What is Linkbuilding and Why do You Need It?Linkbuilding is a mysterious term to those not familiar with the internet marketing world. Many people who do have a small foundation of linkbuilding knowledge only see it as linking one site to another. Really, the premise of linkbuilding is so much greater than this simple perception. It is an integral part of any search engine marketing plan, and everyone should know and understand what it is and how it works.

What is It?

Linkbuilding by definition describes an action aimed to increase the number of inbound links to a page. Simple, right? Wrong! Getting such links usually requires something called reciprocal linking; which is the act of creating a mutual link between two websites - allowing the websites to share traffic. This is the common practice of linking throughout the web, and is a ver important part of any internet marketing plan.

Linkbuilding and Search Engines

Linking is also one of many factors used by search engines to determine the relevance of a website. This tells search engines two things: one, that this site is socializing with other sites or sharing information; and two, what this site means to the internet. Linking is a search engine’s way of determining a website’s placement and relevancy to topics.

Some believe that if a site has a million inbound links in their niche, they will completely dominate the top spots on the web. This theory seems strong, because having a million links voting for your site does, in fact, make you relevant; but those million links from everywhere makes your site relevant to, well, nothing. Linkbuilding is strongest when you link to sites within your niche. This allows search engines and readers alike a concise definition of your website and its positioning.

Anchor Tags

Getting links is just a single part of the equation. Relevant anchor tag are just as, or even more, important than the link itself. An anchor tag is the word or phrase in a sentence that you can click on to be directed to a different website that is relevant to the topic at hand. These tags are used to link one site to another. The words you use in the anchor tag are important keywords, as they indicate to any search engine what the page is about, and that the site the phrase links to is relevant as well. When you do your search queries on Google or Bing, these anchor tags and links carry a lot of weight in determining if your website matches the search.

As you know, we are in digital age where millions of transactions occur online each and every day. Just having a website is a great move in the right direction, but isn’t enough to compete in a digital marketplace. A website needs to function as a tool that dominates search engines and socializes with potential buyers on the web. This is how linkbuilding helps a stagnant site move from off the radar to directly in front of new buyers. I’m not saying this is the only method of getting online traffic, but it is cost efficient and can sustain for longer periods of time (assuming it is done correctly the first time).

Linkbuilding is a journey of discovery and changes as the web develops. It requires some time and effort to do successfully, and is a powerful catalyst for good search engine traffic.