Link building is one of the critical aspects of doing SEO. It’s something that everyone involved with SEO needs to know how to do well.

It’s also a complete pain in the neck.

Why? Because in SEO, everyone is at the mercy of a constantly shifting playing field that revolves around decisions made by the search engines, particularly Google.

And link building’s role in all of that is something that cannot simply be ignored. As noted by just about everyone, search engine algorithms are still link-based. Even the growth in the importance of social signals, while changing the landscape somewhat, have not replaced link-building as one of the top factors in how you place in search engine result pages (SERPs).

Here are some other reasons good link-building is extremely difficult.

SEO Link Building: Quality Costs Money

The first step in good link building is getting quality content, and the only way to do that – unless you are a writer yourself – is to pay someone through a contract or hire someone to come in-house.

Cheap, poorly-written content is one of the reasons why algorithms change so often – search engines are trying hard to weed that sort of thing out of SERPS. Still, it’s going to cost you money to do it right.

Time Consuming

Producing good content takes time. You will need to research topics, find a writer, work out a deal and then edit and post the content – and that’s just one for one article. You must repeat for each subsequent article. This will take time away from other tasks.

Placing the Content

So you have the content, but where to post it. If you are thinking that pretty much any site related to your topic will do, then that will certainly make link-building easy. But it will also be a gigantic waste of time.

To do things properly, you need to take the time to research websites thoroughly before placing content on them. For example, you should, at the very least, check out other content on the site to make sure it is good; check the site’s domain authority and check out whether it is part of a network of sites you can use.

Some Tips to Consider

Like many things in life, the pathway to good SEO link building is simple and uncomplicated, but not easy. Here are some things to keep in mind.

There Are No Shortcuts

You can’t wish or fake your way into good links. Some people sit back and wait for the links to come, but the truth is you are better served going out and seeking good links. Your good content or product will shine through, but you have to get people to the site first.

A Link is a Link is a Link – Not

One link is not equal to another. You can get 20,000 links, but if they are all junk links, it’s not going to help your site. In fact, it might hurt it. Far better to get a link from a site with authority – the search engines read this as validation of your content.

As Search Engine Land points out, you have to think of links like political endorsements. They are not equal. One from the president is going to carry a lot more weight than one from your local city councilman.

Consider New SEO Link Building Strategies

Think about ways to get links outside of placing content on another site. Think about options such as:

  • Infographics
  • Interviews (with industry experts or other bloggers or both)
  • Micro sites (build a site around a single concept)
  • Quizzes (people share the good ones)

Collect and Share Content

It’s called aggregating content, and it can lead to a lot of links back to you site. Simply collect and share content you think will prove interesting for your audience, and place it all with links in one blog post. As you gain a reputation as being good at collecting content on a certain topic, more people will visit your site, more people will follow your links and more people will eventually link back to you.

These are just some of the many, many ideas you can find all over the web. But the main thing to remember is that building quality links is a lot of hard work, but if you put in the time and develop the right kind of content, you will eventually succeed.