Beginners among you may have all sorts of associations when it comes to link building, but is this really about actual body-building, as in lifting weights at the gym?

Of course not – Google will not value you based on how many kilograms you can lift to train your biceps, but rather on how relevant your web pages are, thus giving them higher authority.

Link building as an SEO and marketing method aims to use various high-quality and informative texts to point a link to the pages you want to boost in organic search results on Google.

Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

I doubt that among those of you who enjoy marketing or work in this industry, there is anyone who is not curious to learn more on the topic.

Keep reading to understand the importance of link building!

The Google algorithm – a crucial aspect of understanding link building

Can you imagine a machine that can consistently provide relevant answers to billions of queries every day?

The engineers who have been developing the Google algorithm for years can – they have managed to create massive databases and work with hundreds of ranking factors, based on which they provide end users with answers to search queries.

These “factors” refer to how the Google algorithm evaluates data in its database and selects the web page most relevant to the user’s search intent.

One of these factors is backlinks – links from other websites that point to yours. The term backlink profile refers to how many quality and relevant links a website has, and whether these links come from more or less authoritative sources.

For example, you are on a very good path if you receive a link from an academic paper published on Harvard University’s official website and your work relates to a similar scientific field.

The Google algorithm will recognize this as a sign of credibility and reward your page in organic search results.

How to get relevant links from other pages?

Ideally, the links coming from other websites should be earned naturally – meaning that someone linking to your content does so voluntarily because they find it valuable.

Following this logic, there are several recognized techniques in practice:

• White SEO techniques
• Black SEO techniques

White SEO techniques are highly desirable from Google’s perspective, and when recognized, they are often rewarded. These methods include activities such as publishing guest articles, creating useful resources, and conducting original research.

On the other hand, Black SEO techniques are undesirable!

Although they may bring short-term gains, their long-term profitability is questionable. They provide deceptive signals to both Google’s crawlers and human users. Such techniques include link farms, automated link generation, and other manipulative tactics.

Somewhere between White and Black SEO lies the so-called grey area. It is often used in marketing and involves strategically placing links in certain relevant texts that lead to a targeted address.

What should link building articles look like?

People on the internet are usually searching for specific answers, so make sure to provide them. Valuable, high-quality content will help you achieve this.

One of the core goals of SEO optimization is creating quality content – something that your content team should work on diligently. When building the link structure of a website, it’s important that the text is informative and useful so that it offers real value to readers.

If you want to contribute to the overall value of your site, make sure that links are inserted in a way that is natural on the page and that the linked section of the content is relevant to the topic of the page it leads to.

These are called contextual links – as opposed to generic “click here” links, which could lead anywhere without context.

When a link is not placed within the main text and is instead hidden or non-prominent, it is usually part of a Black SEO tactic designed to deceive Google’s crawlers.

What is anchor text?

Anchor text is the clickable part of a hyperlink mentioned in the previous section. It is the visible portion of the link, often highlighted in a different color from the rest of the text.

For example, if you hyperlink the phrase “buy televisions,” the linked page should actually be about television sales.

Anchor text can match or partially match the title of the linked page. Typically, it includes the target page’s keywords to give that page more SEO value.

Ideally, anchor text should be placed within the body of the content – increasing the likelihood that users will click on it. It should also be inserted naturally within the context and clearly indicate what the user will get by clicking.

Quantity or quality of links?

In the last 20 years, techniques for building a site’s backlink profile have evolved significantly. Today, the emphasis is placed far more on the quality of links rather than sheer volume.

Even if you wanted to, it is extremely difficult to trick the Google algorithm into ranking you higher simply by generating a large number of poor-quality links.

Tools such as Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you analyze the strength of your competitors’ websites and see how many quality links you might need to surpass them.

A quality backlink is one that comes from a relevant, high-authority website, appears in a well-written and informative article, and uses an anchor text that fits naturally into the surrounding context.

Digital marketing is advancing every day, so mastering these SEO optimization techniques will be essential for improving your ranking in Google searches. A well-planned link building strategy can provide the visibility you need in the digital world.