How Does Link Building Work? (link building)

Link building is a term used in off-page SEO. It describes a process or part of an SEO strategy where external links are acquired. These external links are known as “backlinks” and consist of a link reference and an anchor text (a brief description of the link). The goal of link building is to obtain a link from another high-quality website that points to your own website. A significant backlink profile increases the likelihood of achieving a better search engine ranking for your website. Various strategies underlie link building, with a popular approach being the link bait method, where creative ideas and the creation of link-worthy, interesting content generate backlinks from other sites.  

Backlinks Are Interpreted as Search Engine Recommendations

Essentially, backlinks are referrals from one webpage to another and can be interpreted as recommendations in your reference system. Such a recommendation signals relevance to the search engine and is therefore an important ranking factor. In terms of user behavior, a backlink also helps direct qualified traffic to your own site.  

Factors to Consider with Backlinks

When dealing with backlinks, it’s important to note that not all backlinks are equal, and not every type of link building method leads to the same success. 1. Not Just Quantity, But Quality One of the most important backlink factors is the quality of the backlink. It’s not just about the number of external links; rather, it’s about the quality and relevance of the website from which the link originates. 2. Natural Link Building Does more always mean better? Not necessarily when it comes to building backlinks. Gradually increasing the number of links indicates natural link building, which Google views more positively than a sudden and unnatural influx of many backlinks. 3. Avoiding Black-Hat SEO Apart from various link building strategies that contribute to gaining backlinks naturally, there’s also the form of artificial link building. This contrasts with natural link building and includes methods such as link buying or renting. Caution should be exercised with these methods, as they can potentially lead to a deterioration in search engine rankings.  

The Difference Between Backlinks and Internal Links

There’s a potential for confusion between backlinks and “internal links.” Internal links are indeed an important SEO factor for Google rankings of websites, but this specifically refers to on-page optimization—links placed within a page. An example would be a link in the category text of an online shop that points to another relevant product within the same shop.  

Conclusion

Both internal and external website links are valuable, SEO-relevant elements that can contribute to better search engine rankings. For sustainable and successful link building, several factors must be considered, such as the quality of the linking site and the natural development of links.