Link building isn’t easy, let’s face it. It can be considerably more difficult if you don’t have the right metrics. If you want to get better at it, you must first figure out what you’re doing well and where you may improve. Counting links isn’t enough; you’ll also need other success indicators. It’s quite difficult to achieve the desired outcomes when you don’t know what metrics to use to measure your link-building efficiency.
Furthermore, knowing how you’ll measure your link-building effort before you start developing links is always a good idea.
It will assist you in setting reasonable targets while attempting to improve your organic traffic growth trend.
When it comes to organic traffic growth, it’s important to note that link building is only one aspect of the lengthy SEO process.
While links are crucial, there are a slew of additional elements that might influence your website’s results.
Isn’t it pointless to develop a large number of high-quality links if everything else is flawed?
Also Read: Google’s Link Spam Related Algorithm Update
This means that your pages should be properly-optimized, with basic considerations such as titles and meta-descriptions, as well as mobile-friendliness.
Also, the pages you aim to link to should be targeting keywords with a reasonable search traffic and, most crucially, should be backed up with well-written content.
You’re ready to take your organic growth to the next level with some data-driven link building once you’ve taken care of the SEO basics.
The top three measures you can use to assess the effectiveness of your link-building efforts are as follows.
1. Domain and Page Quality Metrics
Domain authority and page quality metric is a valuable statistic for determining the status of a website in comparison to similar competitors, but it is important to note that it is not a Google ranking factor.
Use Domain authority and page quality metric as Indicator of Ranking Potential
Many of these indicators are modelled after Google’s PageRank algorithm but are going to fall well short of what Google can calculate and apply throughout the web. They’re also used to predict how well a domain or page will rank in relation to other domains or pages. They aren’t precise metrics that can provide a precise answer to a query, hence they shouldn’t be used in this manner. Instead, use them to figure out why one domain or page might score higher than another: the number and quality of links connecting to it. Of course, there are a variety of reasons why one domain may rank higher than another, so using a measure like Domain Rating or Domain Authority to see how links may play a role can help.
Also Read : A ‘How to Guide’ to App Store Optimization.
Use to Sort and Filter Link Building Prospects
Another effective application of metrics like Domain Rating or Domain Authority is to sift vast lists of domains so that your link-building efforts are more focused.
While additional considerations such as relevancy must be considered, utilising a raw statistic like this and sorting domains from highest to lowest scores can be beneficial.
Let’s imagine you’ve compiled a list of 300 possible domains that appear to be related to your link-building activities. Where do you begin?
Using a measure to pull in domains that are expected to have the most link equity will help you start your link building process with the strongest domains.
This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a good way to think about how to use these indicators.
Use for Link Profile Auditing
If you want to audit a link profile, you’ll probably have to collect and examine data from hundreds, thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands of linked domains.
When faced with a task like this, analytics can assist you in identifying potential issues with your link profile or strange behaviours.
If you pull data for your link profile and discover that a large percentage of them have a Domain Authority or Domain Rating of less than 10, this is a fantastic place to start looking for potentially low-quality links.
On the other hand, you might notice that a disproportionately large percentage of your links are in the DA90+ area. This could indicate that there has been some prior digital PR engagement, resulting in a large number of results.
In either case, collecting these types of metrics can help you plan the rest of your link audit and reveal patterns you would not have noticed otherwise.
2. Link Attributes – No-follow, Sponsored, and UGC
The “sponsored” attribute identifies “sponsored” links on a website that were developed as part of advertising, sponsorships, or other similar agreements whereas the UGCIdentifies links in user-generated material, such as comments and forum posts. The three attributes-follow, Sponsored, and UGC are treated as hints about which links to exclude as ranking signals.
Don’t Ignore the Value of No-follow Links for Ranking Purposes
Previously, it was widely assumed that links with the no-follow property had no effect on organic search rankings.
Despite some dispute and anecdotal evidence to the contrary, it was widely accepted because Google explicitly declared that these types of links would not pass PageRank.
Then, in 2019, Google declared that they were changing their stance and that, in fact, links with the no-follow property may be considered a “hint.”
In typical Google manner, they didn’t say whether or not they would do so, only that they reserve the right to do so.
In reality, this most likely means that they employ a variety of other signals to evaluate whether or not a no-follow link should be counted in their link graph.
If a domain has a long history, high-quality content, and is spam-free, for example, these criteria may well overcome the no-follow tag, and PageRank should flow across it.
They may, on the other hand, notice that the no-follow link in question is on a domain that permits user-generated links to be put all the time, resulting in it being abused and now being over run with spammy links.
Also Read : Death of the Cookie and What it Means to Marketers
They may conclude that the use of no-follow is suitable in this circumstance and will largely disregard this link for ranking purposes.
Overall, given the ambiguity surrounding Google’s usage of no-follow links (or not) to determine whether a page should rank higher or not, it’s not a good idea to apply a blanket rule that they should all count the same as ordinary links.
Simultaneously, we may be relatively certain that Google counts them to some extent.
Assuming you’re developing generally good links with a lot of other favourable features, it’s a decent rule of thumb to count any no-follow links for ranking purposes to some extent.
Remember the Value of Traffic
One thing that often gets overlooked when it comes to no-follow links is that they still have the ability to send traffic to your domain.
Users can’t tell the difference between a links that has the no-follow attribute included; they just see a clickable link.
If a large number of individuals visit your website after clicking on a no-follow link, there is clearly value here that should not be overlooked.
I like to imagine how we’d approach link building if links didn’t have any bearing on organic search rankings.
The fact that links can influence organic search results does not exclude us from adopting the same attitude and strategy. Beyond rankings, building links that generate visitors can add another layer of value to your business.
Being able to demonstrate your worth with traffic will become increasingly critical as it becomes more difficult to separate the ranking impact of certain links
3. Links From New vs. Existing Domains
Assuming your connections are of good quality and relevance, receiving links from domains you’ve never received links from before can be more useful than an existing link – but not for the reason you might assume.
You’re putting yourself in front of a largely new audience if you obtain a link from a domain where you’ve never been featured before.
Increased brand exposure and new visitors might come from expanding your reach to a relevant demographic in this way, in addition to the benefits of organic search.
Even if we don’t expect any organic search value, links like this contribute value to your effort and should be included as part of your digital strategy because they add genuine worth to the firm.
Don’t Discount Links From Domains You Already Have
On the other hand, I’ve seen in-house SEOs (and even some firms) simply disregard links from domains that have previously connected to them.
The logic seems to be that once they have one link, any more ones will be useless.
The truth is that links from the same domain can be more valuable for a variety of reasons:
The trust demonstrated by connecting to you is reinforced over and over, demonstrating to Google that it wasn’t a one-time or fluke occurrence.
Pages are frequently removed off the internet. Just because you have a connection doesn’t mean it will be there indefinitely. Increasing the number of links from more pages will help to counteract this.
The more links you have, the more visibility you will have on that domain and the more opportunities you will have to drive traffic to your site.
For me, the last one is extremely crucial.
If you create a link from a domain, you’ll be able to see whether it transmits traffic to you fast and reliably.
If you notice traffic pouring in and it appears to be valuable, you should definitely seek for ways to work with the domain more in the future and gain additional links.
To Sum Up
In conclusion, don’t let any single metric or data point get in the way of what you’re actually trying to do: provide value to the company.
Metrics can help you in a variety of ways, but if you’re not careful, they can also work against you.
When employing metrics and data points in link building, make sure that they: Drive the proper kinds of actions.
Eventually, this leads to business outcomes.Allow you to determine whether or not you are performing well.
Verbat Technologies offers SEO services that not only help you surpass your industry competitors, but they also introduce your company to a new customer base. Use our SEO services to help you expand your online business. For more queries contact us.
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