Link-Building Explained: Play Offense in the Game of SEO (Infographic)

The following is a guest post from George Anderson (@GT_Anders). George is the lead content writer at 216digital, a web design, development, and digital marketing agency in Cleveland. Connect with him on LinkedIn, or find 216digital on Twitter.

When it comes to link-building services for SEO, it’s critical that we educate our prospects and clients. The theory behind white-hat link-building requires an explanation that’s both technically correct and easily understood. If digital marketers can’t articulate their link-building programs in layman’s terms, they’re setting everyone up for disappointment.

Many webmasters started practicing SEO before Google’s recent algorithm updates. The techniques these webmasters learned years ago will no longer help their SEO; in fact, black hat techniques (like spam links in comments and paid directory listings) will only harm SEO today. While there are many components to SEO, including onsite optimization and disavowing any spam links built in the black hat days, the number of quality links built to a domain is still the most important factor in Google’s ranking algorithm.

Luckily, white-hat link-building still offers real SEO value. It’s arguably the only legitimate way to “play offense” in the game of SEO.

The goal here is not to grab any and all links, regardless of quality, but rather to build high-value, contextual backlinks through friendly relationships with webmasters in your niche. In other words, a white-hat link has to make sense in the context of both the linking website and the website getting the link. A link from a pet food website to a car parts website makes no sense, but a link from a pet food website to a pet care blog makes total sense—both to human users, and to Google.

As a visual thinker, I wanted to demonstrate the concept of white-hat link-building with an animated graphic. I wanted to provide a simple, accessible resource that digital marketers and link builders could use to explain their services to prospects and clients. I collaborated with our designer, Sarah Yeager (@sarahmyeager), and the rest of our marketing team to hone this infographic through many revisions. We hope it helps you explain what you do to your clients. Enjoy!

Courtesy of: 216Digital