Link-Building Strategies

What is link building?

Link building is a crucial aspect of search engine optimization (SEO) that involves the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. These hyperlinks, often referred to as “backlinks” or simply “links,” play a significant role in determining the authority, relevance, and credibility of a website in the eyes of search engines.

• What is link building?
• What is the purpose of link-building?
• Black Hat vs White Hat link-building

What is the purpose of link building?

The primary purpose of link building is to improve a website’s search engine ranking. Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to assess the quality and quantity of backlinks pointing to a website. In general, the more high-quality and relevant backlinks a site has, the more likely it is to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

This was the genius idea behind Google! Larry Page and Serge Brin thought that a link from one website to another website was a vote of confidence. So when someone searched for ”architecture firm in Baltimore”, the results were mainly ordered by the number of their backlinks.

This is just one of many black hat techniques. Constantly, Google finds and punishes other ways of creating such links.

Do-follow and No-Follow Links

But many webmasters abused this, finding ways and ways to get backlinks. This is how the spammy comments flourished. I had once to erase more than 36.000 spammy comments on my website. Then I closed all comment sections.

No Follow is a tag that webmasters add to a link. It tells search engine bots not to follow the link. So no „page authority” is passed. Google says it doesn’t use such links in its ranking algorithm. Let’s say you publish a bad review on a product. You have to link it, right? But if linking this product’s page would only help it to rank better and get more sales?

For do-follow links, there is no tag. Those are the links that Google counts when it decides to rank a website for a specific query.

So webmasters are willing to do almost anything to get such precious backlinks. But too often this is nothing else but an attempt to manipulate Google’s results.

Black Hat vs White Hat Link Building

I don’t know who coined this term, black hat. White hat, on the other hand, represents the proper techniques. Google doesn’t say too much about what is good or what is bad. They are great at saying what isn’t.

But I encourage you to use only white hat strategies.

The best idea is to publish great content and let Internet users link to it naturally. But this is a slow process. When they like something, people are more likely to share that content on social media. Those shares are links, but they are ”no-follow links”. They are great for driving traffic to your site. But it’s a great debate on how Google counts those links and if they help you rank better.

Unnatural link profile

Google coined this expression: unnatural link profile. Analyzing a website, they count many links. Such profile includes:

• links from unrelated websites
• too many links from a limited number of websites
• same anchor text and/or description.
• links from spammy websites
• link networks (groups of domains pointing to every one of them)
• etc

These profiles are clear signs of manipulation attempts by black hat webmasters. Google downranks those sites.

How can architects get valuable backlinks?

I will list a few strategies, the most well-known, and proven to be white hat strategies.

1. Create sharable content

This is the first piece of advice you’ll ever get. Also, this is the best one.

In time, your efforts will be rewarded. More and more other websites will link to your content. Why? Because it’s helpful, unique, and high in demand.

Creating high-quality, valuable content is a fundamental strategy for attracting natural backlinks. When your content is informative, interesting, or solves a problem, other websites may link to it as a resource. Read more about content marketing for architects and architecture firms!

2. Guest Blogging

Writing and publishing articles on other websites within your industry or niche can help you earn backlinks. In return, you provide valuable content to the host site’s audience.

Most likely, other architects wouldn’t let you write guest blogging posts on their websites. But industry-related websites might gladly do that.

So you can identify industry-related blogs and websites, approach them, and suggest that they publish your well-written article!

3. Collaborators’s websites

• Clients’ websites. Corporate clients usually promote their projects, posting, at least, news about them.
• Clients’ promotional materials, press releases, etc.
• Are the engineers and other professionals you are working with linking to your website? Why not? Ask them to do that!
• Constructors. Usually, they feature their work. Why don’t you offer them quality photos, recommendations, etc?
• Building materials websites. Did you use a specific building material, and you liked it? Approach the producer or the manufacturer and offer them a recommendation, indicate the project, etc.

4. Architecture websites

I bet you are a fan of famous websites like:

• ArchDaily,
• Architizer, 
• WorldArchitecture, 
• Houzz,
• etc

Such websites allow you to create profiles for you and your firm, publish projects, etc. Sometimes, this content is curated, sometimes, it’s not.

Even if you don’t get a do-follow link, you will earn popularity, your projects will be better known, and so on.

5. Broken Link Building

This involves finding broken links on other websites and reaching out to suggest your content as a replacement, providing a solution for the broken link.

It is a hard job, but sometimes it’s worth the effort.

6. Social Media Promotion

Sharing your content on social media platforms can increase its visibility, potentially leading to more websites linking to it.

7. Influencer Outreach

Partnering with influencers in your industry or niche can result in backlinks, as influencers may link to your content or mention your brand in their posts.

8. Directory Submissions

Submitting your website to relevant online directories can help you acquire backlinks. However, it’s important to choose reputable directories and avoid spammy ones.

Here is a (growing) list of directories you can submit your website to

• Dmoz
• Viesearch – The Human-curated Search Engine
• ….

Submitting your site to directories is, nevertheless, a tricky business:

• Choose Reputable Directories: You have to submit only to age, high domain authority websites. Ensure that the directory follows editorial guidelines and has a review process for submissions. This helps maintain the quality of the directory.
• Focus on Niche Directories
• Avoid multiple submission sites: Avoid submitting your website to directories that are known for spammy or low-quality content.
• Choose only human-curated directories
• Use Varied Anchor Text: If you’re allowed to choose anchor text for your link, use a variety of relevant and natural-sounding anchor texts. Avoid over-optimization.

Directory submissions should be just one part of your overall link-building strategy. Diversify your efforts by acquiring links from various sources, such as guest posting, content marketing, and social media.

Link-building alone is not a key to success

Link-building should not be your only strategy to better rank in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). It wouldn’t help your marketing efforts, because link-building is only one factor in ranking well.

The main reason is that Google wants to include the best results for users’s searches. Else way, the engine would lose its relevancy. One day, it will understand the content we, architects, marketers, and all other webmasters will keep posting online. The AI is in its infancy, but not for long.

Also, never underestimate no follow link-building. Users can’t easily know which one is no-follow or do-follow. They equally click both if they have the slightest idea that it links to valuable content. Some of them are your future clients.