Have you ever wondered why some websites appear above others on Google? A big factor is Value Links, the quality and quantity of links to a site. But backlinks are not all the same.
Here’s where value linking comes in.
Value linking consists of classifying backlinks on their value or usefulness for search engine optimization (SEO). It makes it easy to differentiate between value-add links that can dramatically increase rankings from value-dead links that make only a little difference.
In this tutorial, we will explain everything you need to know about value links:
- What are value links?
- What is value links for SEO?
- Features of high-value links
- How to win valuable links?
- Value link analysis tools.
- Value linking traps to avoid.
Let’s dive in!
What Exactly Are Value Links?
The value link is a backlink that assigns an observable value to the linked website. Which value a link has will be determined by several factors:
Domain Authority of the linking site – High authority links convey more equity or rank equity. For instance, a link from a DR60 site has a higher importance than one from DR20.
- Anchor text- Links with your keyword as the clickable anchor text are better for SEO.
- Link position – Links at the top of a page or navigation in the site are more important.
- Relevance – links that are included in articles in content with an influence on the niche of your site are considered more valuable.
- Follow and nofollow – Nofollow links have no equity since they tell the search engines not to count the link.
Basically high value links occur because other high authority, topically focused websites backlink to you with keyword anchor texts at strategic points.
Low quality links on the other hand are low authority general sites, useless niche sites, or link chains and are no SEO good in quantity.
Why Do Value Links Matter for SEO?
Value links are important because search engines such as Google count how many and which quality links they serve to an entity in order to rank it.
Link farms from junk links get your site penalized, but just a few good-quality links from high-quality sites in your industry could make a big difference for rankings.
In particular, high-value links serve as “votes” for:
- Increase the authority and trust value of your site to search engines.
- Earn greater ranking leverage because you are from a highly DR, authority-rich category.
- Show search engines that your content can be of interest and use to users when you use contextual anchor text.
- Referral qualified traffic coming straight from real interested visitors.
This gives your site a “popularity boost” that allows search engines to know what content merits ranking in the search result for a query.
That’s why smart SEO professionals are less interested in collecting any number of low-quality backlinks than they are in getting quality backlinks.
What Characterizes a High Value Link?
So just why is a backlink such a valuable asset? These are the most important aspects of useful links for SEO:
Domain Authority of Linking Site
The one thing you can consider the most is the website which is linking to your site that gives the backlink, like Domain Authority.
DR60+ links are valuable because they flow “link juice”. You can get dozens, hundreds of links on tiny blogs for a link on an authoritative site such as Forbes or Entrepreneur.
Contextual Link Relevance
Value-laden links are provided by niche sites that have articles related to your target keywords.
A fitness website link, for instance, links to a health blog about exercise in a different way than a cat meme website link. Relevancy is a endorsement related to your area.
Placement of Anchor Text in the Right Position
Good links put your keywords in the anchor text that you can click on. That tells search engines about your content subject matter.
But do not over optimize using exact-match anchor text links. A mix of branded and keyword anchor text is the best.
Links further up on content or at site navigation bars carry more juice than buried footer links, which visitors rarely read.
Header links and links within enticing content that converts visitors are better locations.
Sought After “Editorial” Links
Paid, editorially sponsored links in blog posts or roundups are high value assurances. They are telling you did something that is really worthy of reference.
How To Get High Value Links?
Now that you understand the swath of high-value links, let’s find out how to get them using tried and true techniques:
1. Ask for Links from Authority Sites
The quickest route is to find trusted, relevant sites and contact them and ask for a link. Work towards grabbing a few links from high-quality sites as opposed to a large number of random links.
The persistence and great outreach, even with initial denials, can lead to landing pages on high-profile sites such as:
- Business newspapers and small blogosphere.
- Acclaimed community leaders and brands.
- Directory related and aggregators.
When you ask, talk about why they can benefit from your work. Get the job done by offering them templates they can drop in.
2. Analyze Competitors’ Link Profiles
Examine what kinds of links your best competitors got, particularly from authoritative sources.
Learn how they figured out to gain these high-quality links so you can replicate them.
3. Create and Promote Link-Worthy Content
If you publish a great and useful content that readers value over time, it will lead to more high-quality links naturally.
Share your best stuff through social media, PR, guest posts, to build natural linking behavior.
4. Participate in Relevant Online Communities
Engage in the forums, groups, and comments sections of authority sites of your niche. Providing well-informed knowledge without pitching yourself.
Be adding value all the time and relationships will encourage community members to browse and click your link.
5. Broken Link Building
Lists and articles pointing to sites no longer listed. Reach out to the site and request replacement of broken links with if appropriate links to your content.
A little tedious but this method lands high-quality editorially exchanged links from pages that already link out for recommendations.
SEO tools for finding Value Links:
Ahrefs
Ahrefs gives extremely detailed backlink data and tracking. Filter your links based on values such as Domain Rating and URL Rating.
Moz
In Moz’s Link Explorer, trust scores for links are displayed. Filter by Domain Authority to get a feel of your most valuable links.
Majestic
Majestic’s Backlink Analytics examines links based on trust flow, citation flow and topical trust flow to determine value.
SEMrush
SEMrush Backlink Analytics reviews backlinks and filters out high-quality ones to calculate value.
Taking the time to scan your backlink profile with these tools will show you where to focus for creating more valuable links in the future.
Value Link Mistakes You Need To Watch Out For
Value links do improve SEO significantly but there are some common pitfalls:
- Excessive anchor text – Reducing excessive anchor text is naturally appearing to search engines.
- Disrelevant niche links – You aren’t going to get much value from links from places that have nothing to do with your content. Give context priority.
- Low authority directories – Acquiring links from low authority directories rife with spam websites actually can mutilate your backlink profile.
- Frequent link building – Keep it regular. Natural links engage on occasion to form high quality connections, not in a singular way, bulk way.
Final Thoughts
Not all links are created equal when it comes to SEO value.
Understanding how to capture and analyses valuable links by measuring attributes such as domain authority, contextual relevance, anchor text optimization and link placement is important for ranking.
If you do your link building with more quality over quantity, then it will provide better SEO.
