Many people think of link building as purely an SEO endeavor. You build links to improve rank. I’ll argue this is the wrong way to think about link building, but not here in today’s column. I’ve accepted that when people use the phrase link building, chances are the word Google is not far from coming up. So be it.
Link marketing is related to link building, but it’s a far more tactical and nuanced approach to the process. People often use the terms link building and link marketing interchangeably, but that doesn’t do justice to either term. If I’m not mistaken, it was Debra Mastaler that first coined the term link marketing.
How does link marketing differ from link building?
In several ways, and the easiest way to explain one is to provide an example. I can’t give away a specific client’s tactics, so this a fictional example, but using two real companies with websites. If anyone from those two companies happen to find this post, you are both welcome to use this strategy if you like it. Or, if you want to comment on why it’s good, bad, or impossible, I’d welcome your feedback.
Example: Link Building vs. Link Marketing: What’s The Difference?
