By Contributing Author

Link building has always been one of the crucial aspects of SEO marketing. However, ever since the first-ever Google Penguin algorithm update in April 2012 soared in penalties for the websites with unnatural backlink profiles, the significance of link building for online businesses has been questioned. And following up this many people held back investing in the link building strategies.

So, is the show over for link building, or there’s much left to help your business thrive? Does it still make any difference?

To get a better understanding of the course, here are a few points giving leeway to all your possible queries and concerns.

What is link building for online businesses?

Link building complies with the practice of acquiring hyperlinks from different websites using them for your website to link your webpage.

Links have always been a powerful tool determining the credibility and popularity of any website. Besides, they were more of a means to evaluate more popular sites, enabling Google to provide users with the best results for their search.

With time, many link building strategies began hovering around the place. And almost every different type worked remarkably well for several online businesses.

Rewinding to link building

Back in the early days, link building mandated manual prerequisites, with webmasters working along agreements to acquire links. And SEOs sourcing for directories to submit their links to.

However, it didn’t take long for people to learn that they can easily redirect their way from all the hassle by easily inserting their links—into forums, blog posts, guest books, and comment sections.

Along with this, anchor text (text directing to the linked website) was subjected as a great ranking factor under Google’s algorithm. And ever since the automation crept in, link building for online businesses became a fast and effective process.

Now, with easy access to the sources, millions of blogs, directories, and dummy sites began formulating links, contributing to the enormous link networking. However, no doubt, it also got into place unnatural or junk links, surpassing the sole purpose of links in the search.

Nonetheless, coming up with the penguin update, Google soon after secured a way to knock down manipulative linking.

This alongside brought in thousands of corrupt sites into the light. And also, apparently put a halt over many malpractices, including content-based link building, link-baiting, and broken link building.

With this, Google worked effectively, analyzing, and detecting the overall prospects of link building. Penalizing the webmasters pursuing manipulative links, Google strived to bring trusted sources to the forefront.

Does link building still matter?

The current scenario mainly concerns the means of pursuing quality links while taking charge of the junk links.

Hence, cease to endorse the simple conventional procedure of link building, making it a bit challenging for you to step into the realm.

However, nothing could undermine the fruitful results of link building that you can reap overcoming all the challenges.

Considering the list of top seven ranking symbols concluded in the Search Engine Journal, acquiring authoritative links works best to make your website to the top. This majorly relates to creating great content and earning links naturally, working with no tactics.

Following up with this, the total backlinks and referring domains are also determined to take a major portion of the bigger picture.

All in all, potential links hold the utmost importance and perhaps are the key for anyone who aims at succeeding online. The top linking services bind to the following criteria to make sure that a link is valuable:

• A relevant and reliable source- Is the site linked to your page falls under the same niche? Or the link comes from a trusted source? You’d surely not like to work with manipulative domains, spamming you with corrupt links. Or the links that do not align with content airing your business or the types of services you offer.

• Bring in traffic- A ideal link not only adds on to the ranking of your website but also sends in potential traffic — targeting the relevant audience.

• Total other links on the page- Numbers have always influenced the link building strategies. However, the MORE, the MERRIER concept, often tends to contradict the cited criteria. This is to imply with the fact that the less the number of links on the page linking to your site, the more value will be granted to your link. With quality prevailing over quantity, mark that — the fewer, the better!

How link building benefits online businesses?

Along with boosting your SEO rankings, link building for online businesses lines up with several other advantages. These include:

• Promotes Brand – Link building works in promoting your brand. Using the relevant links to the content can help you validate your authority in your reign. Plus, it can also endorse your brand, emphasizing the services offered by your company, while prioritizing customer satisfaction.

• Builds healthy relationships – While paving your way of building links, you tend to reach out to other businesses regarding certain consultations. This can not only lead you with your primary focus of improving your links but also help you build good relations with other groups, bringing in mutual benefits for both the businesses.

• Assist with the referrals – Using strong, relevant links can increase the traffic and improve your SEO ranking. Linking your site with a popular website can boost your sale as well. And with potential customers hauling in, you can churn out benefits in the future, by striving to turn them into your regular clients.

With anything and everything that’s been said, link building for online businesses never lost its urgency. Links are not just a part; they are the most valuable aspects of online marketing structure, contributing to the success of any online business.