Both the quality as well as the quantity of incoming links to a page are still the most important criterion which Google uses to sort its searchresults. The deliberate linking of a page is therefore a prerequisite for a good ranking, besides the on-page optimization, of course.

Depending on the competitiveness for a certain keyword, it is the link-building that takes up most of the resources (money and workforce). This means that often, a SEO will have to inform a decision maker (CEO, departmental heads, budgetary responsibility managers) on how link-building works, so that the necessary resources can be allocated. This task becomes harder, the less expert knowledge these people have when it comes to SEO. When I was still working as a SEO-consultant a short while ago, I constructed an informational chart for just this situation, to explain the basic methods of link-distribution (distribution, link-building). When it comes to SEO-pro's, this chart will still be helpful in that it offers a quick overview of the different alternatives available, so that it can be valuable when setting up a link-building strategy.



The chart makes it clear how different kinds of link-building differ from each other, especially by how the relationship between the linking website (link-donor) and the website that itself is being linked to (link-recipient). The spectrum stretches from a completely voluntary link, set without any attachment between the two websites (anarchistic relationship), to links that are put in place by direct order of the link-recipient, for example through their own link-network or on their own page (fully committed).

While voluntary links have nearly limitless freedom of discretion for the link-donor (linktext, follow vs. nofollow, duration, placement, etc.), this flexibility declines more and more when we go further down the spectrum towards the purely “links on command”-end. At the same time, the level of control the link-recipient has over the link increases.

Both extremes have their pro's and con's. If the link-recipient has a high level of control, they can choose the link-text, for example. These links are often vital in getting a website to a top position in the searchresults for strongly contested keywords. At the same time, when it comes to artificially set-up links, there is always the danger of the link-profile looking unnatural. If Google catches such a link-profile, the website will quickly get caught up in a filter.

Voluntary links help your website in having an organic (natural) link-profile. As far as this form of links are concerned, the link-recipient will likely have little to no say when it comes to link-text, for example. It is very unlikely that such an unsolicited link will sport an attractive anchor-text like “insurance comparison”, “language study travel” or “hotel Munich”. These links are still very helpful in gaining a natural link-profile. The more organic links are there, the more “links on command” can be part of the link-mix without gaining negative attention from Google.

You could write an entire book about link-distribution and explaining all the different types of link-building that are shown in the chart, with all their pro's and con's would definitely go beyond the scope of this blog-post. Though this chart should still be self explanatory in showing the essential connections available for link-building.

I want to take the time to, once again, stress how important the relationship between link-donor and link-recipient is. Linkbuilding-professionals already know and use this fact, while many websites are still neglecting this important knowledge. Forming and intensifying relationships to attractive link-partners is valuable in paving the way for more direct control of the link-distribution. For this, it can be valuable to take a look at the distribution policies in the commerce sector. There it is customary that manufacturers of goods win-over and strengthen their connections with branch managers and buying agents through the use of incentives (for example, events, trips, non-cash awards). While merchants often take up a gaterkeeper-function when it comes to the distribution of goods, link-donors (you could also call them information-merchants) hold a gatekeeper-function when it comes to the link-distribution. The goals of manufacturers (goods distribution for merchants) and SEOs (distribution of links for other websites) are quite similar in nature. A decision-maker who has internalised this connection will usually approve a larger SEO-budget for link-building.