Every SEO strategist should know why it is important for a certain link to not only be useful to the website but to continually provide value in the long run.

Links having a valuable and trustworthy content are considered to be a “vote of confidence” from one website to another that is why it is being heavily used as ranking signal within search engine algorithms.  

In building good links, there are Top Four metrics that can ascertain if quality links are being added to your website, as per Page One Power.

First is relevance.

Google has been so consistent in talking about on-topic links and contextual relevance. This is because it determines and develop trust and delivers applicable information in the right context which then minimizes link spam tendencies.

Second is the human value of links.

Valuable links are nothing if such cannot contribute to  the user experience. A highly satisfied audience makes it more likely for them to continually patronize the website which gives a positive impact on the website’s ranking thru search.

The third is authority and trust.

As an old cliche goes, “there is strength in numbers”, this holds true for a website that has more links to it. Google has been counting the number of valuable links as a signal of authority and trust. There are tools that can help determine if a particular website has both authority and trust. It includes Majestic’s Trust and Citation Flow, Moz’s Domain and Page Authority and How Well as Site Ranks in Google.  

Fourth but not the least is technical considerations.

The implementation of link building includes a large chunk of the technical aspect. Therefore, the main goal of an SEO strategist is to make sure that links are rewarded by both human and search engines. Some of the technical considerations of a link are crawlability, indexation, tag attributes, anchor text, link placement and non-page element.

There still are a number of the lists to think about in terms of link building and how to fully maximize its use for the website. But knowing the Top Four essentials in link building can lead any SEO strategist to a clearer path.