While many aspects of SEO have evolved, changed or phased out entirely over the years, the need for link building still remains. There have been many changes in how building links affects your rankings and standings, yes, but the need to build links still remains. You can enjoy plenty of benefits from building links: from additional SEO clout to increased traffic from other sources. How to successfully build links remains one of the biggest questions up and coming brands and businesses have. Knowing what questions to ask at the onset can help you to allocate your efforts more wisely. Today, we’ll discuss what you need to ask before you start building any links.

Who is the Target?

Before you get started with link building efforts, you need to know who it is you’re targeting. It’s not only a matter of who will be willing to share the content you’re producing, but who you’re wanting to see that content and subsequently click on the link to come to your website. While pinging URLs via link building serves more than one purpose, funneling traffic from the websites where you’ve built links is crucial to the process. You’ll want to consider which influencers, competitors and potential allies within your niche are susceptible to promoting your brand indirectly or directly before proceeding. With this information, you can then properly determine who to approach and with which pieces of content.

What Content Produces Links?

Most brands, influencers and websites understand the basics of link building – which means that they’ll understand what you’re trying to do. The key to building links effectively is demonstrating value; i.e. does the person or brand sharing a link to your website get something out of it in return? For many, quality content being shared or referred to on their website helps enhance their own content, so they’ll be willing to throw you a bone. However, it’s important to carefully monitor what each targeting brand or influencer is covering, how they frame what they share, and what motivates them broadly-speaking. With this intel, you can more adequately cultivate content that will be appealing to them.

When Can Results Be Expected?

Not all link building attempts end in success. In fact, you’re more likely than not to fail at any one individual link building pitch. However, there are plenty of ways in which you can build links. If you’re following the advice above and pinging URLs to content that is valuable and relevant, organic link building opportunities will arise in due time. As more and more people see your content and share it, the chances of somebody giving you a link – in the form of a blog mention or social media post – increases. This kind of link building is actually more effective with some influencers and brands, as it doesn’t involve you personally pitching for a favor. In short, building links takes time – you’re unlikely to generate massive numbers of links in the short-term.

Building links is a valuable and necessary component of SEO. It takes time and effort, but knowing the right questions to ask at the beginning can help make the process more efficient in the long run.