Link building is one of the critical elements in the digital marketing strategy of any company. Given that it’s one of the essential parameters that search engines like Google consider for rankings, link building can make or break the game for you in the digital landscape.

That’s why companies that formulate robust marketing strategies are too keen on link-building. More than one-third of companies hire experts for link-building. For them, outsourcing link building helps them acquire more backlinks with lower risk. While there are rumors that link-building isn’t needed in the modern digital world, the notion isn’t entirely accurate.

Link building is one of the three primary factors Google uses to rank websites on its search pages. So, while Google might continuously tinker with its search engine algorithms, it’s keen to continue with traditional link-building practices. But will it remain the same in 2023? What does the future of link building look like? Find out all you need to know to stay ahead of the curve in 2023.

What is Link Building?

Link building refers to creating backlinks in your web content. The idea is to link with authentic and popular sources on the internet to bring more credibility to your content.

But why do you need such credible links?

Getting backlinks from authoritative websites means they cite you as a credible resource for information. For instance, hosting a blog and other websites linking your posts in their content enhances your reputation among search engines.

So, when you receive high-quality backlinks, Google considers your content trustable, putting your website on a higher rank against the competitors.

Ultimately, it helps your website to gain more traffic and, therefore, sustains your ranking, which helps you grow your business too.

The Basis of Link Building

The basic aim of link building is to earn Google’s trust in your web content. If you succeed in developing this trust, you can make way for more traffic on your website and provide your customers with the experience they are looking for.

Most search engines, including Google, use backlinking as a major indicator of quality content. Initially, the search engine algorithms focused on the number of backlinks. It didn’t matter whether the links came from an authoritative website. So, as long as you had more backlinks, it was likely to rank better on SERPs.

However, Google brought about a major shift in the link-building sector when it launched the Penguin Algorithm in 2012.

Initially known as the ‘Webspam Algorithm,’ the update was introduced to reduce spam link-building from web content.

The Penguin algorithm focuses on the quality of links that a website receives. Thanks to that, it was possible to:

• Get rid of manipulative linking.
• Allow more quality web pages to appear in higher rankings.
• Reduce blackhat spamming in web content.
• Help trusted sites and content like industry publications, business associations, and suppliers to get more recognition via rankings.

The modern Google search engine algorithms are just an extension of the Penguin update, ensuring that the content having high-quality resources and links reaches the audience.

Is Link Building Still Relevant to SEO?

Link building helps readers access quality resources while they’re on a webpage. While readers can access authentic websites, it also builds their trust in your content. So they will likely stay on your page for longer and refer to your content in the future.

This is just what Google looks for in top-ranking websites. Therefore, it’s no surprise that link building holds such a critical value in SEO.

Primarily, link building is great for SEO because it’s a source of considerable traffic from other websites. It also includes referral traffic. Moreover, link-building with other businesses strengthens your bond and helps them grow collectively.

For instance, if a highly reputed industry publication or business association links to your website, it improves your credibility as a business in the digital landscape.

Link Building in 2023

So how will link building move forward as we move deeper into 2023? As we progress, Google is slowly shifting to a recently announced patent application to revamp its current link-building evaluation model.

The algorithm now considers the distance between the linked and seed sites. These seed sites must be of high quality and authoritative, shifting focus from the number of backlinks to better quality links.

At the same time, Google also suggests that a top-ranking website has four times more quality backlinks than those ranking from two to ten.

Regardless of the debate between quality, proximity, and quantity, it’s obvious that backlinks will stay a critical aspect of website rankings on Google.

Link Relevancy vs. Authority: What Matters More

When Google evaluates the quality of any link, it focuses on two critical parameters:

1. Link Relevance
2. Link Authority

Link Relevancy

Link relevancy refers to the connection between the content on your website and the one that links to you. Google wants to see if the two websites discuss the topic in the same niche or if it’s just an attempt to get a backlink.

For instance, if a Forbes business webpage links you while you talk about DIY repair hacks, it doesn’t create a connection between the two websites. Hence, Google may consider it irrelevant so that it won’t enhance your reputation as a website.

Link Authority

Link’s authority refers to how reliable and relevant a website might be concerning its niche. A number out of a hundred indicates whether the linking website should be considered authoritative.

Typically, when a higher domain authority website links to yours, it makes your content more credible. An industry publication linking to your website could be a great booster for your SEO rankings.

Links & Domain Authority

Links and domain authority have been and will continue to be critical factors in search engine optimization (SEO) and link building. In 2023, links and domain authority will be more significant in determining a website’s search engine ranking. Therefore, it is vital to understand how links and domain authority work and how to improve them.

Domain authority is a measure of a website’s strength and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines. Several factors, including the number and quality of inbound links to a website, calculate it. Therefore, building high-quality links is essential to improving a website’s domain authority.

When building links, it is crucial to focus on quality over quantity. Low-quality links can harm a website’s domain authority and ranking. Instead, it is better to focus on building high-quality links from reputable sources. These links should be relevant to the content on the website and come from authoritative sources in the industry.

Backlink Relevancy

In 2023, backlink relevancy will be more important than ever. Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated in detecting irrelevant or low-quality links and penalizing websites that engage in these practices.

Therefore, when building backlinks, it is essential to ensure that the content on the linking website is relevant to the content on your website. This relevance helps to establish the credibility of your website and the quality of your content.

Additionally, it is crucial to focus on building backlinks from diverse sources. A backlink profile that is too reliant on a single source or type of source can appear spammy and harm your website’s ranking. Instead, focus on building a diverse profile of high-quality backlinks from various sources, including blogs, news websites, social media platforms, and industry publications.

Authority or Relevancy in Link Building

While having both is the ultimate goal, linking authority is more challenging. On the other hand, relevancy is easier as you can get more backlinks from websites that are necessarily high authority. So, link relevancy is a more efficient option for link building.

Link Building Quality vs. Quantity

The debate for quality vs. quantity in link building seems never-ending. It’s quite intuitive to think that quantity will outplay quality. Even if the links aren’t high quality, the number of links may overwhelm your website rankings.

However, linking from low-authority websites can hurt your rankings. So, while it’s difficult to get links from high-quality sites, it’s the only way to ensure better SEO rankings.

FAQs

Conclusion

Link building is here to stay because it’s one of the sources for credible and high-quality content. Since modern search engines are keen to upgrade link evaluation algorithms, content creators must generate informational content that attracts more backlinks to help them score better on SEO.