Previously, we have established why internal linking was important for the organization of content and accessibility for your audience. Now we will be talking about external links aka inbound links. Link building is one of the more important factors when it comes to SEO. The more links out in the web that point back to your blog, the higher your blog will rank on the search results ladder.
External Links to your site are a sign of credibility
The more other sites cite your own, the more trustworthy Google will rank it. Imagine asking someone on the street for a good place to eat. If there are many people who recommend a certain restaurant, there is a higher chance that the restaurant will be named over another. It is the same thing for external linking – with so many other sites connecting your site to the rest of the world it is more likely to be found. But because so many people also recommend the site, your audience and potential customers will deem it a reputable source.
How to Building Links
Building links through high-quality content
There is a lot to optimizing a blog for SEO. You can have the snazziest site in the world, but without useful content, it will lose its worth rather quickly. Make sure you are sharing work to others that contain reliable information and teaches something. If it’s not educational, at least let it be entertaining. Make it high-quality content that has been well researched. This is the first step to getting other sites to share your articles and build trust for your authority on your niche. You can even add pictures and videos to help increase the interactiveness of your page.
Structure your URLs to be searchable from other sites
The URL of your article will show up on search page results for SEO when searching for your site, but it will also show up everywhere else that links it as well. Imagine someone sharing a blog you’ve written, but the URL on it was “/article23/KfsE&453F/”. How on Google Earth will a user know from their search results that this is something they are looking for? In fact, the Google search algorithm won’t really know either. Don’t rely on your image with the title text on it to explain your site – there are times images don’t show up on previews, but URLs are definite, so make sure to label your blogs accordingly!
Build referral links
If you work with another person or many people frequently, you can both reference the other on their site as partners. This makes more sense if the site that wants to refer you is relevant to your own – as this increases the chances of shared audiences who also want to learn more about similar products or services. Reach out to relevant websites and industries similar to yours – it will help you build long term relationships and build your trustworthiness as a content creator over time.
What Not to Do
Buying Links
Don’t buy links from other sites to boost your page. Search Engines like Google and Bing have algorithms to catch unethical linking and this can hurt your SEO instead of helping it. Build your links through good content writing, or network with other websites with similar content. Sites that share relevant links to their own have more value than random sites sharing links.
Link Exchanging
Ever get the “follow me and I’ll follow you” messages on your social media? The difference between building referral links and straight-up exchanging links is that while building partnerships takes time and has value – there is not as much gain from linking random people to get a link back. Its considered spam to search engines and your site can be penalized for doing so.
Summarizing Internal Linking:
- Do write Good Content.
- Do make it high quality (Add pictures, videos, infographics)
- Do make your URLs readable for your audience and Google
- Do build Connections with other people you work with
But…
- Don’t purchase links for your site
- Don’t link exchange
As with all good things, SEO results take time. Don’t feel rushed, and never feel pressured to find unethical ways to get your ladder ranking. Publish good content, and keep on writing.
Happy Posting!
