Link building is an essential element of search engine optimisation. To put it mildly, ranking high in Google search results without links to your website, preferably from the most popular sites, is quite difficult. We’ve already shared some useful link-building tips in a quick read, but now we’re launching a series of articles to dive deeper into the tricks of the trade.
After the first, second and third, here’s the fourth and final part!
What Makes a Link Valuable?
The link-building tricks we’ve covered in previous articles are useless if your links aren’t valuable. What makes links valuable? Let’s find out!
1. Prestige
The more high-quality websites link to your website, the more valuable it becomes in the eyes of Google’s algorithm. The longer a website has been popular, the more valuable its links are.
2. Relevance
It matters what topics the websites linking to your site cover. For example, if you run a drinks shop, it’s great news if you’re linked in an article titled “The 10 Best Value for Money Whiskies” – but if a beautician’s site links to you, it doesn’t add much value. The more relevant the link is to your topic, the more valuable it is.
3. Anchor Text
Google’s search algorithm doesn’t just scan links; it also evaluates the relevance of the linking text, known as the anchor text. For example, if the title of the article you are linking to is quoted verbatim, and that text leads to the title, or if the anchor text includes an important keyword, it will be a much more valuable link than a generic “click here” link in the same place.
4. Linking Intent
Search engine algorithms are now so sophisticated that they can easily detect the intent behind a link. They can distinguish between user-generated links (e.g., links in blogs or social media posts) or paid links (e.g., ads, sponsored content). These linking methods are only valuable if they come from popular websites and social media profiles.
5. Placement
It makes a big difference where on a website your link appears. For example, if the link is embedded in the body text (e.g., within a blog post), it is much more valuable than if it is placed in the footer or a side box of the page.
It’s also important to position the link as high up as possible, as readers are more likely to click if they see the link at the beginning of an article.
Another factor to consider is how many pages the link leads to within the post – if it only links to your site, it is more valuable than if there are multiple links to different websites in the text.
6. Directions
Link building doesn’t necessarily have to be direct. For example, if you have a product, you don’t have to link to it straight away. Instead, you could create a blog post about the product, link this post to one or more websites, and then link to the product from the blog. If you initiate this route from several valuable websites, you multiply the value of the linking.