External Links
Link-building typically prioritizes two types of links: backlinks (inbound links coming from other websites) and internal links (links that point to your own pages).
Backlinks are the gold standard for link building. When a credible high-authority website links to yours, it’s almost as if it were transferring some of its own authority to your own site. When a search engine attempts to rank your website, it doesn’t just look at the content on your site. It also looks at the external links pointing to that content. Having a network of valuable backlinks will automatically give your dispensary website a boost in search rankings.
Because of this, not all links are the same. Inbound links coming from trusted, high-traffic, and high-authority websites are more valuable than links coming from less-known sites with less traffic. When a credible website with high ranking links to your content, you can expect your ranking to go up. But when a backlink originates from a low-value, low-authority website, it can actually have the opposite effect.
Low-value backlinks can actually hurt your search ranking, pulling your site down in the rankings instead of pushing it up. As a result, search engines like Google allow webmasters to ‘disown’ certain links pointing to their site, effectively removing them from the SEO equation altogether.
Internal Links
Internal links, the other main type of links in SEO, are exactly what they sound like – links that point internally to other pages or content on your dispensary website. Internal links don’t provide quite the same value as backlinks, though they’re still considered to be valuable for SEO.
Internal links are useful for establishing site architecture and spreading link equity around your site. Having a crawlable internal link structure will make it easier for search engine spiders to find and index all of the pages on your website.
In their rush to produce content, many websites make the mistake of hiding or burying pages deep inside of their network. However, in order for search engines like Google to rank your pages in a user’s search results, it must first be able to find them. A solid internal link structure will make your pages more accessible and easier to find.
Internal links also work to distribute link equity among your network of pages. Link equity can be thought of as passing value and authority from one page inside of your network to another. The true value of a link being shared can depend on a variety of factors including the linking page’s authority, the page’s HTTP status, and topical relevance.
Linking to the Future
Link-building for SEO isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Most marketers agree that a website’s link profile will continue to be an important criterion in search engine rankings for years to come. While link-building can often be a costly and time-consuming process, its value cannot be overstated.
At MediaJel, our team of SEO experts is ready to help you develop an effective link-building strategy for your dispensary website.
Contact us today to find out more about how we can build an SEO strategy that will have your dispensary site rocketing up the rankings!
