It’s commonly known that link building is a key element of search engine optimisation, but as with most SEO factors, taking short cuts can actually have a detrimental effect on your website search performance so it’s vital to do it in the right way. In this article we cover the misconceptions and mistakes that surround link building for search, and look at the most effective way to get results from the process.

The biggest mistake

It’s often thought that simply having a massive volume of backlinks is the way to go with link building, and there are countless companies offering link building as a quick-fire service. However, these services more often than not involve masses of links from irrelevant sites, link farms and generally disreputable sources. Take a quick look in your junk folder and you’re sure to find a promo email from a company selling this service – there’s a very good reason it’s been classed as junk… Using these services results in hundreds (or thousands) of new links being added at once – a great way to set alarm bells ringing when your site is indexed. Once the service is finished, which won’t take long, you’ll be saddled with a load of pointless – and at worst negative – links attached to your website.

Think quality over quantity

Quality, effective link building for SEO is a straight-forward enough process, but it takes a good deal of planning and time to implement correctly.

Building your links steadily and regularly shows search engines that you’re developing organically. Aim for between five and ten quality new links a week, with sites that have relevant themes. Working this way over six months or so will result in a good batch of backlinks that present your website as a reliable and authoritative resource.

Outbound linking

Don’t restrict yourself to inbound links either. Although inbound links are absolutely more important from the mechanics side of SEO, having a good range of useful outbound links can provide a helpful service to your visitors and give them another reason to come back to your site. Think of outbound links simply as good content that enrich the user experience – the ultimate goal of SEO.