Backlinks boost your search engine ranking and optimization by increasing your visibility within Google. They are an important factor in helping entrepreneurs and small business owners gain recognition. Backlinks improve your SEO by sending signals to Google telling them your site is relevant and trustworthy. Rank higher on Google. Implement our top tips and create high quality backlinks for your site.
Backlinks act as an endorsement for you from an external website. The act of creating a website link back to your site makes a positive, direct contribution to Google resulting in a higher ranking. Improve your SEO by increasing your relevance and authority.
Create link-worthy content and get noticed. Let’s talk about what they are and how to create them.
What Are Backlinks? What is the importance of backlinks?
Backlinks are links from external websites that point to one of your web pages. They are also called inbound links, and they can be created in text, an image, or as a call-to-action button.
Backlinks play an important role in your website’s SEO for several reasons:
Backlinks are links from external websites that point to your website. By creating a backlink to your site, they are basically recommending you to their reader. In the eyes of Google, each backlink acts as a vote of confidence or endorsement for your website’s content. It sends them to an article, a phrase, a tool you have created – something you created and published that they found of value.
Google uses backlinks as an effective SEO ranking factor.
Quality backlinks pointing back to your site indicate:
- · Relevance
- · Authority (credibility)
- · Popularity
What do backlinks do for your website that leads to ranking higher:
- · They increase accessibility. Search engines such as Google use links to find, crawl, and index your web pages faster.
- · They create referral traffic. Backlinks are used to provide further information, recommendations, and resources on a given topic. When a popular domain refers to your content, readers have an opportunity to click on the link for more information which takes them to your site.
Do know: Not all backlinks are created equal!
Building quality backlinks to your site matters!
When it comes to backlinks, Quality Matters and in this case you want quality over quantity.
You want high-quality, effective backlinks from many different external sites.
What makes for a high-quality backlink?
- · Diversified sources. A large number of backlinks from a single source are not as effective as fewer backlinks from many credible sources as possible. This quality over quantity while still building quantity, if that makes sense.
- · Domain authority. High-quality backlinks come from high domain authority sites that represent established brands and industry-leaders.
- · Relevant partners. Google puts more weight on backlinks from websites within the same niche. For example, if you are selling travel aids, backlinks from travel blogs are helpful.
- · Dofollow over nofollow. Dofollow backlinks are links you earn by offering value. Dofollow backlinks pass value called link equity or link juice from one website to another.
More on dofollow vs. nofollow:
Dofollow backlinks help you gain additional domain authority. Nofollow backlinks do not transfer the referring domain’s authority, so they offer you fewer SEO benefits for the destination site. An example of a nofollow backlink is a link you pay to add to someone’s article or site.
Google sees less value in you paying to put links out there vs. other sites actively seeing your value and therefore creating a partnership.
That said, it’s worth sharing that some nofollow examples including Quora posts and most YouTube videos can still create opportunity for you due to their traffic.
Though these links don’t directly impact your SEO strategy they may offer you notable value from a networking perspective. Answering questions on Quora and sharing expertise through YouTube interactions allows you to interact and share on platforms with consistent and considerable traffic.
Don’t overlook the value of networking!
Now what? Become a resource!
Create helpful solutions and network.
The following tactics work well. Incorporate them into your plan.
First, work on your content.
1. Create link-worthy content.
2. Build backlinks through listicles.
3. Create helpful, time-saving free tools.
4. Answer “how-to” through demonstrations and guides.
5. Share study results and insights.
6. Write testimonials.
7. Design memorable infographics.
Next, determine who benefits from backlinking to your site.
8. Find your mentions.
9. Do a link gap analysis.
10. Find broken links to replace with your own relevant content.
11. Utilize the Google Search Console.
Use your SEO tools to improve your Google ranking!!
Now, network for the purpose of backlinking.
12. Act as a guest speaker or blogger.
13. Join business organizations.
14. Participate in forums.
15. Become a resource for educators and journalists.
First, work on your content.
1. Create Link-Worthy Content
Share your expertise and become the go-to person on your subject.
High-quality content drives organic growth, leading to links and shares.
· Pay attention to your details.
· Care about your work.
· Consistently build.
You need good content to rank and gain visibility in search engine results.
2. Build backlinks through listicles.
· There may be any number of points such as 10+or more relating to a specific theme.
· The list is usually made up of a number of sub-headlines.
· Written content underneath may provide information about that point.
3. Create helpful, time-saving free tools.
Build now. Sell later. Free tools are a great way to attract backlinks and grow your domain authority. Time is of the essence for anyone seeking knowledge and solutions.
· Free tools save time, lessen stress, and inspire creativity.
· Offer them.
4. Answer “how-to” through demonstrations and guides.
Create tutorials and write comprehensive how-to guides.
Solve a problem for others.
· Take the time to be comprehensive and detailed.
· Maybe they don’t have time.
· Maybe they need an alternative. Be that alternative.
· Maybe they need further support for their cause.
· Maybe they cannot create a video but want one.
Give them reason to backlink to your solution.
Why would they want to create a detailed guide when someone has done it for them? Be the solution.
5. Share resources, study results and insights.
As you’ve developed yourself and your business, what have you learned?
Guaranteed, it’s a lot.
· Share your learnings, resources, and insights.
· Maybe you compiled facts and statistics from various sources.
· You’ve developed key insights.
Others want to know. Others need to know!
This information is perfect back-link material.
6. Write Testimonials.
Testimonials sell product.
Find relevant products or services that relate to your business and share how they worked.
- · It can be a one-line mention and make it relatable and share how this product solved your problem or business need.
- · Nearly everyone reads online reviews – 95% of us do.
- · We consider them social proof. ‘And we heed social proof.
If your review is positive or explains a nuance, that company needs to hear from you! But also –
~ If you have uncovered a how-to or alternative use for their product, that company needs to hear from you.
~ If there’s a hiccup with their brand but it’s still worth the purchase and you know how to overcome it, that company needs to hear from you.
7. Design memorable infographics.
Infographics are visual representations of content. They are typically simple and easy to understand; as a result, they are highly sharable.
Memorable infographics quickly convey the message.
Infographics boost reading comprehension by at least 50%.
These impactful pictures are 3x as likely to be shared than your other content.
They make for a perfect backlink!
Now determine who benefits from backlinking to your site.
Be open. Different types of backlinks will help you rank high on Google!
Understand your niche. Your opportunities. Identify the low hanging fruit.
8. Find your mentions.
Find your unlinked brand mentions. A variety of tools can assist you if you want to make the job less time consuming and more thorough, but start searching yourself with Google.
- · Top linked sites: Know which sites link to you the most. Share your additional relevance and encourage them to create additional backlinks.
- · Top linked pages: Know which of your web pages drive the most backlinks. Use this information to identify the content type that suits your link-building strategy.
Reclaiming backlinks is also an excellent opportunity to network!
These external sources who mentioned your work already respect you.
Reclaiming backlinks is typically as simple as sending a quick and friendly email request.
9. Do a link gap analysis.
Analyzing your competitors is a great way to strategize.
A link gap analysis enables you to identify your competitors’ top-performing content, keywords, and which traffic sources partner with them.
A backlink report contains your competitor’s domain, their monthly traffic, and keywords. Take what you need, dive in, understand what drives their success, and follow up and/or replicate.
Go replace your competitors.
- · Guest post on websites they use.
- · Share your content and point of difference with their partner sites. Offer value back, letting them know how your partnership benefits them.
10. Find broken links to replace with your own relevant content.
Broken link-building is another effective SEO strategy. Basically this is a strategy of replacing your competitors broken link on a relevant page with a backlink to your own site. This strategy is a win-win.
Start by finding broken links on a competitor’s website. Find them. Capture them, and put on your sales hat. Go back to those sites and briefly explain why your link can solve the problem. Provide the simple solution.
Again – It’s not “hey replace them with me” just for the sake of replacing them. You are a problem solver.
- You are finding a broken link back to that competitor that is providing no value to this partner.
- · The broken link will frustrate their readers unless the issue is resolved.
Broken links may occur due to a page removal, URL change, and domain name expiration.
11. Utilize the Google Search Console
Paraphrasing Google’s own words: The Google Search Console provides tools and reports that measure your site’s search traffic and performance, fix issues, and allow your site shine in Google Search results.
You’ll access data such as user queries and the number of times your site has appeared in search results. In other words, you’ll see impressions, along with post-click data about site engagement like bounce rate and ecommerce conversion rates.
The Google Search Console is a tool from Google that allows site managers to easily monitor server errors (like 404 errors) site load issues, and alerts you to security issues such as hacking and malware. It helps ensure any site maintenance or adjustments you make happen smoothly with respect to search performance.
Backlinks are important ranking factors. In the eyes of search engines backlinks from relevant sites hold more weight vs. backlinks from low-quality sites.
Understanding search engine results helps you strategize. Understand how it works and your website will rank. You want to help Google and other search engines help you!
Rank higher on Google as a result of networking. Share your worth.
Promoting your content is another important step in your backlink strategy.
1. Find relevant sites.
2. Be proactive.
3. Reach out to them.
4. Provide them with a few links.
5. Let them know how your tools, guides and testimonials will help their readers.
6. Let them know your articles or site information support the arguments and claims they make.
7. Suggest they create a backlink to your site.
Don’t make them search for you.
Don’t make them figure out your worth.
Earn backlinks by speaking up and making your partner’s job easy.
TELL THEM.
12. Start Guest Blogging.
Guest blogging is the practice of writing articles for other websites. Your pay is commonly the addition of backlinks from their site.
Finding sites that offer guest posting opportunities is simple.
Perform a Google search using “target keyword + write for us.”
- Determine which sites are most relevant.
- Read the rules and plan on following them.
- Contact them per their direction.
- Introduce yourself and let them know the value you bring and your topic.
Take this action for these sites and for others you come across that may not offer guest posting but would benefit from your ideas and expertise.
If you see a site that would be a great partner for you (and vice versa) you can follow this plan to share articles you have posted, infographics, your tools – and any other information that would benefit them.
They will want industry expertise and the opportunity to create high-quality backlinks too. They just might not ever find you unless you speak up.
13. Join business organizations.
Online or local – both are effective and will yield different results! Go in with your eyes wide open and soak up the opportunities!
- · Associations connect you with people, opportunities, and more.
- · Gain expertise and business development insights.
- · The association will create backlinks for its members.
- · The associated businesses also have websites and want networking support.
- · They may not have these backlinking insights. You can easily become the new back-linking expert.
The easier you make it to connect with your site, the faster you’ll develop those links.
14. Participate in forums.
We talked about forums as being typically nofollow opportunities, but your participation is still a great part of your backlink strategy.
Networking is part of your job.
You need to speak up. Chances are, no one will know about you unless you do.
- · Build your reputation as an industry expert.
- · Gain additional expertise, strengthening your own position.
- · Connect with people and business owners who need you, and you can create these connections on your own time, from the comfort of home.
Tip – Remember to balance your help hat and your sales hat.
Readers went to the forum to obtain an answer, so answer directly.
Don’t be coy and say something like visit my site for the answer. Instead, provide the answer and let them know to visit your site for more.
Who is going to your site now? Targeted traffic.
15. Become a resource for educators and journalists.
Very similar to your actions discussed above, share yourself as a resource with educators and journalists.
Do your homework:
- · Start local and gain an understanding of what resources your association partners use.
- · Go to the forums and ask!
- · Put your educator and journalist hat on and search for help.
- · Look at competitive sites.
Now act.
Bottomline – have a backlink strategy. Use it and Google will reward you.
Plan to continually add value and grow. Combine building that value within your site so you naturally attract strong credible partners. While you do want to create as many backlinks as you can create over time, it helps when your site remains current and relevant to them to provides continual value that others want to reference.
Backlinks are a form of partnership. Google gives preference to those who understand the process and put in the effort. Use this opportunity to demonstrate your leadership skills and be a great partner.
You got this.
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