The Importance of Relevancy for Link Building

When strategizing your link-building campaign, you need to ask yourself various questions. What backlinks will you use? Who will you reach out to? What outreach tactics should you try? Arguably, one of the most essential questions is: are my links relevant?  

Relevancy can make the difference between a reader clicking on your link or simply turning away. The best way to illustrate this is to put yourself in the standard searcher’s shoes. If you’re reading an article or a blog post about apple orchards on a lifestyle website, and you stumble across a link to a service page about screwdrivers, you would rightfully be confused. On the other hand, if you were reading the same article and came across a link about a tasty apple crumble recipe, you might be motivated to use the recipe after you visit an apple orchard. 

People may wonder why Google is flagging their links as spam. The best way to address this issue is to prioritize link relevancy. Before you panic, know that Resolve is here to help. With our services, building relevant links will become second nature.

Anchor Text

When search engines and people follow a link, they’ll first look at the anchor text. If it isn’t somewhat related to the backlink or contextually relevant to the article, readers will be confused and, in some cases, may even consider it spammy. For example, if you were to include a link in an article leading to your cybersecurity services website but label the link under the anchor text, “apple crumble recipe,” people would likely be annoyed that it was falsely advertised, especially if they were reading a link building article about the best desserts. As a result, Google will flag the page as spam and rank the page and the backlink negatively. 

According to Google’s Developer blog, good anchor text is concise yet descriptive. It also shouldn’t be a complete copy of the backlink’s title. Otherwise, Google may consider it spam or keyword stuffing. 

Placement

Although it may seem small, where the link is on the page also matters regarding relevancy. If links are either in the first sentence or towards the bottom of the page, Google may assume the sole intent of the piece is to build links, rather than inform the reader. Instead, find places in the article where the link may provide value, typically in the middle of the piece.

Why Is Relevant Link Building Essential?

Although Google has never officially discussed how relevant links affect its algorithm, it has discussed that quality matters more than quantity. Essentially, if you build thousands of links to irrelevant websites, you won’t see as many results as if you build relevant links to a couple of high-quality websites. This occurs because Google will rank helpful link-building articles higher, as more searchers will find them helpful. The more people who gravitate toward helpful content with time, the more results you’ll see. 

Moreover, relevant link building is just common sense. If you’re building links with people in mind, it’s only natural to consider how they might consider your link relevant. 

Relevant Links Don’t Exist in a Vacuum 

Before you start reaching out to as many websites that operate in your niche as possible, it’s important to note that relevancy is not the only factor to consider when building links. Authoritative and trusted websites are also essential. A website with authority has credibility — an established site with a reputation readers will know. A website with trust has no apparent bias and is honest and accurate. All three feed into what we consider high-quality links. While relevancy is ultimately one of the most essential features, a link built on an authoritative and trusted website will provide the most results. If an authoritative and trusted site posts your link because it’s relevant to the content and their website, you will likely receive more traffic than if a smaller blog with less authority posted your link. 

How To Build Relevant Links

Unfortunately, relevant links don’t magically appear overnight. They take a lot of forethought if you want to see the results you desire. It’s best to start with the following steps when you’re creating your link building strategy:

Look For Relevant Target Sites

To maximize the impact of your efforts, it’s better to prioritize building links with sites within your industry or those that post content related to your business. These websites should operate in the same industry or publish content to your target audience. 

Create Relevant Content

While your primary goal in building links is to drive traffic to specific pages that already exist on your website, you can drive up the traffic on your website by creating more valuable content that website owners will be more willing to link to or, in an ideal situation, link to organically without the need of outreach. When creating high-quality content, research high-volume keywords and queries your audience may have, and think of popular topics that may intrigue your audience. If you’re having trouble crafting high-quality content, our content creation team at Resolve is here to help. Our thorough research process ensures you can publish relevant content that will make your link building process a breeze! 

Diversify Your Backlinks

While you may see the most leads by only linking to your main service page when building links, you may not see as many results if you simply use a linkable resource that readers will find helpful. These pages are at the top of the marketing funnel and can stir interest in readers in the awareness or interest stages. Links to these pages also seem natural for most link building pages. That said, you shouldn’t blatantly ignore your service pages, either. 

Ultimately, find a compromise by aiming to build links to linkable content and service pages and customizing your outreach efforts to each link. This way, you can build the most relationships with website owners and relevant links that readers will appreciate. 

Build Relationships with Website Owners 

The best way to build relevant links is to look at your outreach methods and think of them more as a way to build a relationship with the website owner. If you provide relevant and linkable articles to site owners, they will think of the opportunity as more of a symbiotic relationship rather than a favor granted to you. They’ll receive an article that provides value to their audience, and you’ll receive a backlink that’ll positively affect your website. Once you build this relationship, you’ll have a genuine connection that can lead to more meaningful and consistent opportunities, allowing you to develop a link profile based on mutual value. 

Reach Out to Resolve for Relevant and Authoritative Links

As you can see, there are a lot of balls to juggle when building relevant links. Often, it’s best to use a trusted team with expertise in building relevant links if you want to see results on your website. Resolve is that trusted team. Not only can we build links on authoritative and relevant websites, but we’ll also look at your website and find ways to make valuable content that people will naturally link to. If you’re interested in these services, contact us today! 

What Are Some Effective Strategies for Building Relevant Links?

Some effective strategies for building relevant links include researching and reaching out to industry-related websites, creating content that naturally attracts links, and engaging in guest posting on sites that align with your niche. Focus on providing high-quality, relevant content to gain credible backlinks.

Why Does Google Emphasize Contextual Relevance in Links?

Google emphasizes contextual relevance because it shows that the link has a logical place in the content and is easier for users to read. Contextual relevance means that the surrounding content supports the link’s topic, which helps Google understand its relationship to the page and its importance.

How Can I Avoid Irrelevant or Spammy Links?

Only seek backlinks from sites that align with your industry to avoid irrelevant links. Check the quality of linking sites and avoid spammy directories or link farms. 

What Are Some Risks of Irrelevant Links?

Risks of irrelevant links include ranking drops, penalties from search engines, and reduced credibility. Irrelevant links can create a negative user experience and lead search engines to flag your site for low-quality linking practices.

Can Internal Links Also Benefit From Relevance?

Yes, internal links benefit greatly from relevance. Linking to related content within your website enhances user experience, helps distribute link authority, and encourages visitors to engage with other relevant topics on your site, ultimately improving SEO.

How Does Anchor Text Affect Link Relevance?

Anchor text that is contextually relevant to both the linking and target pages improves link relevance. When the anchor text accurately reflects the linked page’s topic, it provides better context for search engines and adds to the authority of the linked content.