TL;DR
This guide will walk you through the essentials of link building, explaining how a well-planned link building strategy can transform your SEO efforts and help your website rank higher on Google.
One of the most effective ways to enhance your website’s ranking is through link building—a strategy that earns high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, signalling to search engines that your content is trustworthy and valuable.
But how exactly does link building work, and why should you consider working with a link building agency in London?
What is link building?
Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. These links act as votes of confidence, telling search engines that your website is reliable and worth ranking highly. Search engines like Google use links to discover new web pages and determine how well a page should rank based on the quality of backlinks it receives.
In essence, backlinks function like digital endorsements, and the more quality endorsements you have, the more authority your website gains. It’s important to note, however, that not all backlinks are created equal. Links from high-authority sites in your niche will carry much more weight than links from unrelated or low-quality websites.
The importance of link building for SEO
Link building remains one of the top three ranking factors in Google’s algorithm, alongside content quality and mobile-friendliness
💡
Did You Know? Data shows that 96.55% of websites receive no organic traffic. Without quality links pointing to your site, even the best content can struggle to rank.
In London, where online visibility is fiercely competitive, link building plays a crucial role in determining whether your website shows up in local search results or is buried under your competitors.
Here’s why it matters:
🚀 Boosts organic traffic: The higher you rank on search engines, the more visitors your website will attract.
⭐️ Enhances domain authority: Links from authoritative sites improve your website’s domain authority, making it easier to rank for competitive keywords.
📈 Improves search rankings: Strong backlinks from reputable sources can help improve your rankings for targeted search terms.
👋 Strengthens brand visibility: Quality backlinks from prominent websites help raise your brand’s visibility, positioning you as a trusted leader in your industry.
Link building strategies used by top agencies in London
A successful link building strategy isn’t about acquiring links from just any website—it’s about earning quality backlinks from sources that are relevant and authoritative. Here are some of the most effective link building techniques employed by agencies in London:
Content creation and promotion
Creating high-quality, valuable content is one of the most organic ways to earn backlinks. Content-driven link building focuses on producing blog posts, articles, infographics, and other types of media that attract natural backlinks. Agencies often promote this content through outreach and social media to increase its visibility, encouraging other sites to link to it.
Example: Long-form content has been shown to generate more backlinks compared to shorter posts. Studies indicate that 77.2% of long-form content receives more backlinks.
Guest blogging
Another effective strategy is guest blogging, which involves writing and publishing articles on external websites. This not only helps you gain backlinks but also exposes your brand to a new audience.
Guest posts should be well-researched, relevant, and provide real value to readers to increase the likelihood of being accepted by high-authority sites. 64.9% of link builders use guest posting as their primary link building strategy
Influencer outreach and collaboration
Collaborating with UK-based influencers or bloggers can help you acquire valuable backlinks while enhancing brand visibility. Influencers have built-in audiences who trust their recommendations, and a backlink from an influencer’s website or blog can significantly boost your SEO efforts.
Digital PR and outreach
Digital PR is a proactive approach that involves creating newsworthy content, such as industry reports or case studies, and pitching it to journalists and media outlets. This method is highly effective for earning links from authoritative websites, which can have a major impact on your search rankings.
Broken link building
This tactic involves finding broken links on other websites and offering your content as a replacement. By helping the website owner fix a broken link, you can earn a backlink to your own site. It’s a win-win situation that benefits both parties.
Local citations and directories
For businesses targeting a local audience in London or other parts of the UK, listing your business in local directories such as Yell can help improve your local SEO. These platforms not only drive traffic to your website but also provide valuable backlinks that enhance your website’s visibility in local search results.
Quality vs. quantity in link building
A common misconception in link building is that more links are always better. However, the reality is that quality far outweighs quantity. Search engines like Google are becoming increasingly sophisticated in identifying low-quality or spammy links, and building a backlink profile filled with such links can harm your website’s rankings.
The focus should always be on earning backlinks from reputable, high-authority websites that are relevant to your industry. A single link from a highly trusted site can have more value than dozens of links from low-authority sources
The importance of anchor text
When earning backlinks, it’s not just the link itself that matters—the anchor text (the clickable text of the link) is also important. Anchor text provides context for both users and search engines, indicating what the linked page is about. An ideal anchor text strategy involves a mix of branded, generic, and keyword-rich anchors, ensuring that your backlink profile looks natural and isn’t over-optimised.
If optimising for a specific area like London, don’t forget to sprinkle in London-based terms, too. This could include:
- [Brand name] London
- [Service] in London
- [Product] in London
Common mistakes in link building
Even with the best intentions, it’s easy to make mistakes in link building. Here are a few pitfalls to avoid:
❌ Over-optimising anchor text: Using the same anchor text for multiple backlinks can appear manipulative to search engines. This is often referred to as anchor text over-optimisation. To avoid this, it’s important to diversify your anchor text by including branded terms, natural phrases, and variations of your keywords.
❌ Low-quality links: Links from spammy or irrelevant websites can do more harm than good, potentially leading to penalties from Google. A backlink audit is essential to identify and disavow any harmful links that may be hurting your site’s SEO.
❌ Relying on paid links: While paid links can sometimes provide a quick boost, they come with risks. Google discourages the buying and selling of links, and websites caught engaging in such practices may face penalties.
❌ Ignoring Internal links: Internal links (links between different pages of your website) are just as important as external backlinks. They help search engines understand the structure of your website and the relationships between pages.
How to measure the success of link building
Tracking the success of your link building efforts is crucial for understanding its impact on your SEO strategy. Here are some key metrics that can help you assess the effectiveness of your campaign:
Domain authority (DA)
Domain authority is a score (on a scale of 1 to 100) that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines. Higher domain authority indicates a stronger backlink profile and a greater likelihood of ranking higher for competitive keywords. Tools like Moz, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you track changes in your domain authority over time.
Organic traffic
Increased organic traffic is one of the primary goals of any link building campaign. By monitoring your website’s traffic through Google Analytics, you can see how many visitors are coming from organic search results and which backlinks are driving the most traffic.
Referral traffic
Referral traffic refers to the visitors who come to your website from external links on other websites. By tracking referral traffic in Google Analytics, you can identify which backlinks are generating the most visitors and adjust your outreach strategy accordingly.
Keyword rankings
The ultimate goal of link building is to improve your rankings for targeted keywords. Using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs, you can monitor how your keywords are performing in search results and measure improvements over time.
Backlink profile
It’s important to regularly review your website’s backlink profile to ensure that you’re building high-quality links. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Google Search Console allow you to track new backlinks, disavow harmful ones, and monitor the overall health of your link profile.
The role of local SEO in link building
For businesses operating in London or other regions of the UK, local SEO is critical for attracting nearby customers. A significant portion of searches performed in the UK have local intent, with users looking for businesses, services, or products “near me.”
By focusing on local link building efforts—such as acquiring backlinks from local business directories or industry-specific UK websites—you can boost your visibility for local searches.
Local citations and NAP consistency
A key aspect of local link building is ensuring that your business is listed accurately in online directories and local citation websites. Consistency in your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across all listings is crucial for local SEO. Inaccurate or inconsistent NAP information can confuse search engines and hurt your local rankings.
Additionally, acquiring backlinks from local newspapers, blogs, and community websites can improve your local SEO and help you connect with customers in your area.
💡
Did You Know? Nearly all of the UK’s population (96%) has access to the internet
Important link building tools
A variety of tools are available to support your link building efforts, allowing you to track, analyse, and optimise your backlink profile. Here are some of the most commonly used tools by top SEO professionals in the UK:
- SEMrush: A comprehensive SEO tool used by 30% of Fortune 500 companies, SEMrush is known for its ability to track backlinks, analyse competitors, and provide detailed insights into your link-building progress
. - Ahrefs: Favoured by 64% of SEO professionals, Ahrefs offers robust tools for backlink analysis, content research, and competitive analysis. It’s particularly useful for identifying link opportunities and monitoring your website’s backlink health
. - Google Search Console: Used by 42.3% of link builders, Google Search Console is a free tool that provides detailed information on how Google crawls and indexes your website, including insights into backlinks.
Related read: Our Favourite Link Building Tools
Why link building is essential for your SEO success
Link building remains one of the most critical components of a successful SEO strategy. By earning high-quality backlinks from reputable and relevant websites, your business can improve its search engine rankings, drive more organic traffic, and establish itself as an authority in its industry.
However, achieving these results requires a thoughtful and well-executed link-building strategy—one that focuses on quality, relevance, and building genuine relationships.
How Bulldog Digital Media can help 👋
At Bulldog Digital Media, we specialise in creating bespoke link building strategies that help businesses achieve their SEO goals. Our team of experts understands the unique challenges of the UK market and knows how to build a strong, high-authority backlink profile that will boost your search engine rankings.
We help London-based brands rank on page one
The Watch Exchange London
The Watch Exchange is a professional luxury watch buyer based in Mayfair, London. A lot of our link building efforts with them are focused on London terms carefully placed on London-specific sites.
⭐️ 426% increase in organic users year-on-year
⭐️ 972% increase in conversions
⭐️ 72 keywords in top 3
Urocare London
Urocare is a private urology clinic in London. Their main goal was to rank for London-based terms.
⭐️ 122% increase in organic users year on year
⭐️ 452% increase in conversions
Want to get found online? 🔥
We’ve worked with hundreds of London-based businesses.
