Reasons to Build Links
In Search Engine Optimization many link building efforts are geared towards improving a site's search engine rankings. There are other reasons for link building, however.
Search engines aren't the only ones that see links to your site. Web surfers visiting sites also click on these links, generating direct traffic to your site. Now the importance of quality links become more obvious. People are unlikely to click links from low quality, spammy sites. Attention spans are short and substandard content will be disregarded.
Search engine algorithms try to emulate human response in analising web pages, trying to establish link value, so that high ranking pages aren't spammy or devoid of value. Hence it makes sense to focus on quality links rather than quantity. This will ensure you'll get higher volume and better quality traffic from pages that are popular and relevant to your content.
You gain visibility, branding & influence by participating in the community around your market niche. People will start seeing your website as an authority, recognising and respecting your image and brand. They'll start referencing you and linking to you as a resource. This in turn will bring web traffic, search results and exposure.
Next we'll look at a few General Link Building Tips