Why Simple Link Building Is Important For More Website Traffic
By Jules White | Released: 6th September 2024 | reading time: 5 minutes
🎙️Listen to the podcast version of this article🎙️
Links are the lifeblood of the internet!
When it comes to why link building is important for your website, the impact on your SEO and domain authority can’t be overstated. Links are essential for how the web operates, connecting different sites and content. Building strong, relevant links can significantly improve your website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results.
In this article, I'll help you understand why link building matters, and why it doesn't have to be a big headache!
Table of Contents:
What is Link Building?
Link building is fundamental to how the internet works. The web itself is essentially a network of links connecting different websites and content. When you build links, you're doing the same thing – connecting your website to relevant, valuable information both internally (within your own site) and externally (from other sites).
Links are powerful because they contribute to getting more traffic to your site as well as building your domain authority. The more quality links your website has, the more trustworthy it becomes in the eyes of search engines like Google. This trust can help improve your rankings which then brings more traffic to your site.
Why is it important to build links?
As well as people clicking on those links to your website, one of the key reasons why link building is important is that it enhances your website’s domain authority.
Domain authority is a score given to your site that helps search engines like Google determine how trustworthy and valuable your site is.
When your website is connected to other trusted and relevant sites, it signals to search engines that your content is reliable. The more high-quality links you accumulate, the more credible your site appears, and the greater chance that those search engines will rank your site over your competitors.
Understanding Domain Authority (DA)
Domain Authority is a score that determines how much authority or trust your website has.
A site like Moz provides this score, which is based on various factors including the number and quality of links pointing to your site. The higher your DA score, the more likely your site will rank on the first page of search results.
When you’re just starting out, your DA will be low, possibly close to zero. It takes time to build, and you need a solid strategy to increase it.
Simply having a website isn’t enough – you need to actively work on your SEO, including building quality links, to grow your domain authority.
Why Ranking on Page One Matters
Building links directly impacts your ability to rank on page one of Google (that’s where most of the clicks happen.)
The top three results get the majority of the traffic, and if you’re on page two, your chances of getting clicks drop dramatically.
Even with Google switching back to paginated search results (after experimenting with infinite scroll), most users don’t venture beyond page one.
The goal is to have a higher domain authority than other sites on page one. However, this isn’t the only factor. Google is getting better at rewarding high-quality content, so even if your site has a lower DA than others, great content can still help you rank well.
Google’s algorithms now prioritise content quality alongside domain authority. So even if your website has a lower DA compared to others, high-quality, well-optimised content can still help you rank higher.
Tools to Help with Link Building and Ranking
If you're wondering whether you can rank for certain keywords, tools like the MozBar Chrome extension are useful. This tool helps you see the domain authority of websites currently ranking for your target terms, as well as their search intent.
If the pages on the first page all have high domain authority and your website is new or has a low DA, it may be a challenge to rank for those terms. But if you see a mixture of small and large sites with varying DA on page one, you might have a better chance.
The Types of Links You Need
Now, let’s talk about the types of links you want to build. There are three key considerations:
1️⃣ Relevance: The links pointing to your website should be directly related to your content. Avoid spammy or irrelevant links.
2️⃣ Quality: Links from reputable, high-authority websites are more valuable than a large number of low-quality links.
3️⃣ Quantity: While quality is more important, gradually building a larger number of relevant links over time is still beneficial.
Internal Links: The Power Within
One of the easiest ways to boost your SEO is through internal linking. This is entirely in your control and helps search engines understand the structure of your site. It’s incredibly powerful for SEO and user experience.
For example, I have core topics like SEO, conversion rate optimisation, or content optimisation, therefore I can create cornerstone content around these topics and link to it from other related pages.
Think of it like creating a network of links within your own site to guide users through your content and help them discover more. This also signals to Google that your content is well-connected and relevant.
Practical Link Building Tips
Here are a few practical ways to implement link building, helping you see why link building is important for your site:
✍🏻 Guest Blogging – When contributing content to other blogs, make sure to request a link back to your website. This boosts your SEO, especially if the site is high authority and relevant to your industry. Also, aim for descriptive anchor text in these links, such as “download my free SEO report” instead of a vague “click here.”
📌 Leverage Your Google Business Profile – If you’re not already doing so, post regularly on your Google Business Profile and link back to your website. This boosts your site’s visibility and generates more inbound links.
🧑🤝🧑 Social Media Links – Sharing content through your social media channels can also generate links. While social media links may not always contribute directly to domain authority, they can drive traffic and increase visibility, which indirectly supports SEO.
Why Links Matter for Sales and Traffic
Ultimately, the reason why link building is important extends beyond SEO. It’s about driving traffic to your website and, ideally, converting those visitors into customers or leads.
Each link that points to your site is an opportunity for someone to discover your business.
The more trusted your site appears to search engines, the more likely it is to rank higher, bringing in more organic traffic. And as that traffic grows, your chances of increasing conversions and sales grow too.
Building links helps position your website as an authority in your industry, both in the eyes of Google and your potential customers.
Final Thoughts
Don’t underestimate the power of link building. It’s an essential part of any SEO strategy and can have a lasting impact on your website’s success.
Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been working on SEO for a while, focus on building relevant, high-quality links, both from external sources and within your own site.
If you haven’t checked your domain authority yet, head over to Moz Domain Authority Checker to see where you stand and start working on improving it today.
If you'd like to get started with SEO, download my free Beginners SEO Quickstart Guide checklist here.
And if you'd like some personalized help, book a Power Hour with me – I'd love to chat and help you get started!
Or alternatively Get your free Website SEO report here to find out how your website is doing right now and understand key areas for improvement!
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