New To SEO? A Quick Introduction To Quality Link-Building Practices

If you are new to the world of SEO and somewhat unfamiliar, it is perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed. This is not a subject area that can easily be mastered. In fact, there are many experienced SEO consultants who have been in the game for decades that are still learning something new every day.

But don’t let that put you off! The reality is: you don’t need to be an expert in order to benefit from SEO.

In any case, we’re going to share a quick introduction to quality link-building practices for your convenience. Let’s get stuck in…

What is link-building?

Link-building is one of the key pillars of SEO. You can think of it like a popularity contest. In order to rank as high up on a Google SERP (search engine results page) as possible, for your chosen focus keywords, you need to come highly recommended.

Put it this way: if you were trying to decide between two bakeries to make a wedding cake for you, and one came highly recommended and the other was practically unheard of, you’d likely lean towards the former, wouldn’t you?

Google’s ranking system works in a similar way. Yes, the website needs to be relevant, well-optimized, and have lots of quality content – but it also needs to have a strong backlink profile as well.

In having a strong backlink profile you essentially have a large number of reputable and established websites that ‘vouch’ for your authenticity.

What are the best practices for link-building?

In the simplest terms, Google wants authentic link-building. They don’t want to rank websites that are actively purchasing links. Instead, they reward businesses that have a strong backlink profile that was earned – the right way.

Here are two examples. Which option do you think is more appropriate?

• You buy 10,000 links for a few hundred dollars from a marketer who guarantees you positive movement in Google.
• You create high-value content that other businesses and marketers reference in their own writing, linking back to you as a reputable resource.

One of them is a shortcut to a Manual Action from Google; the other one is the road to success.

Why does Google have such a big problem with buying links?

Make no mistake, Google understands that businesses will be spending money and investing in their SEO. They are under no illusion about that fact. However, when that money is being spent on backlinks from fake websites with low-quality content, it does absolutely nothing to benefit their users.

Google’s job is to recommend the most relevant, authoritative, and trustworthy websites. As such, they reward those who are actively trying to improve the quality of the content they produce – and the quality of websites they associate themselves with.

So, if one brand develops a backlink profile by actively guest blogging on reputable, industry-relevant websites, while another is simply purchasing bulk links from unrecognized sources, it is abundantly clear which of the two is committed to quality.

So, what’s the best approach?

There are a number of ‘above board’ link-building strategies at your disposal, such as:

• Producing high-value ‘link-worthy’ content and establishing yourself as a thought leader. The higher the quality of the content you produce and share, the more likely you will be to attract organic backlinks from other websites.
• Guest blogging on industry-relevant websites and contributing your expertise to wider audiences.
• Make waves in your industry, challenge the status quo, and mix things up. If you are a real trendsetter, you’ll get tongues wagging and links pointing!

Another approach well worth considering is hiring professionals. The fact is, link-building is just one very small aspect of your broader SEO requirements and even still it is a massive and never-ending job! As such, managing a business and running a successful link-building campaign by yourself is going to be incredibly difficult. However, with a reputable SEO agency in Singapore fighting in your corner, you’ll experience greater success.