Improving your website’s relevance and authority helps you rank higher on Google and other search engines. This guide shows you how to level up your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) with link building. 

Why is link building important for SEO?

Search engines want users to find quality content on their sites, so rank the websites that they deem most relevant, trusted and authoritative in their results. 

If Google started signposting you to rubbish websites that aren’t relevant to your search terms, would you continue to use it?

Both technical and on-page SEO increase your website’s relevancy and contributes to authority, but it’s securing quality links back to your website from other sources that let Google know your website is worth ranking on the first page. 

Below are some ways that you can start building your website’s authority through link building. 

Tip: The aim is to get quality links from trusted websites. So bear this in mind when you’re applying the following steps to your business.

Get organic links back to your content.

Put simply, one way to improve your website’s authority is to get people linking back to your content. 

This can happen in a number of ways, but essentially it’s people mentioning you and linking to your website from their pages. 

It’s a bit trickier than it sounds, but it’s not impossible.

One way to get people linking to your content is to create content worth linking to. 

Your goal is to create quality, shareable content that people want to share with their audience. 

Some ideas include sharable infographics, statistical roundups, or even original research that others can share and use in your niche. 

Reach out to people in your niche.

You don’t need to sit and wait for people to link back to your site; you could reach out to them with your content and ask them to refer to your content. 

Of course, there’s a little bit of research to do with this, and you need to pitch it right for it to be successful, but it does work. 

All you need to remember is to make sure the content is super relevant to the website you’re reaching out to and would offer value to their readers. 

Offer to write guest blogs. 

Some websites allow you to submit and publish guest posts on their sites, with some letting you add a link or two back to your own content. It’s a good way to start building those links. 

Again, relevancy is the crucial element here. Make sure the site you’re guest posting to is relevant, as well as the content you’re writing about. 

Links from various online profiles and directories can also contribute to your page’s authority, so if there are any you can sign up to, linking from these sites can be great for link building. 

Check out Neil Patel’s guide to guest posting.

Find broken or unlinked mentions. 

Have you been featured on websites in the past? It’s a good idea to look back on any features you know of and make sure those links are still working. It’s easy for a broken link to appear or for a reference to your brand without a link back. 

If you discover any broken or unlinked references to your brand, send a polite email asking for the correct link to be added.

Need some help getting your website to appear in your ideal customer’s Google search? Get in touch with a member of the Mattix team today.