Benefits of Link Building – What Is It & Why Do It

Have you been looking into content marketing as a marketing strategy for your business? Have you come across link building as an option for that content marketing strategy? If so, you have found yourself in the right place. This post will walk you through what link building is and what it can do for your business. 

First, let’s start with what exactly link building is: 

In simple terms, link building is the process of building hyperlinks (backlinks) from other websites to your own. 

Why are these backlinks important?

Backlinks are valuable for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because they signal to search engines (Google) that other sites vouch for your site and your content. So as you build more backlinks, search engines can assume that your site is valuable and creditable, which will boost your site’s ranking on Search Engine Results Pages(SERPs). 

All links are not created equal – there are certain factors that make some backlinks “better” than others. These factors are the linking site’s domain authority (DA) and if the link is followed or no-follow. 

DA is a ranking score that, according to Moz, predicts how likely a website is to rank on SERPs. A DA score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores meaning a greater ability to rank. Receiving a backlink from a high DA site is important because that site’s credibility then passes credibility to your site and your site will reap some of the benefits of the linking site.

When you are receiving these backlinks from high DA sites, you want your links to be “followed” links, here is why: no-follow links do not impact the search engine rankings of the destination URL because Google does not crawl no-follow links. No-follow links most likely will end up adding no value to your site’s overall ranking. You can see some value in these links as they are still doing the work of getting your brand out into the world and mentioned. 

Now if all that makes sense, we can continue on to how we build links at Go Fish Digital and how these links will add value to your business. 

How do we get these backlinks?

This is where you hand the reins over to the very capable and smart team at Go Fish Digital. If you are thinking about signing up for content campaigns or have already signed up, our Content Team will lead you through the project.

The Content Team creates tangential content campaigns that we can pitch to journalists to gain backlinks to your site. These are campaigns that are tied to your brand in some way, but not branded. Keep that in mind – we want to build links, not push your brand in front of journalists asking for free publicity. It is important to note, this isn’t traditional public relations, as we aren’t looking to generate leads or new customers. Instead, we are out there trying to build links to push your business up on the SERPs (which in the long run will help you with leads). 

A great example of a tangential campaign is “The Top Searched Trader Joe’s Item by State”, which was done for a CRM Software Company. The client tie-in was as follows:

“With such a dedicated group of fans here in our own company, Trader Joe’s is a great example of a company that takes things further than weekly grocery shopping. Whenever we notice a fan base for a particular company, we take the time to look at why customers are so happy with that business. Our CRM and ERP management software goes beyond the technical side of managing business and customers. The purpose is to give our clients the tools to develop their business into a company that relates to customers well enough to anticipate their needs and desires.” 

This campaign is clearly not branded but has the draw-in of Trader Joe’s and the huge fan base that they carry. This is a topic people care about—people in every state are wondering what the top Trader Joe’s item is in their state, which leads to journalists wanting to cover the campaign, which then leads to backlinks. 

Here are some more great examples of tangential campaigns:

• How Long Does It Take Tech CEOs to Earn Your Salary?
• The Most Searched Ikea Products in the U.S.
• The Best U.S. Cities to be a Dog

These campaigns have all led to many backlinks and sessions for our clients’ landing pages. 

So how is this helping your business?

• SEO Value: The main benefit of link building is the SEO value it adds to your business’ website. Let’s say you own an event planning company in Raleigh, NC and people are Googling ‘event planner Raleigh’, right now your business may be on the second SERPs page, but you want it ranking higher on the first page (more possibilities for potential new customers to click), backlinks will help you get there. Building a strong backlink profile will make your site more appealing to search engines. 

• Increased Traffic: Okay, so your site is moving up the SERP ranks, your SEO agency has built lots of great backlinks for your business, people are Googling and your business is ranking. Potential customers are more likely to click on your site if it’s on the first page of search results. 

• Brand Mentions: While brand mentions are not the ultimate goal of link building, it is an added benefit. When pitching content to journalists and working on earning backlinks, your business will ultimately get mentioned within the article where the backlink is. 

Does link building sound like something that your business could benefit from (most likely, yes)? Then look no further! Our digital PR services at Go Fish Digital will make those backlink dreams a reality.