Hands down, link building is the most important aspect of your overall SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. Google feels very strongly about inbound links, in other words, if your website has a large number of inbound links or other websites feel that you are important enough to link to, then Google looks upon your website with very favorably eyes and will increase your page rank and visibility on the web. We base everything on Google because 70% of internet users will rely on Google as their search engine of choice, so while we consider the concerns of Yahoo/Bing, the main focus is organic growth through Google’s algorithms. Make sense…?
So, how do we start to gain inbound links…? With a quick google search you will find established company’s providing a variety of link building services. While these provide some good resources for building links, in most cases, it takes a trained professional to manipulate the third party software to achieve your desired results. You will still need to understand search words, keywords, landing pages, and blogging. By utilizing a third party link builder, you will have access to their software application to automate the process saving time while providing a steady stream of quality links.
Some link building providers will offer a variety of general link building or you can find more specific link building providers that will focus on a certain kinds of specific links, or a combination of both. Either strategy is fine; however a trained professional can walk you through the process and help evaluate the best strategy for your particular application. Keep in mind, SEO professionals will not generally share the exact elements of their SEO plan, its all part of the “secret Sauce”. In many cases you will need to rely on case studies and prior results.
In general, SEO Company’s pray on websites that have recently launched or have been re-designed and will utilize link building as part of their overall SEO strategy. SEO Company’s tend to dwell on areas that get business owners overly excited about results and everything that is wrong with their current marketing strategy. Be careful, I have seen countless experiences where SEO Company’s expect thousands of dollars as an initial payment and then monthly ongoing fee’s with very little results.
In many cases, it’s best to include your IT or web designer in these discussions in selecting a link company or seo professional. While the IT/Web designer may also provide these services, seo/link building has become its own specialty and having another tech professional on board, can help you to evaluate the best seo/link building professional to hire.
In closing, building links and overall SEO strategies are not a quick fix, it takes time. I would consider options in terms of a minimum 6 month plan, but preferably a 12 month commitment to increasing organic growth through link building.