5 Strategies for Easy Backlinks

So you’ve optimized your business’s website with all the right keywords. You’ve started a blog, so you can grab the search engines’ attention with all your delicious new content.

But you’re still not getting those top rankings in the SERPs.

What gives?

Despite all your content and keyword kung fu, you might be letting one very important thing slip through your fingers: Backlinks.

That might sound like gobbledegook, but don’t worry. In this article, we’ll take a look at the five best strategies for easy backlinks so you can hit that number one spot.

But first…

What are Backlinks?

Simply put, backlinks are links from external domains that lead to your website. They “link back” to you.

A backlink can come from a partner, a consumer’s guide website, a social media profile, or more.

But wherever they’re coming from, backlinks are crucial for SEO.

Search engines really like websites that are trustworthy. When a website has a lot of backlinks to it, that tells the search engine that that site can be trusted.

And when the backlinks are coming from trustworthy sites like, say, Facebook or Wikipedia, that adds to the site’s trustworthiness rating. A network of trustworthy sites all linking to another creates a huge boon for search rankings.

So obviously, you can’t afford to forget about backlinks.

But building a network of backlinks can seem like an intimidating task. How am I supposed to convince other domains to link to my page?

It doesn’t have to be intimidating. Here are the five best easy backlinks strategies.

Create Content Worth Linking To

If you’ve given any thought to SEO at all, you’ve probably already started a blog. After all: search engines love fresh content, and a blog is the best way to give it to them.

But what are you blogging about?

Are you just using your blogs as a place to load up on keywords? Or are you creating content that’s actually worth something?

If you focus on using your blog to create a resource for customers (and maybe even competitors!), you’ll see those backlinks pour in.

Create blog posts that answer the burning questions in your industry.

Write white papers or even e-books to establish yourself as an authority. If you’re serious about it, do an independent study.

Creating worthwhile content won’t only attract readers to your site. Other bloggers will want to cite your content as a source.

And that’s a surefire way to get easy backlinks.

Why Not a Guest Blog?

Guest posts have become a popular strategy for sites for easy backlinks.

In a guest post, an expert in an industry (in this case, you) writes a blog on another company’s site. This is a great way to cross promote networks and create backlinks at the same time.

Not only does your post link back to your site, but anywhere you share the blog links back to the host site.

Because the host site gets a boost too, it usually doesn’t take much convincing.

Get Listed in an Online Directory

There are a number of online directories floating around the web, and most of them are dedicated to a specific industry.

These directories give consumers an easy way to find businesses that offer the services they need. There are directories for specific niche markets, as well as local directories.

While certain directories will be a more fruitful fit for your company, it’s a good idea to get listed in as many as you can.

Your freelance web-design business might not get much traffic from a local directory, but those backlinks still count!

Trade for Reviews

Remember when blogs weren’t dominated by businesses?

Those lone bloggers are still out there. From mommy bloggers to YouTube vlog stars, a lot of people are making a living off of blogging. And, obviously, many of them have pretty big followings.

A lot of bloggers do a lot of product reviews. After all, 81% of online customers research a product online before pulling the trigger.

If your business relies on business-to-customer sales, offer your product or service to a blogger free of charge.

In exchange for a review, of course.

Here are some tips to find a good blogger for a review.

find a popular blogger in your niche
send an email introducing yourself, your company, and your product
ask if they would like a sample of your product.

But there’s a catch: explicitly asking for links or reviews in exchange for goods is a violation of Google’s Webmaster guidelines. In this case, it pays to be vague.

Usually, bloggers will get the idea.

Engage!

How are you engaging with your customers?

If it’s only through your website and an email list, you’re not going to have a very easy time building backlinks.

Go where your customers are. Get on social media. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are powerful tools for opening up two-way communication with your customer base.

But it’s not enough to just have a Facebook page. You need to use it.

Create posts to engage with your following. The more shareable the better.

Not only does your business’s page create backlinks, but any link to your site that gets shared by a follower creates another backlink.

But it’s not only social media. Online review sites can create a great way to engage.

Thank users for positive reviews. Apologize for negative experiences and try to patch things up. Not only does this make customers feel valued (and valued customers are repeat customers).

It also creates easy backlinks.

Insert a link to your site in your responses, and soon you’ll have a network of backlinks from sites like Yelp and Foursquare that will make Google happy.

All the Easy Backlinks Money Can Buy

After seeing how much quality backlinks can help search rankings, many businesses are clamoring to build their network.

These strategies can be a huge help in building backlinks, but they do take some time. And not everyone has that luxury.

Because of this, some companies have even turned to buying and selling backlinks outright.

If you have more money than time, you need a trustworthy link broker.

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