{"id":6437,"date":"2025-03-14T11:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T16:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/?post_type=guide&#038;p=6437"},"modified":"2025-09-17T13:51:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T18:51:43","slug":"beginners-guide-to-link-building","status":"publish","type":"guide","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/guides\/beginners-guide-to-link-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Beginners Guide To Link Building"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"6437\" class=\"elementor elementor-6437\" data-elementor-post-type=\"guide\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2b169d99 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2b169d99\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-479033a5 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"479033a5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50a8e3c9 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"50a8e3c9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInDown&quot;,&quot;_animation_delay&quot;:200}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Beginner\u2019s Guide to Link Building for SEO<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4cb55e19 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4cb55e19\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Everything you ever wanted to know about PPC, SEO, and Content Marketing. It\u2019s not voodoo magic. Arm yourself with the information you need to hold your agency accountable for results.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5110765b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5110765b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bf74ca5 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2bf74ca5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2dcd3138 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"2dcd3138\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7a370388 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7a370388\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Overview<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1256d935 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1256d935\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What You'll Learn<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8b007bb e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8b007bb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-76d5436b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"76d5436b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ae6e9f4 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2ae6e9f4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f605976 elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7f605976\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chapter ONE<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-378cfc9a elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"378cfc9a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Links and Search<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7036950c elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"7036950c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10486f17 elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"10486f17\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#one\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-long-arrow-alt-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M313.941 216H12c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12v56c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12h301.941v46.059c0 21.382 25.851 32.09 40.971 16.971l86.059-86.059c9.373-9.373 9.373-24.569 0-33.941l-86.059-86.059c-15.119-15.119-40.971-4.411-40.971 16.971V216z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1d87a6c8 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1d87a6c8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-748a5a6 elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"748a5a6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chapter two<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-19f6efbd elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"19f6efbd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Anatomy of a \"Good\" Link<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a8ccb64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"5a8ccb64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4f75554f elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"4f75554f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#two\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-long-arrow-alt-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M313.941 216H12c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12v56c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12h301.941v46.059c0 21.382 25.851 32.09 40.971 16.971l86.059-86.059c9.373-9.373 9.373-24.569 0-33.941l-86.059-86.059c-15.119-15.119-40.971-4.411-40.971 16.971V216z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69e69fd e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"69e69fd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3aa363b3 elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3aa363b3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chapter Three<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b3cc21b elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5b3cc21b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Develop a Link Building Strategy<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5585649e elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"5585649e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-56dc1343 elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"56dc1343\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#three\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-long-arrow-alt-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M313.941 216H12c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12v56c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12h301.941v46.059c0 21.382 25.851 32.09 40.971 16.971l86.059-86.059c9.373-9.373 9.373-24.569 0-33.941l-86.059-86.059c-15.119-15.119-40.971-4.411-40.971 16.971V216z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e819427 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3e819427\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-53b19016 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"53b19016\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6b33f55f elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6b33f55f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chapter four<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-390182fe elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"390182fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tactics for Acquiring Links<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b33b5ee elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"5b33b5ee\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7194ff71 elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"7194ff71\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#four\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-long-arrow-alt-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M313.941 216H12c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12v56c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12h301.941v46.059c0 21.382 25.851 32.09 40.971 16.971l86.059-86.059c9.373-9.373 9.373-24.569 0-33.941l-86.059-86.059c-15.119-15.119-40.971-4.411-40.971 16.971V216z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26e63107 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"26e63107\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-202779ed elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"202779ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chapter five<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d13b0ea elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3d13b0ea\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Dangers of Link Building<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-55114965 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"55114965\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1c456477 elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"1c456477\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#five\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-long-arrow-alt-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M313.941 216H12c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12v56c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12h301.941v46.059c0 21.382 25.851 32.09 40.971 16.971l86.059-86.059c9.373-9.373 9.373-24.569 0-33.941l-86.059-86.059c-15.119-15.119-40.971-4.411-40.971 16.971V216z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36a4a216 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"36a4a216\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;gradient&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-78de4c2b elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"78de4c2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Chapter six<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dea6427 elementor-widget__width-inherit medium-weight elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dea6427\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get the Most Out of Your Link Building Campaign<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-619d748d elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"619d748d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-768873ce elementor-align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"768873ce\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#six\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-long-arrow-alt-right\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M313.941 216H12c-6.627 0-12 5.373-12 12v56c0 6.627 5.373 12 12 12h301.941v46.059c0 21.382 25.851 32.09 40.971 16.971l86.059-86.059c9.373-9.373 9.373-24.569 0-33.941l-86.059-86.059c-15.119-15.119-40.971-4.411-40.971 16.971V216z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read More<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7df29bed e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7df29bed\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-474ebd6e elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"474ebd6e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f101507 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3f101507\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44a17a80 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"44a17a80\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"one\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7993fc78 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7993fc78\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1b1116 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"1b1116\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9c4dc4a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9c4dc4a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CHAPTER ONE<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-38aa85ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"38aa85ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Links and Search<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64d0b01a e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"64d0b01a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-132a52ed uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"132a52ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In a nutshell, how search works, how Google makes $$$, and what all this has to do with link building.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7242f862 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7242f862\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Link building is the search engine optimization (SEO) practice of acquiring backlinks to gain authority and trust to ultimately improve your rankings within search engines.<\/p><p>A backlink is simply a link back to your website from another website. Backlinks are acquired by pitching relevant, uniquely useful content to other websites (i.e., blogs, publications, and industry authorities).<\/p><p>Link building is a vital component of any SEO strategy. There are literally hundreds of factors that affect rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs), yet you\u2019ll be hard-pressed to rank without a robust backlink profile.<\/p><p><strong>We\u2019ll even go so far as to say this:<\/strong><\/p><p><strong>Your business will not rank in SERPs if you do not continually build relevant, quality links to uniquely helpful content on your site.<\/strong>\u00a0All other factors being equal, links are the deciding factor when search engines choose which sites to rank\u2014and which ones to bury 100 pages back.<\/p><p>But in order to gain a big-picture understanding of why link building is important to your business\u2019 bottom line, you first need to understand:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11dc146f light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"11dc146f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>How search engines work<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>How search engines make money<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Why search engines care so much about links<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db261e1 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"db261e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We\u2019ve got a lot of ground to cover, so let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5e3be4ef e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5e3be4ef\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f2ce268 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2f2ce268\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>How search engines work<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-01e2e46 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"01e2e46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Search engines like Google use a complex algorithm \u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thesearchguru.com\/what-is-pagerank\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called PageRank\u00a0<\/a>\u2014 to decide which web pages to display in SERPs. Over the years, this algorithm has become smarter and smarter, producing more and more accurate answers to a myriad of questions.<\/p><p>While Google holds the precise inner-workings of its algorithm close to its vest, marketers have a good idea of the factors the algorithm takes into account when ranking pages through <a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/search-engine-ranking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">experimental data<\/a> and information about all of <a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/google-algorithm-change\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google\u2019s major algorithm updates. <\/a><\/p><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/google-ranking-factors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">algorithm is based on 200+ factors<\/a>, but it essentially comes down to this:<\/p><ol><li><strong>Does your site have good content?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Do you have a wide variety of links pointing to that content?<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>All factors being equal, the key to ranking is <strong>good content plus a robust backlink profile<\/strong>.<\/p><p><strong>Here\u2019s how the algorithm, crawlers,\u00a0and SERPs work in practice:<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-139d8a24 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"139d8a24\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c98cb84 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c98cb84\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>You need something<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-79345bdb light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"79345bdb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Let\u2019s say you need a dog-sitter for your weekend escapade to Michigan. You want them to be reasonably priced, and you want them to be able to come to your home and possibly stay the night. So you type <em><strong>\u201cdog sitter rates overnight\u201d<\/strong><\/em> into Google.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d398f35 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"d398f35\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"883\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-08-06-at-9.43.13-AM.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1488\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-08-06-at-9.43.13-AM.png 811w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-08-06-at-9.43.13-AM-272x300.png 272w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-08-06-at-9.43.13-AM-768x848.png 768w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-08-06-at-9.43.13-AM-216x238.png 216w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3429a268 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3429a268\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Google scours the whole internet for an answer<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-383f5984 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"383f5984\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Google sends out what is called a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/crawling-indexing\/overview-google-crawlers?hl=en&amp;visit_id=638937317455741553-2036707808&amp;rd=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cspider\u201d or \u201ccrawler,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which looks at trillions of pages, determines what they\u2019re about, and \u201cindexes\u201d them, or files them away to display in queries. To date, Google has indexed more than\u00a0<em><strong>130 trillion<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0pages.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5abecaed elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5abecaed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Google uses its algorithm to decide SERP ranking order<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9bbdcfb light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9bbdcfb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For\u00a0<strong>\u201cdog sitter rates overnight\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a very specific keyword \u2014 there are more than 328,000 results! Google has to decide how to rank them somehow. To do this, they use an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search\/howsearchworks\/how-search-works\/ranking-results\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ever-changing ranking algorithm<\/a>, PageRank, which relies on signals like quality of content, site structure, and (you guessed it!) your backlink profile.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca7e137 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ca7e137\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Google displays the most relevant web pages<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5fbf750 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5fbf750\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>From your keyword \u2014\u00a0<em><strong>\u201cdog sitter rates overnight\u201d<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Google can ascertain that you have a specific need. You need a dog sitter who can stay\u00a0<em><strong>overnight<\/strong><\/em>, and you need to know\u00a0<em><strong>how much<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0that service will cost you. Then, it will parse through its index and, according to its algorithm, display only those results it thinks best matches your intent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ab3bdb5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ab3bdb5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>You get your answer<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d5cda89 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7d5cda89\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>It\u2019s right there in the SERP. Google went to great lengths to make sure you got your answer and got it quickly \u2014 a good overnight dog sitter will run about $35 to $65 per night. And, with any luck, if Google did its job right, you\u2019ll be back the next time you have a question \u2014 perhaps even to look up good restaurants in Michigan.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52155ce9 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"52155ce9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-339167d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"339167d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>But wait\u2014why does Google care so much about links?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-224fdea7 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"224fdea7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em><strong>Hint: It has a lot to do with $$$$<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>Okay, okay. So links are great for navigating the web and communicating trust and authority. It makes sense for links to be\u00a0a\u00a0Google ranking factor, but why are links so heavily weighted in Google\u2019s search engine algorithm?<\/p><p>It\u2019s actually pretty simple: money. And lots of it.<\/p><p>Google\u2019s traffic comes for organic (unpaid) search, but Google makes money off advertisements (paid search).<\/p><p>In order to maintain the continual stream of search traffic that pays its bills, Google needs to give users a good reason to return \u2014\u00a0<strong>carefully curated organic results that exactly satisfy searcher intent<\/strong>.\u00a0Then it sells potential \u201cclicks\u201d to advertisers.<\/p><p>User experience (UX) is at the epicenter of how Google makes money and ultimately dictates its algorithm (the method Google uses to rank websites). Without providing a good user experience, Google would risk losing some search engine traffic due to frustration and, in turn, lose money.<\/p><p>Refining the algorithm is how it continually improves the accuracy of the results it provides year over year. Google has found that\u00a0<strong>backlink profiles are the best barometer for the value and authority of a website and its content.<\/strong><\/p><p>Sites don\u2019t link to just anything\u2014they\u2019ll link to useful, relevant, or authoritative content. The more industry-relevant sites linking to a page, the more likely that site has helpful, relevant content that will provide a good experience to the user.<\/p><p>A site\u2019s link profile tells a story about how trustworthy and informative its content is. Google looks to each link as a \u201cvote of confidence\u201d \u2014\u00a0<strong>the more votes you have, the more likely you\u2019ll win a first-page SERP spot.<\/strong><\/p><p>As\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/2015\/04\/27\/the-value-of-links\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Watch<\/a>\u00a0so eloquently put it:<\/p><blockquote><p><strong>\u201cLinks aren\u2019t valuable because of Google, Google is valuable because of its use of links.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><p>Links are how people navigate the web; they\u2019d be valuable with or without Google. Google just happens to be better than other search engines at measuring the worth and validity of links and translating that into a ranking algorithm.<\/p><p>In large part, Google\u2019s success can be attributed to its ability to parse through the billions of links on the web, interpret them, and assign a ranking value to various websites based on them.<\/p><p>Delivering authoritative, helpful sites in SERPs provides a good user experience. And a good user experience means more users will frequent the site, so Google can sell more \u201cclicks\u201d and make more money.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f59057 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6f59057\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-87be029 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"87be029\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The thin line between optimization and over-optimization<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bacaf8 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2bacaf8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em><strong>Google\u2019s goal is good UX, and it can spot link manipulation from a mile away<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>Google doesn\u2019t blindly accept links as an indication of valuable content. I knows there are businesses and SEO agencies who try to\u00a0<strong>game the system<\/strong>.<\/p><p>Remember:\u00a0<strong>Google\u2019s goal is to provide good UX.<\/strong>\u00a0Allowing any site \u2014 regardless of the worth of its content \u2014 to rank because it has links works against that goal. And Google continually modifies and updates its algorithm to\u00a0<strong>penalize sites that don\u2019t play by the rules.<\/strong><\/p><p>Google is very aware of the tactics and tricks SEOs use to obtain links. Some tactics (i.e., naturally earning links through outreach campaigns and creating great content) actually help Google in its quest to provide the best search experience to its users. Other tactics (i.e., link exchanges and excessive directory links) do not.<\/p><p>It continually rolls out updates that penalize those sites that are manipulating ranking signals. In fact,\u00a0<strong>if Google catches you breaking the rules, it will demote your rankings,<\/strong>\u00a0either manually (someone specifically applies a penalty to your site), or automatically (because of an update to the algorithm).<\/p><p>These same updates actually benefit sites providing helpful information, a good UX, and earning natural links.<\/p><p><strong>Here\u2019s the takeaway:<\/strong><\/p><p>As Google\u2019s algorithm gets more refined, SEO will align more and more closely with \u201cuser experience optimization.\u201d To future-proof your link-building campaign, it helps to think of SEO and UXO as one and the same. Because, soon enough, they will be.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66fd8fc9 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"66fd8fc9\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-529c239c elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"529c239c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f48d774 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2f48d774\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5aa1a7ff elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"5aa1a7ff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"two\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8722e40 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8722e40\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7fce262a elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"7fce262a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3232765b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3232765b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CHAPTER TWO<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d967442 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d967442\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Anatomy of a \"Good\" Link<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-295ee787 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"295ee787\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6e940e0b uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6e940e0b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>What types of links do I need?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1395620a light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1395620a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>The anatomy of a \u201cgood\u201d link<\/em><\/p><p>Links are one of the most important SERP ranking factors. They indicate authority, relevance, and other sites\u2019 trust in your content.<\/p><p>But not all links are created equal. Some links provide more value than others. For example, a link from Forbes is understandably more valuable than a link from an obscure mommy blogger. However, it goes much deeper than that.<\/p><p>There are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/beginners-guide-to-link-building\/metrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">many metrics<\/a>\u00a0you need to look at when evaluating the strength, value,\u00a0and relevance of a potential backlink. Namely, we look at user experience, authority, relevance,\u00a0and technical considerations.<\/p><p><strong>Here\u2019s how we (and Google) measure the value of a link:<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d679e86 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d679e86\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cdd814b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cdd814b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>UX<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02db26a light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"02db26a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Do your links point to important or helpful content on your site?<\/strong><br \/>User experience is first and foremost. Every link you build should offer a great UX. If the reader of an article or site would think your backlink was helpful, it\u2019s a good link. If the reader would be confused, then it\u2019s a bad link.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b1057b0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b1057b0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Authority<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-270d358a light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"270d358a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Is the link from a trusted voice in your industry?<\/strong><br \/>Is your backlink on a quality site? There are many measures of \u201cauthority\u201d as it comes to websites (we prefer to look at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/learn\/seo\/domain-authority\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Moz\u2019s Domain Authority metrics<\/a>), but it\u2019s important to make sure at least a good portion of your backlinks come from middle- to high-authority sites.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c3e71b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3c3e71b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Relevance to your industry? Relevance to your target audience?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-92aeb4d light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"92aeb4d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Does it make sense for your company to be linked to within the context of the article or site?<\/strong><br \/>Links from industry-relevant blogs and authorities carry much more value than contextually irrelevant sites or spammy links from directories (and the latter might even land you a penalty). For example, if you are a wholesale car buyer, a link from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jalopnik.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jalopnik<\/a>\u00a0matters a lot more than a link from a wedding magazine.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f78553d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f78553d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Technical<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-585189c light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"585189c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Can Google crawl the link?<\/strong><br \/>Even if one of your backlinks offers great UX, authority,\u00a0and relevance, if it isn\u2019t\u00a0perfect from a technical standpoint, its value diminishes greatly.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-758b1a6 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"758b1a6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>Placement within the page<\/strong><br \/>The further up on the page, the more value Google gives to the link. After all, articles usually put the most interesting stuff first\u2014and Google gives links extra points if they\u2019re closer to the top.<\/li><li><strong>Does the link make sense in context?<\/strong><br \/>If the link is surrounded by semantically relevant words, it is more valuable. Context is important because it\u2019s a way Google can measure whether the link naturally fits into the article \u2014 or not \u2014 and weights the value of the link accordingly.<\/li><li><strong>Is the page indexable?<\/strong><br \/>Sites can actually de-index pages, which means Google cannot crawl these pages, and won\u2019t be able to see or assign value to any of the links.<\/li><li><strong>Anchor text<\/strong><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/beginners-guide-to-link-building#chapter-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anchor text<\/a>\u00a0is the text that is highlighted when there\u2019s a hyperlink \u2014 it\u2019s what tips you off that there\u2019s a link in the first place. Using the right anchor text is paramount to the value of a link. For example, if you\u2019re linking to a page about personal injury law, \u201ccar accident lawyer\u201d anchor text is vastly more valuable than \u201cpie recipes.\u201d And for obvious reason.<\/li><li><strong>Can the crawler \u201cfollow\u201d the link to your site?<\/strong><br \/>Links are valuable because they lead a crawler to your site and pass PageRank value from their site to yours. Some sites, however, block followers from following their links by using \u201cnofollow\u201d coding on the back-end of their site for every link \u2014 Inc. and HuffPost are good examples of high-profile sites that do this. \u201cNofollow\u201d links offer value through \u201creferral\u201d traffic, but they provide little to no SEO value. You want to seek out \u201cdofollow\u201d links in your link-building campaigns.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4a9db82c e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"4a9db82c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ef4f061 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6ef4f061\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Here\u2019s what a good link actually looks like<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f419755 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f419755\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"233\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/anatomy-of-a-link-png@2x-1024x298.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6440\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/anatomy-of-a-link-png@2x-1024x298.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/anatomy-of-a-link-png@2x-300x87.png 300w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/anatomy-of-a-link-png@2x-768x223.png 768w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/anatomy-of-a-link-png@2x-1536x446.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/anatomy-of-a-link-png@2x.png 1810w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-371d665f e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"371d665f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6813d3d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"6813d3d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16273ec1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"16273ec1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-228fcad5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"228fcad5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"three\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3bc82e24 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3bc82e24\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4563af9b elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"4563af9b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c7958a8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3c7958a8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CHAPTER THREE<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70026340 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"70026340\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to Develop a Link Building Strategy<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-212030b6 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"212030b6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24ab8abf uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"24ab8abf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Where do I start?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d45a1c6 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d45a1c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em><strong>How to develop a goal-oriented link-building strategy<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>Now you know why links are valuable and what a \u201cgood\u201d link looks like. So you\u2019re ready to start full-speed ahead on a link-building campaign, right?<\/p><p>Well, not quite. Link building campaigns require strategy. You can\u2019t just blindly build links and expect results. You need to evaluate your current backlink profile, establish goals, reach out to the right publications and, of course, pace your link-building campaign so as not to tip Google off that you\u2019re building links at all.<\/p><p>That\u2019s what this whole chapter is about \u2014 how to develop the perfect, goal-oriented link-building strategy.<\/p><p>Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3e9e0b8a e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3e9e0b8a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15401514 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"15401514\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Step One: Audit Your Existing Backlink Profile<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f4af0c light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9f4af0c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em><strong>Find out what opportunities exist to increase your traffic through link building<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>You need to know where you are right now to know where you need to go. To get the most out of any link-building campaign, you need to know where your links are coming from, which anchor texts they use, and what content is earning the most links.<\/p><p>Whenever we start a link-building campaign for a new client, we do a deep dive into the company\u2019s existing backlink profile \u2014 the complete collection of links pointing toward content on its site \u2014 before building any links.<\/p><p>We use a myriad of tools that allow us to look at which sites are linking to you, which pages the links are pointing to, and even the estimated value of the organic traffic you receive due to the backlinks. We use\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/majestic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Majestic SEO<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/link-explorer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Moz Open Site Explorer<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/dashboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ahrefs<\/a>, among others.<\/p><p><strong>When performing a backlink audit, we ask ourselves several questions, such as:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>How many total backlinks do you have?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Are those links \u201cdofollow\u201d or \u201cnofollow\u201d?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>How many distinct referring domains are linking to your site?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>What types of sites are linking to you? What is their authority?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>How diverse is your anchor text profile?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>What keywords are you ranking for as a result of your backlink profile?<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>How does your link profile compare to your competitors?<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><strong>To show you how we evaluate backlink profiles, let\u2019s look at\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESPN.com\u2019s<\/a><\/span>\u00a0backlink profile using Ahref\u2019s Site Explorer:<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6cf5ddff e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6cf5ddff\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0a8472a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0a8472a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>How many total backlinks do you have?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20687271 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"20687271\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">This is a high-level measure of the value of your backlink profile. This statistic shows how many distinct links point to your site. ESPN, as you can imagine, has millions of links pointing toward content on its site. As of this publishing, 323 million, to be exact.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-41cde3ee elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"41cde3ee\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"777\" height=\"145\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnbacklinks.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1490\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnbacklinks.jpg 777w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnbacklinks-300x56.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnbacklinks-768x143.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 777px) 100vw, 777px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6bc3e02 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6bc3e02\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cd8f14e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cd8f14e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Are your links \u201cdofollow\u201d or \u201cnofollow\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-089e695 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"089e695\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">As we discussed in Chapter 2, there are ways for sites to block search engine crawlers from \u201cfollowing\u201d a link back to your site. These links \u2014 called \u201cnofollow\u201d links \u2014 are significantly less valuable than their counterparts\u2014\u201cdofollow\u201d links\u2014which lead right back to your content, passing PageRank value to your website. ESPN is in a distinctly good position, with 98 percent of its backlinks being dofollow, and only 1 percent being nofollow.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2dcae6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f2dcae6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"270\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/dofollowlinks.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1491\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ea21ab1 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ea21ab1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1fea7f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1fea7f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>How many distinct referring domains are linking to your site?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eba3ea3 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"eba3ea3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Backlinks count as \u201cvotes of confidence\u201d in the eyes of Google. But Google doesn\u2019t want you stuffing the ballot box, so to speak.ESPN, for example, is owned by parent company Walt Disney. In theory, ESPN could acquire thousands of backlinks from Disney\u2019s other subsidiaries, boosting its search engine rankings. Google prevents against this method of manipulating SERP ranking signals by only counting a backlink from a domain once.That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to acquire links from a diverse profile of websites, rather than just establishing a strong relationship with one blog or publisher.<\/p><p data-marked=\"true\">While ESPN may have 323 million backlinks, it only has 218,000 distinct referring domains. This makes sense because many bloggers, teams, and newspapers use ESPN as a source for photos, quotes, and statistics on a regular basis. Therefore, multiple links can be attributed to the same site. Still, each distinct referring domain only counts as one \u201cvote.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-af3a6eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"af3a6eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"731\" height=\"135\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnreferringdomains.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1492\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnreferringdomains.jpg 731w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnreferringdomains-300x55.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 731px) 100vw, 731px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dbca18f e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"dbca18f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f88c121 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f88c121\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>What types of sites are linking to you? What is their authority?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d254cde light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d254cde\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Ahrefs actually provides you with a list of all the domains linking to your site. Below is the first of\u00a0<em><strong>4,357<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0pages of linking domains. Looking through these domains gives you an idea of the types of sites currently linking to you and can allow you to spot gaps or opportunities \u2014 i.e., sites that aren\u2019t currently linking to you that you could target in your link-building campaign.It\u2019s also important to look at the\u00a0<em><strong>authority<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0of the sites that are linking to you. You want an even, natural distribution of \u201cauthority\u201d ratings. If all your referring domains are high-authority, then Google might think your backlink profile is unnatural and penalize you. If all your referring domains are mid-authority, Google might think your backlink profile is unnatural and penalize you.<\/p><p>Basically, you want to have a diverse profile of referring domains because that\u2019s natural. Some high-authority publications might link to you \u2014 but certainly not hundreds of them at once. And some low-authority mommy bloggers might link to you \u2014 but certainly not hundreds of them at once.<\/p><p>Link-building campaigns should provide a balance of high-, mid-, and low-authority referring domains, so the progression looks natural to Google.<\/p><p>ESPN is a good example. It has a lot of low-authority sites \u2014 which are easier to acquire \u2014 a couple mid-authority pages, and only a few high-authority referring domains.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f1eb66 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"1f1eb66\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"685\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkingdomains-1-685x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1499\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkingdomains-1-685x1024.jpg 685w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkingdomains-1-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkingdomains-1-768x1148.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkingdomains-1-159x238.jpg 159w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkingdomains-1.jpg 847w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 685px) 100vw, 685px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52cbc98 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"52cbc98\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"304\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnratedistribution.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1494\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnratedistribution.jpg 310w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnratedistribution-300x294.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnratedistribution-243x238.jpg 243w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b5f9c62 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b5f9c62\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c21c949 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c21c949\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>How diverse is your anchor text profile?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-42f5726 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"42f5726\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Anchor text diversity is just as important as diversity of authority and distinct referring domains. An easy link-building mistake to make is to over-optimize anchor text.For example, if ESPN really wanted to rank for the keyword \u201csports news site,\u201d and built all its links with that anchor text, then it would look very unnatural to Google. Sure, sometimes sites use keywords as anchor text. Other times, though, they link to insignificant words like \u201cthis\u201d and \u201cclick here.\u201dThat\u2019s why you need a diverse collection of anchor texts. Earned links hardly ever have \u201coptimized\u201d anchor text. Google wants you to acquire links naturally, and every link-building campaign should have natural-looking anchor text profiles.<\/p><p data-marked=\"true\">As you can see, ESPN\u2019s anchor text profile is vast and diverse. There are more than 41,000 keyword variations, including non-optimized keywords like \u201carticle\u201d and \u201csaid.\u201d This looks natural, while still including optimized keywords like \u201csports news.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8a7c301 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"8a7c301\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkdiversity-1-684x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1500\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkdiversity-1-684x1024.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkdiversity-1-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkdiversity-1-768x1149.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkdiversity-1-159x238.jpg 159w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnlinkdiversity-1.jpg 874w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ad7afeb e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ad7afeb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd12bb9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bd12bb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>What keywords are you ranking for as a result of your backlink profile?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2855207 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2855207\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">It\u2019s also important to establish a link between your current link profile and the keywords you\u2019re already ranking for organically. This allows you to see where you\u2019re doing well, and where there are opportunities for you to grow your inbound traffic.You want to increase the breadth of keywords driving traffic to your site. Doing an audit of your rankings across hundreds of keywords gives you a better idea of which keywords you should focus your link-building campaign around.ESPN, for example, is currently ranking organically for about 8.1 million keywords. Of those 8.1 million, it is ranking on the first page for more than 1.4 million. It is ranking on the 2nd\u00a0page for 760,000 keywords. And so on.<\/p><p>Building links to 1st-page keywords help\u00a0maintain traffic to your site, and your position in SERPs. Building links to deeper pages\u2014keywords for which you\u2019re currently ranking on the 2nd, 3rd\u00a0or even 15th\u00a0SERP page\u2014creates new opportunities for traffic growth.<\/p><p>Those lower ranking keywords are good targets to focus our link building efforts on. Oftentimes, as long as your content was created with keyword targeting in mind, its already ranking well \u2014 within the first 5 pages. It just needs a push to make it to the first page. Through a strong link-building campaign, you stand to move up to the 1st\u00a0page, earning more traffic and, in turn, more money in the form of qualified leads or purchases.<\/p><p>For example, ESPN is ranking on the 2nd\u00a0page for \u201cPGA.\u201d If it built more links surrounding its golf coverage, it could increase its traffic and earn more money by selling more advertising.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ce74a2b elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ce74a2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"795\" height=\"147\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1496\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank.jpg 795w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank-300x55.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank-768x142.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 795px) 100vw, 795px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a85d0b1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"a85d0b1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3-578x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-1501\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3-578x1024.jpg 578w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3-768x1361.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3-867x1536.jpg 867w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3-134x238.jpg 134w, https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/espnkeywordrank3.jpg 991w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca58a01 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"ca58a01\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dd1d33f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"dd1d33f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>How does your link profile compare to your competitors?<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d3ef29 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d3ef29\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Who are your industry competitors? Which sites are linking to them? How much traffic are those links providing to them? What topics or pages are earning the most links for others in your industry? And, most importantly, how can you use this information to bolster your own strategy?There are quite likely sites that are linking to your competitors and not you. These present opportunities for link building, as long as you have similarly helpful or relevant content worth linking to.Competitive analyses are a key step in any link building strategy. It allows you to see what others in your industry are doing to obtain links and increase SERP rankings. You can learn from their SEO successes\u2014and their mistakes.<\/p><p>For example, ESPN might look to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sports Illustrated<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox Sports<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/sport\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN Sports<\/a>\u00a0for link building opportunities and ideas.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-871ccc8 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"871ccc8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-286fa88 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"286fa88\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Step Two: Build The Framework<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c84a18 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6c84a18\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>How to develop keyword-targeted content specifically for link building<\/p><p>You can\u2019t build links to nothing. Before you build a single link to your site, you need to make your site\u00a0<em><strong>worth linking to<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p><p>Let us say it again:<\/p><p>As Google refines its algorithm, UX and SEO are becoming one and the same. To future-proof your link building campaign, every link you build needs to provide value to the user\u00a0and make sense in context.<\/p><p>Therefore, you need useful content on your site surrounding the keyword topics and themes for which you\u2019d like to rank. You need to create blogs, guides,\u00a0and pages \u2014 called \u201clinkable assets\u201d \u2014 that are uniquely valuable to your target audience.<\/p><p>Keyword research and content creation are the foundation of link-building campaigns. Without quality content to point links toward, link-building is an uphill battle. Think about it: editors, bloggers,\u00a0and industry authorities will be exponentially more willing to link to your site if it provides value to their users or readers as well.<\/p><p>Creating keyword-optimized linkable assets is harder than it sounds, but the idea behind it is really pretty simple:<\/p><ul><li>Analyze how your target audience thinks, talks, and searches about your industry \u2014 <em><strong>these are your keywords<\/strong><\/em><\/li><li>Think about the questions your audience members might ask when they\u2019re looking for a solution you provide \u2014\u00a0<em><strong>these are the topics of your linkable assets<\/strong><\/em><\/li><li>Research which communities your target audience lives within on the internet \u2014\u00a0<em><strong>these are the sites to target during your link-building campaign<\/strong><\/em><\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Once you have a foundation of uniquely useful linkable assets optimized for the keyword themes you\u2019d like to target, you\u2019re ready to strategize which sites you\u2019d like to target in your link building campaign.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2fa2ca84 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2fa2ca84\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ac379b8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"4ac379b8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7475ade7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7475ade7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f39cb89 elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"f39cb89\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"four\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44613199 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"44613199\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11676d06 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"11676d06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-360634b5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"360634b5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CHAPTER Four<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32bc5a87 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"32bc5a87\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Tactics for Acquiring Links<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-104bda06 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"104bda06\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d4edb39 uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7d4edb39\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>How do you get links?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aca0b3e light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"aca0b3e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>A brief overview of building backlinks that will provide lasting value for your site<\/em><\/p><p>Once you\u2019ve done an audit of your backlink profile and developed a strategy for your campaign, you should have a pretty good idea of the keywords you need to target, the linkable assets you need to create, and the sites you need links from.<\/p><p>Now you have to actually build the links. And that\u2019s what this chapter is all about \u2014 the link-building tactics search engine marketers use to secure links that will provide lasting value for your site.<\/p><p>Basically, we\u2019ll take you from a theoretical understanding of link building down to the nitty gritty of\u00a0<em>how we actually do it<\/em>.\u00a0This is the not-so-exciting chapter where you\u2019ll learn that link building, like anything else of value, requires a lot of grunt work, strategic thinking,\u00a0and patience.<\/p><p>See, just because you have a great strategy and build great content does\u00a0not\u00a0mean links will happen naturally. Unless you\u2019re The New York Times of your industry, even your best content will need to be put in front of the right people \u2014 such as the editors and webmasters of industry-relevant blogs and publishers \u2014 and pitched in the right manner to obtain backlinks.<\/p><p>That\u2019s why we call it link\u00a0<em><strong>building<\/strong><\/em>. Just like building anything else, it requires time and effort to\u00a0<em><strong>build<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0links \u2014 they don\u2019t just happen if you pay enough money or produce enough content.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3af476ab light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3af476ab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>There are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/moz.com\/beginners-guide-to-link-building\/tactics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dozens of tactics<\/a>\u00a0you can use to build links \u2014 some of which provide long-lasting value, some of which don\u2019t. We\u2019ll spare you the details, and narrow in on two of the most prevalently used tactics to earn valuable links:<\/p><ol><li><strong>Pitching uniquely valuable content to publications, blogs,\u00a0and industry authorities<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Connecting with your community to create linkworthy buzz<\/strong><\/li><\/ol><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>Ready to get started?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-289c4d25 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"289c4d25\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-121cf3cb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"121cf3cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Outreach campaigns: Putting stellar content in front of important people<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d172c23 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d172c23\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Robots do not link to you \u2014 real people who find your content compelling do. That\u2019s why you need to write linkworthy content with\u00a0<em><strong>real people<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0in mind, and pitch it out to those industry-relevant blogs and publications that will find your content useful to their audience.<\/p><p>This concept is called outreach, and it\u2019s a great way to secure high-quality links.<\/p><p>Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a2509a0 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a2509a0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b2b124c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b2b124c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Identify content gaps in your industry.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ef3807 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2ef3807\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">The best way to generate ideas for linkable content pieces is to look at what is already doing really well in your industry. Look at your competitors\u2019 sites: which pages, guides, and blog posts are earning plenty of high-quality backlinks? Think about ways to explain that topic more completely, or if there\u2019s an aspect or topic they\u2019ve missed altogether. These are opportunities for you to create content that\u2019s better than any of your competitors \u2014 and, therefore, inherently link-worthy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-501f7a1 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"501f7a1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-091a6b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"091a6b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Create valuable linkable assets.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1613569 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1613569\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Now that you know which topics have the potential to earn the most links, you need to create\u00a0<em>really good<\/em>\u00a0content surrounding those ideas. Take content in your industry that\u2019s already earned a lot of links, and create your own piece that\u2019s more engaging, more useful, or more thorough. That way, you know industry-relevant blogs will find your content compelling enough to warrant a link.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c03046e e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c03046e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-610f822 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"610f822\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Form a list of sites to target.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-52d35fe light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"52d35fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Once you\u2019ve created content worth linking to, you need to find people willing to link to it. Generate a list of sites that might link to you, like industry-relevant blogs, publications, and organizations. A good way to start is to look at which sites are linking to similar content from your competitors \u2014 these sites are likely to be interested in linking to your content.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b25ac2d e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b25ac2d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e5a16f3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e5a16f3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Reach out to the right people\u2014<em>in the right way.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-06fb88a light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"06fb88a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p data-marked=\"true\">Everything we\u2019ve talked about thus far has led up to this. You can have the best strategy and link-building assets around, but if you don\u2019t get your content in front of the right people, your efforts won\u2019t earn nearly as many links. And you need to reach out to these editors, webmasters, and owners <em>in the right way<\/em> \u2014 these are busy people, and your outreach email needs to communicate why your content is worth linking to succinctly. Otherwise, your email will end up in the trash, and your hopes for a link will be dashed.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-98bcc18 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"98bcc18\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c82a46 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2c82a46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Okay, so outreach campaigns aren\u2019t exactly as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4 \u2026\u00a0<em>done<\/em>.\u00a0In reality, they\u2019re much more complicated \u2014 whole books could be written on how to identify content gaps, craft the perfect outreach email, or develop valuable linkable assets.<\/p><p>Good link-building companies approach outreach campaigns as part strategy, part art. Through experience, good SEOs learn what makes a campaign work \u2014 and what makes it flop. The only way to learn how, exactly, to execute a successful link-building campaign is\u00a0<em>by doing it.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c5a1db5 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3c5a1db5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-325cdfd1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"325cdfd1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Beyond outreach: Connecting with your community to create link-worthy buzz around your company<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3648e727 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3648e727\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Outreach is a great way to earn contextually relevant links. But it is hardly the only way to earn links. You can also create link-worthy buzz surrounding your company by participating in your community.<\/p><p>What does \u201clink-worthy buzz\u201d look like? Well, it could be anything that is so exciting that others in the community \u2014 even those outside your industry \u2014 would want to link to your site.<\/p><p><em><strong>Here are some ideas:<\/strong><\/em><\/p><ul><li><strong>Sponsor a scholarship.<\/strong><br \/>You could sponsor a scholarship at a local community college or high school. The school, as well as other educational websites, may want to link to your website to give you credit for the scholarship. This is a\u00a0great\u00a0way to get high-authority .edu and .org links.<\/li><li><strong>Organize a giveaway.<\/strong><br \/>Giveaways and contests are good ways to generate link-worthy buzz. All you have to do is let your community know about the deal. Once people hear about your contest, bloggers, local newspapers, and organizations might link to a page with details about the giveaway on your site to help their readers get in on the deal.<\/li><li><strong>Host \u2014 or present at \u2014 an industry event.<\/strong><br \/>When you host or present at an event, you not only garner real-life authority, but you also earn links from attendees and bloggers who want to talk about your event or reference your presentation. This is another strategy for earning industry-relevant links.<\/li><li><strong>Donate to charity.<\/strong><br \/>Charity donations and giveback programs will generate attention \u2014 and ultimately links \u2014 for your site. For example, if you donate 5 percent of every purchase to a certified charity of your customers\u2019 choice, newspapers and bloggers will likely find it newsworthy and link to you. What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll probably earn more loyal customers once they hear how generous your company is.<\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>We could \u2014 and likely will in a future blog post \u2014 go into greater detail as to the dozens of other link building tactics. But the moral of the story is this:<\/p><p><em><strong>There is no \u201cplug-and-chug\u201d way to build quality links. It requires thoughtful strategy, painstaking effort, and lots and lots of patience.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5eb2f828 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5eb2f828\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6f62a465 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"6f62a465\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14093409 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"14093409\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33a2ea9a elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"33a2ea9a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"five\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-569e2030 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"569e2030\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27c465b7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"27c465b7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b9e14fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3b9e14fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CHAPTER FIVE<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d6123a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3d6123a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Dangers of Link Building<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46b97b5e e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"46b97b5e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a09d23b uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5a09d23b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>It\u2019s an all-too-common scenario:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28b6be8c light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"28b6be8c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>You\u2019re working with an SEO company, and its team members promise to build hundreds of quality links to your site in a matter of weeks. They promise this influx of links will skyrocket you to the top of SERP results in no time.<\/p><p>There\u2019s just one problem. These promises are, quite literally, too good to be true.<\/p><p>They\u2019re either lying to you,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/essentials\/spam-policies?hl=en&amp;visit_id=638937318189713676-1266257355&amp;rd=1#link-spam\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">working against Google\u2019s webmaster guidelines<\/a>, or have little concept of how link building actually works. Either way, they are not the link-building partner for you.<\/p><p>Link building is cumbersome \u2014 at least if you want to do it right \u2014 and attaining quality links takes time. It pays to do link building right and play by Google\u2019s rules: it may take longer, but in the end, you will see a steady increase in leads, calls, and, more to the point, paying customers. And you won\u2019t stand the risk of losing it all due to a Google penalty or update.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6667af78 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6667af78\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50f2a7b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"50f2a7b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>What\u2019s the cost of a Google penalty, anyway?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f39861a light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f39861a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Doing link building the right way is tough. Naturally, some businesses will gravitate toward link-building tactics that promise quick gains. Unfortunately, these speedy wins come at a cost.<\/p><p>Google\u2019s goal is to provide the best results to its users. If you\u2019re manipulating ranking signals like links and showing up based on bought links rather than merit, you are going directly against this goal. If you\u2019re caught participating in any type of link scheme, Google might slap you with a penalty, and your rankings will take a nosedive while your organic search traffic drops off.<\/p><p>Google will not compromise on this. Either the system will flag your site and automatically issue you a penalty, or it will manually demote your site in SERP rankings.<\/p><p>Once you receive a penalty, it can take weeks \u2014 or even months \u2014 to get back on Google\u2019s good side. You\u2019ll need to formally\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/35843?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">apply for reconsideration<\/a>, which is a long and arduous process.<\/p><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jcpenney.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JCPenney<\/a>\u00a0is a cautionary tale.<\/p><p>In 2010, it\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/02\/13\/business\/13search.html?_r=1&amp;pagewanted=all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ranked No. 1 for nearly all retail terms<\/a>: dresses, area rugs, bedding, etc. It brought in $17.8 billion in revenue.<\/p><p>How did it experience such SEO success? Well, JCPenney\u2019s strategy was to poke holes in Google\u2019s algorithm, building thousands of low-value links surrounding a myriad of keywords to trick Google into ranking its site.<\/p><p>When Google became wise to JCPenney\u2019s low-quality link scheme, the retail giant\u2019s average SERP position for key queries dropped from 1.3 to 52. And a revenue drop followed. Yikes.<\/p><p>Obviously, JCPenney fired its SEO agency and stopped its manipulative link-building tactics. Fast forward to 2017, and its ranking well again, but it was a long, long road to get here.<\/p><p>Learn from its mistakes. Link manipulation is not illegal, but it does put your site at serious risk of incurring a Google penalty like JCPenney did.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db15162 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"db15162\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b25318 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5b25318\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>How link manipulation leads to short-term gains, long-term losses<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f14ab6e light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f14ab6e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Speaking of Google penalties:<\/p><p>Let\u2019s explore how, exactly, a slipshod link-building strategy can get you one.<\/p><p>In order to continually provide the best UX around, Google needs to be very conscious of how SEOs can manipulate signals to rank.<\/p><p>Links are simply a measure of quality. At the end of the day, Google wants to provide the best content \u2014 not the content with the most links.<\/p><p>Google can tell \u201cnatural\u201d links from \u201cforced\u201d links \u2014 and if your links don\u2019t provide anything of value, any gains you make will be short-lived.<\/p><p><strong>Quality link building vs. link manipulation<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b97e0fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-shortcode\" data-id=\"b97e0fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"shortcode.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-shortcode\">\n<table id=\"tablepress-2\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-2\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\"><\/td><th class=\"column-2\">QUALITY LINK BUILDING CAMPAIGNS<\/th><th class=\"column-3\">MANIPULATIVE LINK BUILDING CAMPAIGNS<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">WHAT<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Google-approved tactics like building editorial links through creating quality content and conducting outreach campaigns<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Building low-value links quickly through tactics like buying links or exchanging links. For a full list of \u201cunapproved\u201d tactics, look at Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/webmasters\/answer\/66356?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">webmaster guidelines.<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">GOAL<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Aim to contribute value to its customers and industry. And to the internet as a whole.<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Aim only to allow the site to soar in rankings<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">RESULTS<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Slow, but long-term<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">Quick, but short-lived.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-5\">\n\t<td class=\"column-1\">RISKS<\/td><td class=\"column-2\">Little to none<\/td><td class=\"column-3\">- Google penalty<br \/>\n<br \/>\n- A drastic drop in organic traffic<br \/>\n<br \/>\n- Time and money to file a reconsideration request<br \/>\n<br \/>\n- Cost of starting all over \u2014 this time, the right way<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<!-- #tablepress-2 from cache --><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbc2924 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cbc2924\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The only surefire way to not get a Google penalty is to do everything by the book: Build natural links over time by creating killer content and pitching it to the right people.<\/p><p>Work with an honest link-building agency that plays by the rules, and you\u2019ll see major gains that won\u2019t be taken away overnight by a Google penalty.<\/p><p>If you build links too quickly, over-optimize your anchor text, or the authority of the linking domains isn\u2019t diverse enough, it will tip Google off that you are manipulating links and you might get slapped with a penalty.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ada0835 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"5ada0835\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50f7385d elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"50f7385d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3fe0cbe7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3fe0cbe7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4002966c elementor-widget elementor-widget-menu-anchor\" data-id=\"4002966c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"menu-anchor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-menu-anchor\" id=\"six\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-607da120 e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"607da120\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5482f0cb elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"5482f0cb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-17b62ec7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"17b62ec7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">CHAPTER SIX<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32e09125 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"32e09125\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get the Most Out of Your Link Building Campaign<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36a03aeb e-con-full e-flex elementor-invisible e-con e-child\" data-id=\"36a03aeb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;animation&quot;:&quot;fadeInUp&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-63b1cd15 uppercase elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"63b1cd15\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Work with Digital Strike: The honest, solution-focused SEO agency that drives results<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f0de433 light-green-bold elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1f0de433\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Link building requires patience, skill, and lots of know-how. You need to work with a digital marketing partner who can to analyze\u00a0<em>your<\/em>\u00a0website and create a tailor-made link-building strategy. After all, every company is different, and only unique solutions can solve unique problems.<\/p><p>We think beyond your link-building strategy to see a comprehensive picture of how your digital marketing efforts are driving bottom-line results for your company.<\/p><p>That\u2019s why we always use cold-hard data and a commitment to our clients to guide us to the end-result: growing your business.<\/p><p>Bespoke solutions are worth the time because, in our experience, they work.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-419d2af3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"419d2af3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-629dd96c elementor-widget elementor-widget-spacer\" data-id=\"629dd96c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"spacer.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-spacer-inner\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beginner\u2019s Guide to Link Building for SEO Everything you ever wanted to know about PPC, SEO, and Content Marketing. It\u2019s not voodoo magic. Arm yourself with the information you need to hold your agency accountable for results. Overview What You&#8217;ll Learn Chapter ONE Links and Search Read More Chapter two The Anatomy of a &#8220;Good&#8221; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6447,"template":"","class_list":["post-6437","guide","type-guide","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide\/6437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/guide"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide\/6437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalstrike.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}