I often hear people say “Oh, increasing online authority is so hard I might as well quit” or “What else do I have to do to make websites notice my content?” Well, I get you. It is hard to make it big online – especially with all the competition around you. It’s like you’re a needle trying to poke your way out of a haystack. It’s pretty frustrating, really.
However challenging, it is still not impossible. Sometimes, all it takes is the guts and courage to move forward even when things are looking a little grey. How do you think other websites made it? Surely, they’re not in the position they are holding today because they quit halfway right? In the online world, the persistent comes out victorious. You don’t need to show grandiose efforts all the time – small, consistent ones will work just as fine as well.
Yes, even when it comes to link building.
If you’re not familiar with link building yet, then allow me to explain very briefly.
What Is Link Building
In the world of SEO, Link Building refers to creating “trust connections” with other websites which is often expressed through linking content. You know how when you do a research or case study you look online for some reliable sources of information? The same process can be likened to link building. The basic understanding is that the more organic links you have pointing to your website’s content, the more likely it is for your authority to increase. Why? That is because content makers often only cite sources they trust – and Google trusts what users trust so it all really comes down to “who trusts who.”
The more mentions you have on other website’s articles and write-ups, the more you convince search engines that you have content worthy to be shared across the internet. When they believe that you have something meaningful to offer, something that can add value and meaning to the already vast bulk of information they have stored in their databases, search engines would be compelled to rank your website higher so that it gains more opportunities to be seen by online surfers.
You see, users are search engines’ top priority. They could care less about what you sell or how you pitch your products. They care about what netizens want because they largely exist for that purpose – to bring people the information they need at the click of a button. So if you want to get on the good side of search engines, you have to prioritize what they prioritize. When you have similar (and not contrasting interests), search engines will come to like your website better and consequently, would want others to like it as well.
This is why trashy content is shunned the moment it’s found. Search engines despise websites who could care less about creating meaningful content – especially business domains who appear to only want to milk people of their money. As much as it’s okay to focus on selling online, you have to make sure that isn’t the only thing you do. Other websites, too, won’t link to your pages knowing that your website does not help enrich users’ experience in any way.
However, you might also be wondering whether all links affect your rankings positively. Well, your curious mind is in the right place.
Are All Links Beneficial To My Website?
NO. The answer is a solid and plain no.
Inbound links (meaning those that point or redirect to your website) are only good when the source is good. Now, what do I mean by this? This means that even if you pay a spammy website $10 dollars to cite one of your main pages, it’s not going to have any effect on your ranking. Instead of helping your website rank higher, it may even impact your domain negatively and lower the authority you have desperately tried to earn.
Google has its ways of knowing whether a link is “clean” or not. Recent updates have also made it clear that search engines are aware of what’s happening “behind the scenes” – I’m talking about black hat SEO techniques such as link buying. Let me warn you: If you’re ever caught involving yourself with these cowardly methods, your website can get flagged or banned from search engines completely. What happens is the complete opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.
This is why we always have to earn our links the right way. Create good, meaningful content that will naturally draw in websites; make articles that add value to the world’s bank of knowledge. Bring something new to the table – something other writers would want to mention in their work too. Foster good relationships with other websites and extend your support to their work as well. When you create an atmosphere of goodwill and collaboration, you will see your authority steadily growing.
It will take time, of course. But we can help with that too. Anyway, build your links the right way and you’ll definitely see lasting results. Check out this link here to view some high-quality citation links that we have built for our own company.