Are you the brains behind a startup that’s struggling to get backlinks?

Don’t worry– Startups are hard. Creating a successful brand is hard. Getting people to share your hard work is (you guessed it) hard.

For any website owner, business, or brand, mastering the digital art of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an important step is gaining success.

Getting backlinks is just one of many aspects of SEO and digital marketing.

But what exactly are backlinks? How does one get backlinks, and how do they help a business or website grow?

Let’s go over the facts and then jump right into some tried and tested strategies for improving SEO and acquiring backlinks.

What Are Backlinks?

Backlinks are incoming hyperlinks from one website to another website.

Say you own a food and drink website.

An affiliate, such as another food and drink website (or a totally different website), will reference content from your website in a blog post.

If this affiliate is popular, there’s a good chance that many people will see this link, click on it, and be brought to your website.

This simple act of linking to your website brings in an audience that could become a potential customer or fan.

The more backlinks that point back to your site, the more traffic you will get. The concept is very simple.

However, getting those backlinks is not always so simple. Luckily, we put together a list of tips, tricks, and strategies to help you get those backlinks and maximize the reach your website will have.

Top Strategies For SEO And To Get Backlinks

Let’s get right into the strategies! Building a creative and effective strategy for maximizing traffic to your website is the first step to building a successful brand.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

Have a Mobile Version Of Your Website

In 2016, there are more mobile internet users than desktop users. Who thought we’d see the day? Nearly 75% of U.S. smartphone users alone access the internet via their mobile device over their desktop or laptop.

Because of this, your website absolutely must be formatted for mobile use.

Google’s mobile algorithm also punishes websites that are poorly formatted for user-friendly mobile use. This harms your traffic, and it harms your SEO.

Seek Out Affiliates

The biggest part of getting backlinks is to find affiliates.

Try writing content for a bigger publication, partnering with similar (though not competing) websites, or pitch your content during industry interviews. Look into services that can show you who is linking to your brand’s competitors.

This will give you a leg up in blasting past the competition.

Try Guest Posting

Building a relationship with an affiliate doesn’t just mean they will help you out with free linking.

Offer to guest post or guest blog for an affiliate website.

The symbiotic relationships will allow both you are your affiliate to benefit from mutual backlinks.

Purchase Affiliate Links With Link Building Packages

Link building packages are another option, and there are plenty of reputable businesses that are experienced in link building that can help you.

Consider Hiring A Content Pro

The most basic SEO strategy involves updating your website with informative and interesting content that is both fact-checked and spell-checked.

This can be difficult to manage if you’re just one person trying to make your website or brand your job.

Consider hiring a sort of “influencer” to write your website’s content, research subjects, pitch topics, and be an expert in the ever-changing stream of what is popular today.

Paying someone to work for you may seem daunting, especially when part of the appeal of being self-employed is not needing to rely on anyone else. However, your website will gain much more exposure when the content is written by a professional writer or social media expert.

Become A Social Media Master

There is absolutely no option to go without a social media presence if you wish to market your brand or website. Social media marketing can be a pain, we know!

However, getting into the habit of updating Twitter, Facebook, and other relevant social media networks with interesting and attention-grabbing content can increase your chances of your content being shared. Shared content = potential backlinks.

Have A Social Media Strategy

Simply updating your website and social media accounts with content isn’t enough to get that traffic.

If your posts are poorly written, boring, or not visually attention-grabbing, you may be wasting your time.

If your posts are poorly timed, don’t appeal to your target audience, or don’t have a call to action, you may also be wasting your time.

Sit down and plan a strategy for content marketing that works for your brand or product. Sticking to this plan with make marketing less stressful and will also help you gain more success.

Keep Those URLs Short And Sweet

SEO-friendly URLs are short URLs.

Google has even said that the first three to five words in a URL are the most important. Long, annoying links are never appealing. Also, remember to keep your top keywords in your URLs.

Avoid Click Bait Content

That probably sounds crazy.

However, studies have concluded that interesting, practical, and informative content triumphs over clickbait.

If you’re banking on going viral, your best bet is to avoid click bait and garbage content. Audiences are far more likely to share something insightful and original.

It’s All About HTTPS

The old days of simple “HTTP” are over. “HTTPS” stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol over SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Essentially, the “S” means “security”.

Switching your website to HTTPS will make your website more secure, and users will be more likely to visit a secure site.

Google also gives a ranking boost to websites that are secure. That means more traffic and better SEO for your website.

Go Schema

Schema.org is a popular markup that your can put into your website’s code.

Schema.org essentially allows you to notify Google of which content goes where. Your logos, reviews, videos, location, and more can be properly arranged in Google searches using this markup.

Schema.org is recommended by many SEO professionals and for good reason.

Did any of these strategies help you with mastering backlinks? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.