sites that accept posts, to begin with. Then you have to pitch them an idea. And then you have to write it. All for a solitary link.
However, keep in mind the value of backlinks. The effort is worth it. Get in the habit of writing guest posts regularly.
Time to Get Linking
There you have it: a link building guide for 2024.
SEO is vital. Without it, your website is unlikely to be found amongst the millions of posts being published daily. As we step further into 2024, it’s clear that effective link building remains a cornerstone of SEO success. Embrace these evolving strategies and techniques to ensure your website stands out in the crowded digital landscape. Good luck!
Want some support with your marketing all-round? Contact The Growth Agency today to see how we can help.
