Link building is an essential component of any search engine optimization (SEO) program. In order to rank well in Google and other search engines, it’s important to have a high number of links from other websites. While back links don’t have the same importance as they once had (Google currently has over 200 ranking factors), it doesn’t mean that marketers should not focus on link building as part of their program. In fact, a study featured in Search Engine Journal clearly highlights the importance that quality back links play in helping websites achieve a top ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). It’s obvious that quality content is a necessity in order to be a dominant force in SEO, but without a robust number of back links it is difficult to reach the top.