May 22nd, 2010 by Susie

Link building is such a difficult task that it can take on more importance than it should. So much time needs to be spent in devising link building strategies that other elements of SEO can be forgotten. It’s important to remember that link building is only one part of search engine optimization.

A lot of SEO experts place too much emphasis on link building. Valuing your link profile too highly can be a very costly move. More than one site has suffered a fall in rankings after the search engines have altered their algorithms to reassess the value of links.

The search engines do periodically alter their assessment of links. While the universal search engine stand on links is ‘only natural will do,’ the search engines are aware that link building occurs and tolerate it to some extent. Periodically, though, their algorithms change to cut out the more dubious methods of link building used by shady operators. When that happens, you don’t want your site to be cut out.

Links will not always be important

The SEO industry is always rife with speculation about the future, and at the moment some of that speculation centres on the continued role of links in ranking calculations. The search engines are developing increasingly complex methods of assessing the real value of links, but there will always be some doubt about how those links were acquired. The answer, some SEO experts suspect, will be a lessening in value of links to the search engine algorithms over time.

There is no way to foresee exactly how the search engines could replace such a central factor as links in their calculations, and perhaps they won’t. What they are already doing is assessing the information surrounding links as a way of discovering their real value. Although a good SEO link building plan should involve the cultivation of reliable, trustworthy links, there is no way of guaranteeing that the information around those links will not change over time. As the sites providing the links change, the links themselves will alter in value. It’s vital to have a reliable site of your own when that happens.

Link building is not a one-time thing

One way to prepare for changes in the search engine algorithms is to keep the SEO strategies of your site fresh. This applies to link building as much as it does to any other optimization technique. One of the major mistakes site owners make when it comes to links is to build a good profile during their initial SEO, then leave it, considering the work done. Just as all other elements of SEO evolve, so should your link profile. It is never a good time to let your link building efforts subside.

Continued link building should be built into your long-term SEO maintenance plan. Although your link building strategies can relax slightly after your first efforts, they should remain in place to some extent. Talk to our experts at SearchEngineOptimization.co.uk about the appropriate optimization maintenance plan for your site.

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