One of the secrets to boosting your website’s visibility and search engine rankings is building effective external links. You see, external links are like a secret handshake of the digital world. They show search engines that other websites trust and value your content enough to link back to it.
In fact, a study by Ahrefs found that a staggering 96.55% of all pages online get zero traffic from Google. Yikes! Thankfully, there are ways to master the art of link building and help you be part of the very few website pages that get all the love from search engines.
Now here’s the thing: not all external links are created equal. Some can do wonders for your website, while others can actually hurt your rankings. But fret not—this article will be your reliable guide and shall walk you through the dos and don’ts of building effective external links.
The Dos
- Focus on quality over quantity
Sometimes, it can be enticing to go on a link-building spree and try to collect as many links as possible from anywhere and everywhere. But hold your horses. That’s only a recipe for disaster! Search engines are smart cookies, and they can spot spammy or low-quality links from a mile away. Thus, you need to be strategic and selective about the links you pursue.
Picture yourself as a treasure hunter and seek out the most valuable and relevant links for your website. You want links from reputable, authoritative websites in your niche. These are the kind of links that search engines love and can give your rankings a serious boost. But how do you find these golden nuggets?
One handy tool you can use is an external link monitoring tool. It can help you monitor your existing links and identify new link opportunities that go with your quality standards. Remember, it’s not about having a ton of links; it’s about having the right links from the right sources. Quality trumps quantity every time!
- Create valuable, link-worthy content
To attract high-quality external links, you need to create valuable and link-worthy content. This is where you let your creativity shine and show off your expertise! The objective is to write content that’s so incredible, useful, and share-worthy that other websites can’t help but link to it.
So what exactly makes content link-worthy? It’s all about being educational, original, and engaging. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and think about what kind of content would make their lives easier or more interesting. Maybe it’s a deep-dive blog post that discusses a trending topic in your industry or a new tool that solves a common problem.
The point is to deliver value that’s so good that people can’t search for it anywhere else. And get this: websites that blog regularly and actively have 97% more inbound links and 434% more indexed pages than those that don’t. That’s the force of great content!
- Engage in outreach and relationship building
If you wish to find some awesome links, you can’t simply sit back and wait for them to come to you. It’s time to put yourself out there and engage in outreach and relationship building! Think of it like networking at a party. You’ve got to socialize, make connections, and show people why you’re worth getting to know.
So start by identifying the movers and shakers in your niche. These are the bloggers, influencers, and website owners who have a strong online presence and a loyal following. Once you’ve got your list, it’s time to reach out and focus on strengthening genuine relationships.
Share their content, leave thoughtful comments, and search for ways to add value. Did you know that 13% of search experts claim that link building is the most valuable and most effective SEO tactic? By making time for outreach and relationship building, you’ll be well on your way to earning high-quality links that can take your website to the next level.
The Don’ts
- Engage in link schemes or buying links
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in link building is engaging in link schemes or buying links. This is where things can get a bit shady, and it’s definitely not a path you want to go down.
For starters, link schemes are any attempt to manipulate or artificially inflate your link profile. This could be anything from participating in link farms to straight-up buying links from shady websites. And here’s the fearful part: Google penalizes websites that deal with link schemes, which can seriously damage your search rankings.
So steer away from these black hat tactics and focus on building links the right way, and that’s through great content and genuine relationships.
- Neglect anchor text optimization
Anchor text (the clickable text within a hyperlink) plays a large role in link building. If you’re not being attentive to your anchor text, you could be missing out on some important SEO juice. Google and other search engines utilize anchor text as a hint to recognize the content and relevance of the linked page. It’s also one of the most crucial factors in determining search rankings.
So, if you’re only using generic phrases like ‘Click here’ or ‘Read more,’ you’re not giving search engines the context they need to properly evaluate your links. Instead, try to use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text that accurately reflects the content of the linked page. But be careful not to overdo it, as too much exact match anchor text can actually trigger spam filters and hurt your rankings.
- Ignore broken links
Broken links are more than just a simple annoyance. They can actually hurt your website’s search engine rankings and user experience. When search engines crawl your site and come across broken links, they can easily conclude that your website isn’t properly maintained!
So make it a routine to frequently check your website for broken links using tools like Google Search Console or a broken link checker. When you find them, either remove the link altogether or replace it with an updated, working link.
Takeaway
Overall, building external links is like a game of chess. It takes strategy, patience, and some bit of finesse. By following these dos and don’ts, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong link profile and staying on top of your link game.