In the past decade, around 90% of all search engine queries were made through Google. With that much traffic on the line, everyone is competing for the prize of a high-ranked website and the eyes of the customers who come with it.
When it comes to your website’s SEO rank, content isn’t always king. Too often companies forget to flex their networking skills and embrace the power of backlinks. A backlink is a crucial SEO element that boosts both your website’s traffic and rank in Google.
Not sure what backlinks are, or how to get them? Our guide has you covered.
What Are Backlinks?
A backlink is an external link that leads to your website domain. These are sometimes referred to as “inbound links.” Backlinks are ranked differently from internal links because a website outside of your immediate authority has decided to link back to you.
Why Do I Want Backlinks?
As people come across backlinks that lead to you, you’ll increase traffic to your website. Increased traffic can positively affect your website’s search engine rankings.
But more importantly, a backlink tells search engines that your website is a valuable or credible source. If a major website with significant domain authority backlinks to your website, your search ranking will increase much more than if you received dozens of backlinks from low-authority sites. In the SEO world, quality trumps quantity.
Everyone knows the value of a high-ranked website. The first five Google results receive nearly 70% of the traffic. The rest are competing only for the dregs. More eyes on your website mean more traffic, more sales, and more ad revenue.
How Do I Get Backlinks?
1. Make Great Content
Why do people backlink to your website anyway? Probably because you have something good to say or offer. If you create well-researched, informative content in a solid niche, you’ll increase the likelihood of other websites linking back to your blog.
Generating passive backlinks sounds like a dream come true. The reality is far harsher.
Creating great content isn’t easy, and so many companies produce really, really good content. If your website or business has even a moderate amount of competition, it’s likely their content is as worthy of backlinks as your own. Still, for the right business or content marketer, great content will attract great backlinks.
2. Fix Broken Links
You could be inundated with potential backlinks and not even know it. Any time someone has mentioned your company, that’s an opportunity for a backlink to link to your website. But some people aren’t as knowledgeable about SEO, or just don’t care to put in the extra work and link back to you.
Search your brand name and look for any mentions of your company — barring social media, anyway. Even if you find a website that mentions your company, now is the time to reach out. Outreach the website with a simple email asking if they’ll switch the blank text for a backlink, so people can better find your site.
This may seem a tad formal and overzealous for something so simple, but it’s really not. Backlinks are simply this powerful of a tool to increase your website’s search rank. Don’t disregard this option just because you have to shoot off a few emails.
3. Tap Your Network
Few businesses or websites are insular. Do you work with other people in any capacity, from vendors to networking specialists? Anyone who has anything to do with you or your website could be a source of free backlinks.
Contact these businesses or people you work with and see if they have a page about clients, partners, or even customer testimonials. While these companies are advertising themselves, they’ll still be dropping your name. And any time your business or website is mentioned, that’s a prime place to include a backlink.
4. Use a Backlink Service
Backlinks aren’t always easy to acquire. If you find your business or website is too new or obscure to be mentioned, a backlink service may give your search rank the boost it needs to gather some buzz.
These services have a staggering number of websites with varying domain authorities and categories, all ready to provide backlinks to your site. Save yourself the trouble of competing with content marketing or shooting off prospective emails to people who won’t get back to you.
Sign-up for our backlink services. We’ll do the work for you.
5. Write Guest Posts
As a complement to the fantastic content on your own blog, guest posts are a time-intensive way to land some quality backlinks. A guest post is when you write an article for another website. Generally, they’ll get a free, well-written blog post, and in return you can include a backlink to your website in the article.
But don’t write for just anyone. Choose reputable websites with decent domain authority. Since guest posts require a significant amount of work, you want your backlink to have a significant amount of value.
Even if a potential website for your guest post doesn’t include a “write for us” section, contact them anyway! Few businesses and websites will refuse free work, as long as it’s high-quality.
Raise Your Search Ranking
With regular maintenance and effort, your cultivated backlinks will passively increase traffic and improve your website ranking. But backlinks are only one part of an effective SEO strategy.
Want to learn more about link-building strategies? Put yourself on the right path by utilizing our SEO experts and schedule a free SEO consultation.
