What is link building? [All-encompassing article for the entrepreneur]

Link building is a part of search engine optimization (SEO) that allows you to achieve higher rankings.

In recent months, I often received questions from clients such as: How can I get natural backlinks to my website? What are the best strategies? Are there any risks involved? What tools can I use?

Actually in a nutshell, what is link building?

Why is link building good for your Google rankings?

I often explain link building in the following way:

Suppose you are a plumber in a village of 1,000 inhabitants. Besides you, there is one other plumber, Pietje. So that makes you competitors, but who should the (new) inhabitants choose?

Then imagine the following, already over 800 residents refer to you when someone is looking for a good plumber. So who will others go to when they need a plumber?

Exactly! And that's exactly what link building does, but online.

When multiple relevant Web sites link to your site, not only does your authority increase, but also your familiarity and trust. These are three important factors that determine how well you rank in Google. Having more backlinks than your competitor theoretically helps you be found better.

Note: In theory, because your position in Google also depends on many other factors. 

Source: MOZ

But it can also be the case that link building is bad for your Google ranking. For example, if too many links are created in a short period of time, or if the links are totally irrelevant. Google is poking through this better and faster.

Specifically, a link from a website about Fortnite strategies to a plumber? Google immediately sees that as unnatural and intended to influence ranking.

What are the disadvantages of link building?

For you as a business owner, the desired result of link building performed by a specialist is difficult to achieve.

It takes a lot of time and you also lack the right tools, contacts and knowledge. In my opinion, these are also the biggest disadvantages of link building. Still, there are ways in which you as an entrepreneur can use link building effectively. I will come back to that in a moment.

First, a word about the disadvantages. Many online marketing agencies create bad links or use a proprietary link network (PBN). While a PBN is not necessarily bad, improper link distribution can hurt your ranking.

Source: Blackhatlinks

In recent months, I have spent a lot of time analyzing link profiles of online marketing agencies, their clients and their link networks.

It is noticeable that the level of link building is often lower than what is shown online.

And that brings us to another disadvantage, obscurity. There are so many articles about link building these days that it becomes unclear to you as a business owner what works and what does not.

An example: it is often said that links on home pages no longer work. But why are the parties with a No. 1 position there?

My advice: test it and see what works! To measure is to know.

The three different forms of link building

When you have delved into some articles about link building you soon find out that there are three different forms, namely: white hat link building, grey hat link building and black hat link building. (At least if these exist)

White hat link building is performing link building that complies with Google's guidelines. When you employ this "method," you don't run the risk of comments and possible penalties from Google. This form is also called the purest and most natural form of link building.

Grey hat link building is the gray, (currently) tolerated area between white hat link building and black hat link building. These methods do not quite meet Google's guidelines, but are not currently penalized.

Black hat link building is the gathering of links through methods or techniques that do not comply with Google's guidelines. Examples include participating in link exchange programs, cloacking, hidden text or links or automatically collected content.

How link exchange works within Google's rules

100% of all online marketing agencies active in link building engage in link exchanges for their clients, including OMA. In fact, link exchanges have a proven effect.

Of course, how the link exchange is done does matter, although that's a whole other story. But what exactly is that gray area?

I could start making assumptions, but basically no one knows!

Google says the following on its website:

"Don't try to boost your ranking in search results through all sorts of tricks. A good rule of thumb is that you should be able to explain without guilt what you did with respect to competing Web sites, even to a Google employee." 

We only find out when Google adjusts its algorithm through the well-known Google Core Updates and major changes in search results occur.

6 tips for getting started with link building

Time to tell you, as an entrepreneur, all about it.

By now you know that online visibility is becoming increasingly important. But how do you make sure your website ranks higher in Google? Now that you have the basic information about link building, it's time to tell you as a business owner, all about it.

Tip #1: Have clients promote your work with a link.

First, it's smart to ask old clients you've worked for, for example. They can post a piece on their website about you. For example, did you handle the remodeling of their building? Ask for an article/blog/review that includes a link.

As long as you have done a good job, this is often not a problem.

Pro tip: you can also submit an article or piece of text including a link yourself. Then all they have to do is approve (and post) it.

Tip 2: Link through your landline network

Following on from tip #1, start looking in your current network! For example, as a construction company, you could ask the plumber you always hire if they would like to share something on their website about your collaboration.

Tip 3: Find mentions of your company name without a link

Find out if your company name has been used on the Internet without a link attached with the Unlinked Mentions Finder program. Then it's up to you to contact that party to ask if they can add a link.

Tip 4: Share important pages on social media

Share the page you want to rank higher in Google on social media channels like Instagram and LinkedIn. These are also links to your website.

Tip 5: Put company information on important websites

Add your website to websites such as Openingstijden.co.uk, detelefoongids.co.uk and other sites where you can leave details of your business and website.

Or maybe the neighbor has a blog that deals with what you are doing with your business.....

Tip 6: Look where your competitor is getting links from

Review your competitors' link profile with the free SEO Review Tools program and look for links that you can also create/request.

If you want more link building tips, read my blog 8 tips for a rock-solid link profile!

Domain authority and URL authority?

These two terms you've probably seen passed by in articles about link building.

Domain authority (DR) and URL authority (UR) are figures from the various link building tools that indicate how strong or weak the authority of a website or specific page is. In other words, if two websites are virtually identical, you would rather receive a link from the website that has a higher domain or URL authority.

What is very important to remember here is that these numbers are not from Google and do not directly say anything about how well the organization ranks. But they are often pretty close.

The term domain authority is about the domain. So for example: https://onlinemarketingagency.com

And URL authority is about a specific page. So https://o nlinemarketingagency.nl/online-marketing-bureau-arnhem.

Many link building tools have their own way of determining authority. For example, I may have my website have a domain authority of 33 according to Ahrefs and 25 according to Moz.

So the numbers are a guideline and can be used especially well when you compare them to your direct competitors. When they have a much higher authority, there is work to be done.

Although link building takes time, it can yield great results.

With OMA, for example, about five years ago we had only 191 referring domains and 829 backlinks. Since then, that has gone up well. Now we are at 881 referring domains and 5100 backlinks.

3 best link building programs

Ahrefs

In my opinion, Ahrefs is by far the best program in the field of link building. This backlink tool has a huge database, is very accurate, works terribly fine and has many other useful features besides analyzing backlinks.

The tool is just very pricey. Because my opinion is that a 'Lite' account is not enough, so that's why you easily pay $179 per month.

Majestic

Majestic is also among the top link building tools. The program is a bit cheaper than Ahrefs and also very powerful.

Seo Review Tools

I also mentioned this program a moment ago, but it still deserves a brief explanation. Seo Review Tools is the program for entrepreneurs who want to start link building themselves. The Valuable Backlinks Checker allows you to analyze the link profile of your competitors for free. And this backlink tool is pretty accurate.

SEO Review Tools is less complicated than Ahrefs or Majestic, but then also has fewer features. Just because the tool works so well in the basics, I think you should definitely give Seo Review Tools a chance.

In addition to Ahrefs, Majestic and Seo Review Tools, I also used the following programs:

• Semrush 
• Serpstat 
• Moz
• SEO Spyglass
• SEO Profiler
• Linkody

My advice is that if you want to actively engage in link building yourself, you must have tried the above tools once!

Outsource link building or do it yourself?

My advice is a combination of the two. Also, it is always good to be involved in the link-building process.

As I mentioned earlier, in some cases it is easy for you, the entrepreneur, to get links. These are often more natural links than those created for you by an online marketing agency.

Still, you usually can't beat the volume and quality of links an agency provides for you.

After all, you always want to know where the links that the online marketing agency places will end up, and the online marketing agency wants to know what links you are accumulating.

My vision: the future of link building

I like to tell others how I think about SEO, so too about link building.

Personally, I think the future of link building is all about quality and relevance. Google is getting smarter at distinguishing valuable links from irrelevant additions. It's no longer about "mass is cash," but about links that really fit your content and come from reliable sources. That means really focusing on good links. Especially not on quick tricks that end up doing more harm than good.

In addition, I suspect AI will play an even bigger role. Tools that analyze link profiles or discover opportunities are useful. But I think human strategy will make the difference. I believe in an approach where technology and human insights reinforce each other.

My vision? Link building remains important no matter what, but it requires honesty, authenticity and a long-term strategy. And those who continue to do so not only build authority, but also ensure long-term results.