What is Link Building

The time period backlink making has long been close to because the moment Larry & Sergey made links the centerpiece of the Google algorithm. Well, not exactly, but I think we can agree that it’s existed for a good while.

But over time, and especially in the age of Panda and Penguin, the phrase has grown to mean other things.

Today we might associate hyperlink constructing with content, and some might even claim url setting up is now just url earning.

Well, I’m here to set the record straight. It’s time to define what backlink creating really is and if it has a future as an industry phrase. It’s going to be a bit controversial, and I’m going to be a little critical, so understand this is purely my opinion (and stay with me until I get to my point…).

Definition

I define hyperlink creating as the active pursuit of going out and acquiring links.

This usually involves outreach in some sense, but not always. In times of outreach, it’s about contacting people who probably wouldn’t backlink unless I reached out to them and got them to. Yes, believe it or not, that’s still a practice.

In the sense that doesn’t involve outreach, this usually involves the lower quality website link constructing tactics, but when managed and checked for quality, they can be effective (i.e. niche directories & comments on industry blogs), but usually in only small doses.

Now, what I didn’t say was earning them. Yes, links can be earned, but by no means is the active pursuit of acquiring links dead. If you think url constructing is dead, you aren’t in the trenches. Hyperlink earning does exist, and it’s definitely growing as a practice (who knew offering value could win you something?), but backlink earning is still separate & different; they simply coexist.
 

Content

Content is used as one of many things to get links, but you’re not setting up links by creating great content. Here, content would fall into the website link earning category. You’re not actively acquiring links, but you’re still getting them as a byproduct of offering value through the form of knowledge & insight.

So, for the sake of terminology, I don’t consider the majority of what most see as content to be part of your backlink setting up efforts, because you’re not actively pursuing links in the same way.

But, if you’re smart, they can become the cornerstone of your backlink setting up efforts. I’ll give you a quick example.

Broken links are one of my favorite things to take advantage of because I’m actively solving a problem (weird, that doesn’t seem spammy…), and in return, I’m getting a hyperlink. But a common issue I face is wanting to make sure the content being linked to that’s now a 404 is being properly replaced.

Using a tool like Archive.org, I see the content had significant value & insight (which makes sense why it’s being linked to), and after checking with Open Site Explorer, it seems to have quite a few backlinks to the page. So, I could reconstruct the page, making it even better than before.

But if I stopped there, the purists would say “Congratz! You’ve built great content that’s earned links!” yet all those webmasters still have a hyperlink to the old content that no longer exists. Unfortunately, they don’t get a text message on their iPhone when something like this happens so they can update the page.

So do you think reaching out to them, letting them know about the problem, and getting the backlink out of it is wrong for the Web, not what Google wants, and essentially “spammy”? If so, I’d have to politely disagree.
The future of url constructing

It’s not going away anytime soon.

As long as Google has an algorithm based off links, we will always be manually pursuing them, whether they’re in ways Google likes or ones they don’t. But for those who say all hyperlink constructing is black hat, know this: just because we’re actively pursuing links doesn’t mean they’re manipulative.

Here’s an example. A colleague of mine was telling me about a client who has over 14,000 mentions of his name across the Web. What he’s trying to do is to reach out to those who mentioned them, and simply ask if they would website link back to the guy’s personal website.

You think that’s manipulative? Yeah, he might of earned those links by being influential and getting mentioned, but until someone went out and did the dirty work of constructing them, they wouldn’t exist, and thus, he wouldn’t have gotten credit for them in the eyes of Google.

But I know people are shying away from the time period of url making. Just look at the trends.

link-building-timeline

Heck, try and find the time period “link building” on most big agencies websites. That’s like trying to find Manti Teo’s girlfriend in person. Even Vertical Measures is rebranding themselves as a content marketing agency (you’re welcome for that anchor).

Which is why it makes sense that fewer and fewer are searching for “link building” because all the legitimate agencies won’t be found ranking for it; you’ll be stuck finding some “packaged” deal for $XXX/mo. or some software that, strangely, no one seems to have heard of.

So I get why the trends are moving that way, but after talking with so many effective agencies, they’re still setting up links. I’m not saying they’re not doing the value adding tactics of content and what not, I just want it to be known that they’re still in the trenches. Links is still what people are being paid for, and they’re still developing them.
My final words

The hyperlink developing that’s being attacked is the traditional article directory & comment software type crap, and yes, I’m with you on that one. But don’t generalize hyperlink making as something that’s dead or dying.

There are still hundreds of millions being made each year off of the backs of those creating links, whether it’s for a lead gen, ecommerce, or publishing site. You’ll still find profitable SERPs littered with sites that you can 100% tell that they’re ranking and making X figures each month because of these links, and yes, they were built. Why else would they have a website link on an obscure discount page when they themselves are in a vertical that no one wants to talk about?

Yes, content can work with your website link developing efforts. If you’re smart, research content that’s proven to get links, either because that content is built in the past and people have linked out to it (allowing you to then hit those people up for links), or because you’re solving a problem that people are pained with (at least some of them will have websites if you target the right ones).

So think twice of swallowing the content purists message of “build it and they will come”. Sometimes you need to help them on their way. Still offer value, but go out and claim what’s yours as a result of doing so.

If you’re needing to build links, I suggest you try out my website link making course. I’m the most biased when it comes to subject, so take my words with a grain of salt, but it seems to do the trick for those who need a little help getting the links they need.

Make sure you leave your thoughts in the comments below so we can chat. Thanks for reading amigos!!

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Posted in: SEO (Search Engine Optimization)