Link building is a must (for all but the least competitive keywords), if you want long-term search engine rankings for your website. The secret to ranking well boils down to one simple equation: tight website optimization plus backlinks equals high placement.
Why?
If you do a search on Google for a competitive term such as “real estate Columbia, MO” you’ll see more than 26 million results. How does Google decide which one comes first?
The search engines need to figure out how best to differentiate between all those sites vying for top positioning. On-site SEO (the words and coding on the site itself) is one factor, but often that’s not enough. You also need inbound links, or backlinks.
Google interprets a link from Page A to Page B as a vote by Page A for Page B. The more “votes” (backlinks) you have, the more popular your site is deemed to be (hence the term “link popularity”) and the higher that site will rank in the search results. And the longer it will stay there.
The link building process requires time, patience and dedication, which is one reason why it is often outsourced to companies like mine. Sometimes, link placement on niche directories is enough, but other times you need to contact related website owners and ask for backlinks. There are all sorts of link building strategies, and the options that are right for you will depend on how competitive your market is, how quickly you want results, how many keywords you want to rank for and your budget.
In a relatively small market, 50 to 100 backlinks from directory sites may be all you need, and that can be accomplished in a month’s time.
I can do keyword research to help determine the best link building approach for your business – in fact, it’s a good idea to do this before you even start your site. DEFINITELY do it before any remodel or redesign.
Contact me for a link-building quote.
Note: Web designers, graphic artists – I’d be happy to work with you, to help your clients with this and other marketing or search-engine-related tasks.
