When should I work on linkbuilding?

The First Steps in SEO: Keywords, Content, and Technique

Are you just starting with SEO because your website is brand new or you’ve only just realized the full potential of online? Chances are, there are a few steps you can and should take before link building makes a difference.

Why? Link building works best if your website looks good, operates quickly, and offers valuable content. Additionally, you should clearly understand who your audience is, what your goal is with the website, and how to achieve it. If you’re just taking your first steps, ensure your website’s functionality and appearance are on point, then start with step one of SEO success, a solid SEO strategy.

The Foundation: The Basis of Your SEO Strategy

Your situation: You’re working on an efficient and effective SEO strategy, but your website and other online tools have yet to yield much result.

In our article “3 steps to an SEO strategy,” we tell you which three steps you need to take to set up a simple, yet powerful SEO strategy that gives you a leg up on 95% of the market:

• Keyword Research
• Technical SEO
• Content Marketing

Indeed, link building isn’t mentioned here. When you’re just starting, link building is a nice, very valuable extra. But it’s even harder because your website and SEO strategy are not entirely ready to receive many links. Focus first on the basics, research which keywords are important for your goal, and apply this to your technical SEO and content marketing.

If an opportunity arises to get a link to your website, for example, from a new supplier, sponsor, customer, or partner, go for it! It’s a bonus, and don’t hesitate to ask for a link. But be willing to add value by writing an article, sharing your expertise in another way, or providing a reference. Spend as much, if not all, time setting up and executing your SEO strategy.

Being Found: Content Strategy and Internal Links

Your situation: Your website is all set, you know which keywords matter, and your target audience is increasingly finding you.

Is it time to go all-in on link building? Not so fast! You gradually build your online presence, and a connection with your audience only forms if you regularly appear at various points in their customer journey.

SEO and content strategy require patience. Building authority doesn’t happen overnight; it takes years and depends on how saturated your (online) market is. Want immediate online results? Spend part of your time and budget on search engine advertising (SEA). Indeed, for a complete strategy aimed at results now and in the future, we always recommend a combination of SEO and SEA to our clients. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for Online Marketing success.

Are you well on your way and have a collection of blogs online? Then try the next step in SEO by combining SEO and content marketing. How? The Hub-and-Spoke strategy. Never heard of it? Then read our full article “Advanced SEO: Hub and Spoke Content Marketing Strategy.”

Internal Link Strategy and Link Building Within Your Network

In short, the Hub-and-Spoke strategy is a combination of SEO and content marketing because you bundle all your content on one very strong page supported by all your individual, more in-depth articles. By linking from your hub article to the various spokes and vice versa, you build many internal links, indicating authority. This is pure internal link building, and it sets crucial steps leading to good online visibility.

Meanwhile, keep an eye out for available link-building opportunities within your network. Have you just completed a great project, started a new partnership, or delved into new regulations interesting to a trade association? These are accessible opportunities to write a guest blog for another website, naturally placing a valuable link to your website! In this phase, spend most of your time and money on creating content and applying the correct internal structure, and invest 10 to 20 percent of your time in potential link-building options within your network.

Top in Google: Content, SEO, and Link Building

Your situation: You’re regularly sharing content with your target audience, content creation is becoming easier, and your website is technically sound. You’re probably noticing that you’re being found online well, and you might even be receiving some spontaneous links. Visitors and Google see your website as an information source.

You’re ready to make your move with link building!

Now that you have enough information and unique insights to offer, it’s much easier to persuade people to link to your website. Determine for yourself which 5 to 10 pages you’d prefer to receive links for. This number depends on your website, its content, and which pages are valuable for your goal.

Think about which other websites or organizations might be interested in the information you share on these pages. Have a detailed article on the best way to make delicious meatballs? Perhaps this is also interesting for a spice manufacturer, cooking club, fellow blogger, or cooking store. Approach these websites with arguments why your text is relevant and explore the possibilities!

Linkprofiel: verbeteringen en inspiratie voor jouw backlinks

When actively collecting links, it’s always a good idea to check if and which links you’ve received inadvertently. Use tools like MOZ to view your link profile, then analyze if you can improve these links. Maybe a better anchor text is needed, or does a website link to an earlier, non-optimized article? Contact the linking party for possible improvements.

Besides your own existing link profile, it can be interesting to look at your online competitors’ link profiles for inspiration. Where do they get quality links from, and does this offer opportunities for you?

Een quick scan of Merkelijkheid’s link profile

In deze fase is het niet vreemd om ongeveer de helft van je tijd te besteden aan het maken van nieuwe content en de helft aan linkbuilding, beide activiteiten zijn nu eenmaal vrij tijdrovend!

At this stage, it’s not unusual to spend about half your time creating new content and the other half on link building, as both activities are quite time-consuming!

Our final tip: Don’t forget to create conversion opportunities on the pages you focus on with link building. Can visitors buy something from you, or are you looking to collect leads? These are the pages that will attract a lot of visitors, so keep your ultimate goal in mind and optimize for conversion! Unique visitors and a high search engine position are great, but it’s even better if your Online Marketing contributes to the business results.

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