Certainly on-page (html) SEO is requisite to achieving strong organic rankings; however, link building has proved time and again that it can yield faster and higher page rankings than all other SEO methods.
So What Precisely Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are incoming links to a website or web page. One way links were originally important (prior to the emergence of search engines like google and yahoo) was as a primary way of web navigation; today their significance is based on search engine optimization (SEO). The number of backlinks is an indication of the popularity or importance of that website or page (Google utilizes them to determine the PageRank of a webpage). Outside of SEO, the backlinks of a webpage may be of significant personal, cultural or semantic interest as they indicate who's paying attention to that website.
How Many Backlinks Will I Need?
For the greatest value from backlink building efforts, a company must be willing to build those links on consistent basis - we recommend at least 200 manual backlinks per month, with perhaps more or less depending on the strength and online savvy of the competition. The amount of time necessary to build backlinks can seem very daunting; however, the truth is that if it is done the correct way, with the right keywords, your company website or blog will steadily climb the rankings - even against formidable long-standing competitors.
Why Is Link Building Important?
A primary reason why building links that point back to your site will increase your rankings is that Google sees slow, steady, white-hat growth in backlinks as a sign of an authoritative site. Many sources believe that high Google PageRank sites linking to your website boost your search engine rankings and provide you with more authority. These types of links will have more potency and increase the ranking values for your site ultimately.
We also believe that as Google Panda (changes in Google's algorithm) becomes more sophisticated, it will be important for websites to demonstrate a dispersion of backlinks from low, mid-level and high PageRank sites. Additionally, it is important to point out that link building must always be a steady, manual process done by real people! Why? Consider what Google will think if a newer website with 40 total domain backlinks from a variety of PageRank sites suddenly, a week later, has 1,400 backlinks from only PageRank 4+ sites that have nothing to do with the niche of that site's products/services. Google is that smart; its algorithm will recognize intentional manipulation and likely punish the site. Companies across the Internet advertise low-cost - we recently found one offering 1000 links for $5! - ways to build 1000s of backlinks overnight. While it is true that this can be done, these "automated" link-building methods will raise red flags for Google and result in a drop in search engine rankings.
In sum, it is true that there are other search engine optimization methods which might be quite effective; however, the importance of link building cannot be understated. Combined with effective keyword research, SEO competition analysis, on-page SEO implementation, and thoughtful monitoring, link-building adds a potent and shockingly overlooked element of a powerful overall SEO campaign.
How Can Corporate Conversions Help Me with Building Links?
You will only see consistently higher search engine rankings if link building is accomplished consistently, manually and in ways that are ethical or white-hat. Our trained link-building staff have years of experience implementing effective link-building campaigns with proven results. Contact Corporate Conversions today for a free analysis of where your website stands relative to the competition. Our Grand Rapids link-building consultants will quickly and honestly tell you what they believe your link-building needs are and work with you to come up with a cost-effective link-building program so that you do not have the worry of doing it yourself.