How to Start an SEO Link Building Strategy

Getting potential customers to your website depends on how you market your brand. One of the best methods of reaching more people is to backlink. This strategy will help your company get higher rankings on social pages like Google and Bing. When someone types something into a search bar looking for a particular product or service, the company with the most traffic and other figures will be at the top of the query. Link building drives more people to your site and increases your online visibility.

More traffic equates to more interest. Forbes says that as of January 2018, more than half of the world's population was on the Internet. Your business cannot afford to alienate half of the globe, so link building is an essential skill that you should learn or outsource to a reputable firm. In this article, we talk about some of the things you can do to begin connecting online and strategically using keywords.

Backlinking or link building is the system of connecting your site to others via hyperlinks in blog posts, articles, newsletters, social media posts, and press releases. The content on your website and social pages should have credible links to established businesses that will boost your reputation and help put your name in front of the best audiences.

Link building is much like traditional marketing except you are doing the work online instead of advertising in newspapers, taking out magazine ads, and recording radio spots. Much like choosing the best advertising agency, you can critique brands you may want to connect with on the web. The higher the reputation of the contact you join with, the more chance you have of getting in front of the right group of people.

Who Are You Marketing To?

One of the first things a business owner needs to do is to learn about the people who are most likely to be future clients. How does one accomplish this task? Research is the key to finding these answers. You can begin with an Internet survey that asks anything you want when someone visits your website. Google Analytics requires a subscription, but this service gives you information about when web guests visit and where potential customers live. The data can help you with numerous things including where to advertise.

Put Contact Information in Multiple Directories

This step is vital to get found on the Internet. If you want people to know how to reach you, then you have to market your address and website. You can buy mailing lists, but this tactic will not guarantee tons of exposure. Directory listings and review websites like Yahoo Local and Angie's List give your brand substance on the web. People can visit these directories and find out what hours you are open, whether other people like the products or services, what your phone number is, and whether you have a physical location like a storefront or office.

One important thing to note with this strategy is that you must stay on top of the listings. Current and correct information must be the same across all directory sites and social pages. If your business address is wrong on one page, or you have multiple phone numbers, then Google and other ranking sites will pass up your page for another with more consistent listings.

Take Advantage of Longtail Keywords

Whether you are writing a new blog post or finding a fun way to introduce a product on your Twitter or Facebook page, you need to optimize your content. Search engine optimization is the use of specific words to drive traffic to your website. Google and Bing use algorithms that look at directory listings, backlinks, and especially keywords to decide how to list company pages. Longtail keywords are phrases that are extremely specific.

These keywords are often useful when you are writing for niche blogs and posts. These phrases are just what they sound like, being longer than most keywords or phrases you might use in a post. For example, a steakhouse might use premium filet mignon versus top steak to reach a specific audience. A salon could say phrases like hairdressers that specialize in mermaid designs instead of cosmetologist who can dye and cut hair in a variety of styles to target a certain income range.

Become a Guest Writer for Website that will Link to You

An excellent method for getting your web page more clicks is to learn what your niche is, and which sites you can offer expertise to so that you can boost your reputation. For instance, if you are a caterer, then you might comment on hosting wedding receptions on a local news page or parks and recreation site. You can seek permission from the website owner to let you write a guest post with a link back to your website. The highest quality links come from educational sites, government pages, large corporations, and non-profits.

Use Only Original Content

It does no good to get more clicks if you do not have enticing web content to grab the attention of your visitors. Engaging posts with information that is easy to scan, bookmark, or share is crucial to link building strategies. Web guests want to read things that interest them like new reports, top trends, best products, and reliable services. Old posts or blogs that talk about stuff that is more than a few months old are not appealing.

Your visitors want to click on your site to read the information they cannot find anywhere else. If you become an authority in current art trends in San Francisco, for instance, then you may find yourself with a large following. A blog about the history of the mission district could limit your audience and make your page less appealing because locals already know this information and the wording alienates anyone with knowledge of the area. Links also fail and expire over time, so keeping things new is a high priority recommendation from any Social Media Agency.

Take Advantage of Social Media Pages

Using your presence on social media is one of the most significant ways to build links and get more exposure. One of the considerations for social sites is to make sure that you talk to your audience regularly. People want instant answers to concerns and questions. Having someone monitor the page all the time is vital to forming a connection with your customer base.

Posting information about contests, news updates, business changes, special events, and everyday topics are fantastic ways to generate conversation and boost appeal. Adding share buttons all over your website will make your information easy for guests to post on personal social pages. Social media is like a more modern version of word-of-mouth advertising because one good or bad thing can spread like wildfire.

Moz tells readers that knowing what links you need is a huge step in building a business strategy for online marketing. Using this tactic and tracking keywords can help your brand grow and excel. Understanding your customers will help you figure out what products and services are the most popular. The brands you choose to associate with and link to speaks volumes about the reputation of your company. Just like you need the right logo, you also need the right contacts and connections.

About the Author

Craig Corbel is the Vice President of Marketing at Solution Web Designs, a leading SEO, online marketing agency, and Long Island Website Designers serving small and mid-sized companies nationwide.