By Harry Mackin

One of the big reasons why Google revolutionized search engines when it launched in 1998 was its PageRank algorithm, which rewarded pages based on how many other websites were linking to them. 

Evaluating links has proven such a reliable method for understanding content quality that after nearly 20 years and hundreds of updates, they remain one of Google’s most valued ranking signals. 

It’s little wonder that link building has been a crucial element of SEO ever since. By taking the following steps to develop your SEO link building strategy, you can put together a plan to grow your website’s authority and drive valuable referral traffic from key sources.

Why is link building valuable for SEO?

To understand how to create an effective SEO link building strategy, you have to know what makes link building valuable in the first place. 

Improved search rankings

The quality of a page’s backlinks is one of the main factors search engines consider when awarding SERP placements. The more relevant, authoritative sites link to your content, the more trustworthy and useful Google will consider it.

Improved brand visibility and high-quality traffic

If you have links on popular sites that are related to your content, audience members on those sites will find your content more frequently and organically. You’ll start receiving more attention from the right people, and those people will start to recognize your brand as an important voice in your category. 

Improved trust and credibility

If trustworthy sites are willing to link to your content, it shows both search engines and your audience that you’re considered credible. The better your backlinks, the more trustworthy your site looks.

Partnerships and relationship-building

To build credibility and brand recognition within any category, you’ll need your audience to understand how you relate to (and stand out from) your peers. Link building is one of the best ways to do this. 

By earning links from other trustworthy sites in your category, you’re also starting mutually beneficial relationships with these sites. By connecting your audience members via links, you can both gain trustworthiness and authority while solidifying the differences between your brands.

What makes a link valuable?

In modern SEO, the quantity of the links you receive matters much less than the quality of those links. An effective SEO link building strategy doesn’t just try to get as many links as possible; it gets the right kind of links from the right kind of websites.

Search engine algorithms evaluate what makes a link valuable using hundreds of factors. Though they keep these factors secret to prevent exploitation, companies like Google have provided generalized explanations of their evaluation process. From those guidelines, SEO experts have extrapolated several of …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron