Yeah. I think we’re near the end of link building as a means to SEO. I think it’s going obsolete.
Why? Because of the rise of mobile.
Close to 60% of all people access the internet from a mobile device, while close to 40% access it from a desktop computer. I predict in the next few years, we could get to mobile 70%-75% and desktop 25%-20%.
Now what’s hard to do on mobile? Linking to a website to share content. Linking on mobile can be done but it’s difficult and I’d imagine most consumers don’t do it.
What we could have in the next few years instead of link building is “share building”. In other words, try to get people to “share” websites. Probably, mostly through social media.
The whole reason why Google rates links so highly in determining SEO rankings is because a link represents the user is vouching for the content. A share does the same thing.
My prediction on how to position yourself best for our mobile future is to write great, unique content and get it to go as viral and shared as possible.