In this day and age, investing in a digital marketing strategy is a must for every business. Unlike before when entrepreneurs were limited to traditional ads, the emergence of the web has made brand-to-consumer interactions a lot easier. Now that businesses can reach their customers through a website, email, and other notable online channels, benefiting from a comprehensive campaign can make all the difference in your bottom line.
As you ramp up your digital marketing efforts, one practice that should never go under your radar would be your off-page SEO. Having an optimized website and valuable content may grant your visitors a pleasant time browsing, but you won’t be able to get optimal results if it doesn’t fare well in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
As you improve site’s visibility, you should know that link building remains one of the most effective SEO tactics. Since Google continues to factor in high-quality backlinks to determine a site’s credibility, investing in a link-building campaign can potentially grant you more ranking and conversion opportunities.
To emphasize its significance further, here are 30 statistics that prove why link building is still relevant and useful in 2021.
General Link Building Statistics
- Studies show that 94% of the world’s content gets zero external links. (Backlinko)
- Only 2.2% of published online content acquires multiple backlinks. (Backlinko)
- 41% of large companies claim that link building is the most difficult SEO practice. (Conductor)
- Out of all link-building tactics, 13% of SEO experts state that link building provides the most value. (Conductor)
- In a study that examined 100,000 random blogs, around 75% had no external links. (Moz)
- Given the complexities of SEO, 36% of businesses outsource to experts for their link-building efforts. (SocialMediaToday)
- 42% of SEO specialists spend equal time building external and internal links. (SocialMediaToday)
- 90% of marketers use content pieces as their main strategy to acquire backlinks. (userp)
- 65% of marketers claim that domain authority is the most important metric in determining a backlink’s quality. (userp)
How Does Link Building Benefit SEO?
- 92% of marketers believe that link building will continue to be a vital ranking factor in the next five years. (Aira)
- 52% of digital marketers say that link building and brand mentions directly impact organic search rankings (Aira)
- The first ranking site on Google’s SERPs usually has 3.8x more backlinks compared to positions 2-10. (userp)
- 43.7% of top-ranking pages have reciprocal links. This means that the sites they mention in their content also link back to them. (Ahrefs)
What Types of Content Are Effective for Link Building?
- Long-form content (3,000 – 10,000 words) acquires 77.2% more links compared to shorter articles (0 – 1,000 words). (Backlinko)
- Infographics are known for their ability to attract links. Since they can condense complex information, 53% of SEO specialists produce them to earn backlinks. (Content Marketing Institute)
- Out of all content forms, list type articles boast the highest average of referring domains at 6.19. (Moz)
- “Why” posts, “what” posts, and infographics receive 25% more links compared to videos and “how-to” posts. (SocialMediaToday)
Related Post: 5 Lessons from Building 100+ Links to a Single Infographic
How Much Does Link Building Cost?
- 46% of marketers spend around $10 000 annually for link building. (Aira)
- Research shows that a low-quality backlink costs $150 while a high-quality one is priced around $1,000. (Siege Media)
- Clients that work with digital marketing agencies claim that they spend 25% of their SEO budget towards link building. (seotribunal)
- 61% of marketers say that they use 0-10% of their total marketing budget on link building. (SocialMediaToday)
- As more businesses enter the picture, 41% of marketers believe that the cost of link building will rise through the years. (userp)
What Are the Common Link Building Strategies and Practices?
- 69% of marketers believe that buying links can improve a site’s search rankings (Aira)
- Brands that blog generate 97% more inbound links and 53% more visitors compared to those that don’t. (neilpatel)
- 50% of Google search queries are four words or longer. Not making use of long-tail keywords can cause you to miss out on a handful of conversion opportunities. (seotribunal)
- Optimize your website for all devices as 69% of digital media time is spent on a mobile device. (seotribunal)
- Refurbishing old blog posts can increase organic search traffic as much as 113%. (seotribunal)
- 51% of SEO professionals state that bloggers should include 2-3 internal links in a blog post. (SocialMediaToday)
- Guest blogging has gained traction as one of the most effective link-building practices. Statistics show that 60% of blog owners write around 1-5 guest posts a month. (Spiralytics)
- When sending outreach emails, personalizing your subject line and body will increase your response rate by 33%. (userp)
Related Posts: Underrated Link Building Tactics that Work Surprisingly Well, Anchor Strategy 101: 4 Tips for Link Building, and Approach Link Building the “Right” Way [A How-To Guide]
Start Building Links!
As a business owner, you should know by now that complacency is your number one enemy. Now that the internet provides more opportunities to market a business, expect that your competition will only get tougher through the years. If you want to stay one step ahead of the pack, improving your online presence should be one of your everyday goals.
With the figures mentioned above, it’s clear that link building should play a big part in your digital marketing efforts. Considering its potential impact on your site’s visibility, investing in a link-building campaign will enable you to rank for your target keywords and consistently drive quality traffic to your page.
However, it’s no secret that the SEO landscape can be a bit difficult to navigate, especially for beginners. The good news is, you don’t have to do everything on your own. In case that digital marketing isn’t one of your company’s core competencies, you should consider partnering with a reliable agency. Aside from acquiring tailor-fit solutions, outsourcing your marketing process will come with several cost-saving and performance-enhancing benefits.
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