When it comes to building the best construction websites, the design and even the written content are just the tip of the iceberg. Once your site is constructed, you need to tell the world that it exists. One of the ways you can do that is by building links to and from other websites. This is a process somewhat similar to erecting a billboard advertising your services on a busy road.

The principle behind link building is that if you place your links in high traffic areas online, customers and search engines will see them and you’ll get some traffic to your site. Just like that billboard sends visitors to your development, links send traffic to your website.

Why Link Building Matters

When you build a new website, no-one will know it exists at first, even if it’s one of the best construction websites on the Internet. For this reason, most construction marketing plans include an element of link building. When other sites related to yours in geography, subject matter or industry are linked to yours, search engines begin to catalog them and searchers begin to visit your site.

In the case of search engines, relevant links help their “spiders” to catalog your site in the right places so that it appears in the search results. In the case of visitors, however, the social proof of your site being mentioned on a different website is often enough to get a user to click through to see what it’s all about.

How Link Building Works

Link building is a lot tougher these days than it used to be. A few years ago, quantity of links was everything, so you could list your site on spammy directories and anywhere else that would have you, and you’d get a benefit from it. These days, you need to be more selective, because search engines will consider the quality of your links as well as the quantity.

There are lots of great resources on the web that will show you where and how to get great links, so the main focus of your link building process will be to identify great sites that are relevant to your construction business, geographic area and customer base.

Where to Get Your First Links

When contractors have completed the process of building websites and moved on to marketing them, there are a few quick and easy ways to get quality, relevant links from day one.

• Approach your suppliers, vendors and even your large clients, and ask them to include a link to your site on their links or partners’ pages.
• List your site on directories like Houzz, Yelp and other directories. You don’t need a paid listing to get a basic link!
• Claim your business on Google My Business.
• Offer to write “how to” or editorial pieces for local online news sites or blogs in your niche. If you write for related, local sites, you can boost your local search visibility, and gain credibility in your field.

There are other ways to get links, but you should be able to get a great start with just those few tips. Remember to keep them relevant and high quality, and you should get the right kind of traffic to make yours one of the best construction websites.