Link building is one of the best strategies when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO). The process of gaining backlinks (or links from one site – preferably a trustworthy and successful site –to your site) improves your search engine visibility and therefore grows the traffic numbers of your site.

In this article, we will explain how to use data-driven content to build good quality backlinks.

What Is Link Building?

Link building refers to the effort which leads to an increase in volume and quality of inbound links to your website. The goal of link building is to build brand awareness and generate higher volumes of traffic which will ultimately lead to a boost in a site’s search engine results page ranking.

According to a post from Joshua Lyons Marketing, links are the second most important factor in Google’s search rankings. Link building is also considered one of the best long term strategies for improving your ranking in the search engine.

When it comes to the links it is vital that you aim for high quality, reliable and well-established sites that will boost the reputation of your own site, rather than tarnish it. You want to aim for the who’s who of your industry so that your site will be considered on the same level.

How To Build Good Backlinks

Before we get into how data-driven content can help with link building, we should start by explaining how to build good backlinks in general. There are several different link building strategies including:

1. Link exchange: if you find another site that is useful but also looking to grow their backlinks, offer them a link for a link.
2. Guest blogging: if you have built some authority in your industry and are a voice users want to hear from, then offer yourself up to another blogger. Guest blogging is a mutually beneficial arrangement as it drives traffic to both the original site and your linked site.
3. Testimonials: Like with guest blogging, if your site has gained some authority then you can offer other sites a testimonial in exchange for a backlink.

Importantly, however, you don’t just want any link you can find. The below is a list of how to ensure you are building the right links for your site.

1. Assess the relevance: one of the most important things to remember with link building is quality over quantity. The links you create should be relevant to your industry and your specific niche within that industry. If you have links leading from any and every site, the quality of traffic will be low and won’t convert into sales.
2. Assess the quality: Google has an authority system that determines a site’s search engine results page rankings. If a site develops links with one of poor quality, then Google assumes that the quality of the linked site is also poor. By linking your site with one that has established its authority with Google, you will see a big boost for minimal effort.
3. Assess your opportunities: As we said above, you want to be aiming to link with the best sites in your industry but that is often easier said than done (especially if your site is relatively new). Have a realistic idea about the types of sites you can develop back links with and then invest time in securing those. Don’t chase the biggest and the best before you’re ready to because you won’t be rewarded for your efforts.
4. Assess your current links: If your site already has some backlinks than you have some information to go off. Use this information to determine what works well for your site and what doesn’t. Focus on the high performing areas and work on building strong backlinks from there.

As with all SEO techniques, it can take time for backlinks to start showing results. The time it takes to see results with your link building is often determined by the competitiveness of your industry, your keywords, how active your competitors are, and the types of links you’re building. Be patient and set realistic goals for your links.  

Data-Driven Content & Link Building

When discussing anything to do with websites and SEO techniques, a section on content is imperative. Backlinks are based on the content your site provides, so if your content isn’t high quality then the right sites won’t be finding you. In order to build a solid foundation of content for your site, you need to invest time and energy into it.

So here are some ways to improve your content and therefore your links are:

1. Images and videos: Everyone knows that humans are attracted to colourful and visually appealing things. If you want your content to stick in a readers mind then you need to give them something to remember. Images and videos are the answer. Content with images tends to be shared more widely across social media platforms which are essentially backlinks.
2. Infographics: If you’re writing content that involves a lot of numbers and statistics, then you should consider breaking it down into a graph, table or image. Data visualization is a popular tool in the online space to create content that is more digestible and therefore more shareable within the general population.
3. Article length: Longer articles (3000+ words) have a greatly increased opportunity for backlinks. The more content you write, the more you have to share. Longer articles often attract more serious users who are likely to invest time in what they’re reading.

Using data to write your content can lead to valuable and original content. It’s almost too obvious to say, but the web is an extremely competitive place and if you want to be successful you need to offer content that no one, or very few others, is offering. Given just how saturated the web is, it’s impossible to write about a data-driven topic that no one else has covered before. But creating data-driven content can mean filling a niche with articles that are hard to find elsewhere.

If you write content that is worth linking to (i.e. original, informative and useful) then sites will be falling over each other to link to you. Plus, if it’s content that is hard to find elsewhere then your online authority will grow. The more time and effort you invest in your content, the more you will be rewarded with high-quality traffic.

The web is a very competitive place. It’s difficult to get noticed, let alone drive traffic and conversions without the right strategy in place. Data-driven content can help you stand out by offering the web and its users content that can’t be seen anywhere else. Creating unique and valuable content is the best way to create backlinks with other sites.

For more information about how AMS Digital can help you build backlinks and create quality content contact us here.