Promoting a website through links is just as relevant as before. However, it will only be effective under certain conditions, the main one being a comprehensive approach.
What is Link Building?
Link building is a technique in the field of digital marketing that involves acquiring external links to your own website in order to improve its ranking in search engines. Every year we hear that SEO is dead or about to die, but it survives every time and continues to decide which sites deserve the top spot and which deserve to be forgotten. However, you can’t just buy a bunch of links. There is a risk of falling under search engine filters and causing the site’s rankings to drop.
The goal of link building is to obtain links from resources that will help bring relevant traffic. Thus:
- link building in SEO can increase the site’s visibility;
- increasing the link mass accelerates the development of the resource;
- mentions of the site on other (high-quality) platforms increase brand recognition.
Types of Links and Their Impact on SEO
There is no single classification of SEO links. They can be structured in different ways. Five main types of links can be distinguished in terms of SEO promotion of a website:
- permanent links, also called “guest posts” or “article links”;
- crowd links – placing links in locations where potential customers of the product gather;
- rental links – the main feature is that the link is active as long as payment is made;
- submits – these are conditionally free links, placement of which is free but requires time and certain knowledge.
Various types of links can also be distinguished depending on the placement method, location, and the type of content in which they are placed:
- anchor link;
- non-anchor link;
- banner link;
- natural link;
- outreach link;
- contextual link.
What are Dofollow and Nofollow Links and Why Are They Important?
Dofollow, nofollow links – these phrases are often unclear and discourage readers who want to learn more about positioning. As is known, building links to a website is an important action in the positioning process. These tags play a significant role for search engine bots, especially Google.
Attribute Dofollow
When Google crawlers reach a link identified by this tag, they follow it to the page it points to. What are the advantages? If this link points to a specific resource and is located on a good website, the value of such a website increases in the “search engine” calculations, which, in turn, affects a higher ranking of key phrases.
Attribute Nofollow
Links with the nofollow attribute also “take away” some of the potential from the page where they are located. They also influence the site’s ranking, so they are considered when developing an SEO strategy.
A few examples of pages where the nofollow attribute is specified:
- blog comments;
- forum posts;
- guestbook reviews;
- guest posts.
Quality vs. Low-Quality Links
SEO optimization involves the proper filling of title tags and other meta tags, but external links play no less of a role in promotion. They should:
- meet the target audience’s queries,
- be placed on reputable platforms,
- generate high traffic.
If links do not meet these requirements, they are considered low-quality. Building an external link mass through spam portals or sites created solely for placing links is a poor decision that will result in negative consequences. Marketers often call such resources “link dumps.”
Tools for Link Monitoring (Ahrefs, SEMrush)
SEMrush allows you to track progress in the SEO field and make informed decisions to improve the website’s visibility and attract more visitors. It is easy to use.
Pros:
- availability of a useful free version;
- additional tools such as PageImprove and AI ImpactHero for content marketing;
- effective for local SEO, offering insights on competitors and local keywords;
- includes tools for social media.
Cons:
- some features are not very user-friendly;
- customer support is limited.
Ahrefs is a powerful tool for those working in SEO and digital marketing. It provides information about things like backlinks and keyword performance.
Pros:
- simple user interface;
- excellent customer support;
- largest backlink database across all platforms;
- a growing library of training videos;
- constant platform updates.
Cons of Ahrefs:
- complicated credit system;
- no free trial version;
- Google integration is only available for the Advanced levels.
Metrics for Measuring Success (DR, Organic Traffic)
SEO metrics provide valuable insights into the site’s performance, its ranking in search engines, and the impact of optimization efforts on traffic and conversions.
Metrics are site evaluation parameters used to analyze and measure the success of global and local optimization.
Tracking allows experts to evaluate the success of their site’s optimization efforts and identify areas that need improvement. Regular monitoring helps determine which strategies work best and where adjustments are necessary.
Domain Rating (or DR) is a rating that shows the overall strength of a website’s link profile. Many SEO specialists use the DR metric to assess a site’s link weight and compare it to other resources.
Organic traffic refers to the number of visitors who reach the site through regular search engines. It is a free and natural way to attract visitors to the site, as opposed to paid advertising or social media promotion.
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