Linkbuilding then and now.
Online marketing is a process that is constantly changing and therefore has to be tried again and again. The off-page area as part of online marketing is no exception, on the contrary. In the past, it was enough to bring a page to the top with exchanged links and references from web catalogues and article directories, but today a lot more is necessary to play at the top of the hard-fought Google ranking.
Natural links what is that actually?
Ideally, this is done through natural links. About the term natural links there are two different definitions. Some describe a link as natural if it was not created consciously, but was created naturally, for example, because it was shared by a user or was created through cooperation between companies. Still, others see a link as natural if it fits into its environment. This means that it is cut to the respective side and attached there. Here, the focus is on the user’s added value, which he experiences by clicking the link. The involvement of the site operator is not excluded within this definition. For many link building professionals, the truth lies somewhere in between: A page has a good backlink profile if, on the one hand, some links have been shared and, of course, have arisen through cooperation, and, on the other hand, some high-quality links have been consciously built.
Important criteria for high-quality links
For building high-quality links as well as for evaluating existing links, some important criteria must consider. The first thing to ask yourself is whether the link on that particular page will add value to the user. To judge this, the link builder has to know the target group of the linked page well and know where to find it. For example, it makes little sense to link a supplier of garden products on an IT blog. This means that the provider does not reach its target group, and the link is not only worthless but could even send out negative signals for Google. The link must, therefore alway’s matched the respective industry.
This shows how important thematic relevance is, i.e., the page’s topic on which the link is located. Other factors are the visibility and reliability of the linked page. The visibility is rated differently depending on the link builder. For many, visibility of 0.01 is sufficient, for others visibility of 0.1 or even higher must be given. How high the page’s visibility is can be determined using the appropriate tools from the link marketing area.
In addition to the thematic relevance and quality of the link-giving page, two other factors contribute to the Link itself concern. The first point relates to the link text, i.e. the text that was linked directly. Often this is the keyword that is linked and thus strengthened. This should not always be the same, but vary as much as possible. A distinction is made here between brand, money, compound and other keywords. The brand keyword is associated with the company or brand. The keywords you want to rank on Google because they are important for your own product or service are called money keywords. Compound keywords combine the properties of brand and money keywords. Other keywords cannot be assigned to any of the above categories and are not related to the company or the product. As a rule, a link builder strives to use a healthy variation of these keywords to build links to create the most natural backlink profile possible.
The second point is speed, with which links are established. A lot doesn’t always help a lot, especially if the page in question initially had almost no links and then collects hundreds or even thousands of links within a month, which in the worst case are of inferior quality. Such an approach also applies to Google and is often rated as spam, leading to a penalty on the relevant page under certain circumstances. As a consequence of a penalty, the affected page often no longer ranks on Google at all. The natural and slow growth of a link profile is also called organic link growth.
Is there a secret recipe?
There is So there are quite a few factors that should be taken into account when building links, but THAT ‘secret recipe’ for a perfect link profile with which your own page quickly lands on number one on Google does not exist. The online marketing industry is changing much too rapidly for that, and ultimately every page needs its own link marketing strategy that should be tailored to the respective industry. The top maxim for almost all websites could be: Create high-quality links that meet the target group’s needs! However, this also includes being up to date on the specific industry. It is at least as important to be patient. SEO is a lengthy process that actually never ends. For example, it can take weeks and months for Google to index links. This is roughly how long it takes for good links to show their effect and the page to rise in the ranking.
For many SEO professionals, the importance of external links remains undisputed despite all the criticism. After all, what use is the best content if there are no links to draw your attention to it? Hoping that good content will link itself automatically, if at all, mostly only works for a concise period of time. It is better to develop suitable strategies on how you can spread your content even better with the help of good links. Because in the end the following applies: The more links from other websites point to your own site, the higher the importance of a search engine. It is, therefore, worthwhile to put some effort into building links. If this is done skillfully and combined with other important online marketing areas, your website also has an excellent chance of being at the top of Google.
