There are several advantages to having greater link popularity.  Some are more obvious than others.   Here are five primary reasons why you should consider putting a linking strategy in place for your website.  

1.  To increase traffic  

Perhaps the most popular way to find a new site is to follow a link.  Hyperlinks are how websites interconnect.  Logically then, the more inbound links you have to your site, the more likely there will be others who find and visit your site.  

2.  To attain higher search engine rankings

Search engines generally favor sites that have more inbound links, and award them with higher rankings.  This is specifically true when inbound links are from other quality sites that have content that is related or relevant to yours. 

3.  To improve content

Linking to another site is really like giving a stamp of approval on its content.  No one wants to send their visitors to a bad site.   To convince other quality sites to link to you, you will need to build in content value.  As you develop content, you should be asking "why should someone link to me?"   The answer to that question will naturally guide you to focus on posting higher quality content.  

4.  To gain more credibility

Inbound links connect you to the community of your marketplace or "space" you serve.   By having a growing number of inbound links from quality sites, your site will be seen more and more as an authority site, which can greatly add to the overall credibility of the services you offer. 

5.  To get better access to your market 

A link building strategy also gives you a broader awareness of who the influencers are in your marketplace -- people, companies, and websites that you may not have discovered otherwise. These connections often open up new partnership opportunities, or give you access to new segments of your market -- or new markets entirely.

Overall, your link building campaign is not just for search engine ranking or traffic building, it really becomes an integral part of your overall marketing campaign to be visible and network.