Link building is extremely important in the world of SEO. Having links to and from your website is a form of a relationship with another company or brand, and this will help your company to grow.
You should be looking to create a valuable connection with each link, because who would want to link to something that provides their site, their audience and their website no value?
Content creation and link creation can also be abused. If you are publishing both just for the sake of the SEO benefits, this will lead to a strained relationship and weak links. Focus on creating the most valuable links, then look towards obtaining a link as the benefit.
Aside from producing content, there are other ways to secure links without it!
1. Mentions. If a company is already talking about your brand, it will be so much easier to secure a link there. If you ask politely to include the link, and explain it will help grow your audience, you can likely secure this valuable link. Check Google Alerts for mentions of your company, day to day, or by month.
2. Directories. A directory is an older practice for links, however, not one to be overlooked. These directories can help you navigate the web – but do require much scrutiny and careful reading. So many of these directories only exist for SEO benefit and don’t provide any real use to the consumer. When searching for something on a directory, be sure it is relevant to your search and is operated by a human being, not a bot. Be sure the site is indexed by Google.
3. Partnerships are a perfect way to secure a link for both parties. Linking to and from each other sites will provide a benefit for both people, and increase visibility.
4. Community engagement. Google sees links as a credit to yourself and business, and working within your community to secure these will give your company a good boost. Look to get involved in charity events and consider sponsoring one!
5. Testimonials. Testimonials are a display of a relationship with people – which will help you to verify your business even further.