Website Links: Doorways to Great SEO
In our recent post, 3 Things You Need to Know About Google, we talked about website links acting as doors. Perhaps Walt Disney, a man ahead of his time, explained how doorways can best move us forward when he said,
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We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.
It’s curiosity that leads us to the Internet. We’re curious about questions that need answered and problems that seek solutions. A quick Google search provides us with a list of website links containing the information, answers and the solutions we are looking for.
Google’s search engine results page (SERP) links are the easiest way for clients and prospects alike to find your website. It’s also how they encounter competitor’s websites. The higher your site ranks on the SERP, the better the chance that visitors will walk through your door. So, how do you achieve that higher ranking?
In a 2016 interview with Search Engine Watch, when asked about Google’s No.1 and 2 ranking factors, Google’s Senior Search Quality Strategist Andrey Lipattsev replied, “Yes, I can tell you what they are. It’s content and links pointing to your site.”
Links Pointing to Your Site
Also known as ‘inbound links’ or ‘backlinks,’ website links from other reputable and trustworthy websites to yours are the top source of organic web traffic. The most important words in the previous sentence are ‘reputable’ and ‘trustworthy.’ According to SEO industry leader, Moz, Google’s most recent search algorithm iteration, Fred, “…went after (most) sites that were using sub-par content and spammy backlinks.”
The No. 1 strategy to increase backlinks that drive traffic to your site is Quality Content.
As we said in our recent post, “Content is king at providing valuable information that tells a story, answers questions, both educating and entertaining us.” Consistently providing valuable content will establish industry knowledge and authority. This will, in turn, position your website as both reputable and trustworthy. And over time, you will earn quality backlinks when your content is referenced by bloggers and shared on social media by appreciative readers.
Internal and Outbound Website Links
While inbound website links act as doors into your website, internal links act as doors from one room to another on your website. Example: Internal links in this post to other Valorous Circle blog posts include:
While not considered a Google ranking factor, when readers follow internal links and read other pages or posts on your website or blog, the traffic is noted by Google. Google gives you credit for linking to relevant content when it adds value to your reader, even when that content is on your own site.
In the same way, linking to related content on other websites and blogs helps your reader find the information they are looking for and are viewed positively by Google’s algorithm. Examples of relevant outbound website links in this post include quotes from and links to:
While outbound links direct readers away from your site, you will benefit if the sites you’ve linked to reciprocate with links. By being proactive, you can help create this revolving door effect. Here’s how.
- Create well-written and valuable content containing an outbound link to pertinent information on another website or blog.
- Contact the owner of the other site.
- Let them know that you’ve mentioned them on your site.
- Ask them to check out your post and encourage sharing it with their readers.
Using this approach, you will begin to build relationships with other businesses and thought leaders in your industry. And in time, those relationships will result in reciprocal links back to your site.
The greatest benefit of the revolving door link strategy is that more links will improve your site’s Google ranking. And, in turn, a higher ranking will result in more links – more doors to your website.
If you’re ready to throw the doors open wide to your website, let’s talk. Call Valorous Circle today. After all, in the words of Paul McCartney,
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“Someone’s knocking on the door. Someone’s ringing the bell. Do me a favor. Open the door and let ‘em in.”
