Quality inbound links are an essential element of web site marketing and search engine optimization programs to increase traffic and online sales. The greater the number of relevant and authoritative links to a web page, the greater the potential for higher search engine rankings and qualified traffic.
A recent survey from SEOmoz illustrates just how important inbound links are to rankings. An impressive 4 of the top 5 ranking factors involve inbound links:
- Keyword focused anchor text from external links: 73% very high importance
- External link popularity: 71% very high importance
- Diversity of link sources: 67% very high importance
- Trustworthiness of the domain based on link distance from trusted domains: 66% very high importance