5 Things You Need to Know About Link Building to Establish Your Online Image

October 5, 2020

Establishing yourself as a thought leader in your niche is the most successful way to expand your online reputation. And one of the most potent ways to do this is to capitalize on link building. When applied strategically and in a way that is natural to ensure there are no negative consequences, links will cause the Google algorithm to work to your benefit. Here are five things you need to know about link building to improve your online image.

The Essence of a Thought Leader

Thought leaders are “the go-to people in their field of expertise.” Thought Leadership Lab Becoming a thought leader is not a self-applied label, though. It requires dedication to producing and marketing top-notch, trustworthy, and engaging content. But this is not enough either. Your consumer audience needs to find you. According to OptinMonster, there were more than 500 million blogs on the internet in 2019. As of the end of 2020, there were around 1.9 billion web pages.

How do you establish yourself as a thought leader in such a crowded digital world?

1. What is Link Building?

In a nutshell, link building is the process of connecting content within your website (anchor text) and getting other websites to connect to your website (backlinks). Creating a broad network of links to your website from trustworthy online platforms amplifies your exposure in the digital world.

2. Consider the Statistics

A Hubspot survey found that external links were one of the three most valuable aspects of search optimization strategies.

Links are one of the two top criteria considered in Google’s page ranking algorithm (Search Engine Land)

51% of users report that they see results of link building within one to three months (Aira survey)

3. Link Building to Establish Your Online Credentials

When websites link to your website, search algorithms identify you as an authority in your field. Search engines analyze your backlink profile when determining if your corporate, political, or social identity is reputable and should be recommended. Every website that links to yours strengthens your credentials as a thought leader. The more backlinks you have, the higher you’ll rank on Google.

4. Link-building is Only as Good as Your Website Traffic

To get the attention of the algorithms, you need website traffic. The only way to increase organic visitors to your website is to:

Define your target audience

Create content that is visionary, well-researched, informational, and engaging

Provide accurate solutions that can be used by your target audience, based on your professional experiences

Publish original data, with quotes from respected sources

Be sure that all website pages are SEO optimized

5. Focused, Strategic, and Methodical Link Building Builds Your Online Credentials

The data proves that link-building works. But it requires a focused, strategic, and assertive effort. You’ll need to secure backlinks from the same digital sites that reach your target audience and are relevant to your industry and topic. We strongly suggest not to engage in spammy link building as this can cause your website to get a punishment or even blacklisted by Google. Guest authoring is a popular strategy. Participating in social media groups related to your industry can magnify your exposure to leading industry websites that might link back to you. And of course, simply generating great content and sharing it with others in your field will encourage natural backlinks.