Link Building is about more than just getting click-throughs to your website.

Do you want to survive the competition to boost your digital market share? If so, pay careful attention to this post: it’ll show you exactly what link building is and why it’s not just important but vital to the success of your business.

What is link building?

Google uses links to determine if your website acts as an authority within your niche. Using a simple metaphor, links act like “votes” in that your website popularity increases with each link you receive. Unfortunately, Google does not take a democratic approach in this regard—as some links count hundreds or thousands of times more than others.

Google evaluates the quality of each link source. The idea here is that if you get a link from the New York Times, for example, it should count much more than one from a specific-interest website (e.g., from a handyman who restores antique furniture). Yet, website reputation is just one factor that determines link source the quality. Google also evaluates the relevance of the linking website to your content as well as the actual link text, among other factors.

So, why is link-building so important?

Now that you know what link building is and basically how it works, why are these links so crucial for your website?  Links are essential for several reasons:

1. They’re a huge Google ranking factor. Google uses hundreds of different factors to determine where and how far up your site should rank for various search terms. Not all factors are clear or known, but the quality/quantity of links to your website are 100% an element that will impact your search rankings.

2. They generate quality, targeted traffic. Remember our New York Times discussion?  Imagine if the Times featured you on their website and then linked to yours! You could get 100s, or even 1000s, of visits from that single link. Nevertheless, don’t assume this happens in all cases. Linking is best viewed as hard work, and eventually, you’ll notice a nice influx of traffic as the fruit of your efforts.

3. Quality links attract more quality links. Get your article or content noticed on someone else’s website, and others may choose to link to your site or the article. In either case, you’ll win more quality links and publicity out of the endeavor: ultimately boosting your website traffic.

4. Links are a form of digital networking. People won’t just link to your website—they’ll contact you via e-mail, social media, and/or over the phone too. You might not have in fact realized this, but it does happen often in the digital world.

All This Linking Builds Your Business

Eventually, all these links pointing to your website will increase your chance of business success. After all, links from sites that attract your target market drive additional qualified traffic and build up your search rankings.

Your job is to make sure your website converts these visitors into paying customers once they land there.