SEO is a complicated cocktail of ingredients. You have to think about your content, HTML formatting, keywords, dynamic elements, engagement metrics; the list goes on. One of the trickiest parts of proper search engine optimization is getting backlinks to help raise your ranking. Despite their technical simplicity, they’re often one of the most difficult aspects of SEO because they’re out of your control. Other websites have to link to yours. Here are some ways to make that happen.
How to Get More Backlinks to Boost Your SEO
What Are Backlinks and Why Do They Matter?
Before we dive into the various methods for scoring a backlink, it helps to know exactly what we’re trying to accomplish. A backlink is any link that sends the user to your site from another domain. Internal links between pages of the same domain don’t count. The source of the backlink also matters: a website that does nothing but spam links doesn’t move Google’s needle. A quality backlink comes from a reputable page that’s topically related to its destination site.
A backlink is a lot like a 5-star review. If you see lots of reviews for a product on Amazon, you’re more likely to buy. The same is true for search algorithms: more links to your site from other quality pages must be a sign that your page is pretty good! While more links is always good, you’re better off pursuing meaningful links. Here’s how we would recommend you go about doing so.
Ways to Get More Backlinks for Your Site
Beware of businesses that promise to get you dozens or hundreds of backlinks for a single payment. Odds are they’re just going to paste yet another link onto a “link farm”, a page that only exists to provide a backlink to another site. These pages are extremely obvious to search algorithms and are usually ignored. You won’t see much of an improvement in your ranking.
You need quality links from content that is similar to yours. There are a few organic ways to go about getting such links. Some are easier than others to execute, but they’re all viable means of raising your SEO score.
Separate Site Method
For a link to qualify as a backlink, you need it to come from another domain. However, there’s nothing in the rulebook that says that you can’t also be the owner of that domain. This is actually one of the most effective strategies for getting a steady stream of backlinks, although it will depend on how much you’re willing to invest. Basically, you set up a second domain that acts as a source of links to your real sales page.
A common example is using a blog page to drive traffic towards your product pages. If you run an outdoors sporting goods store, you could have a blog about outdoor activities. Whenever the blog mentions a particular product, it just happens to link to your site. Repeat until both your blog and your sales page are thriving.
Pros and Cons of the DIY Approach
Even though this approach can be highly effective, it does take time. You’ve now got two pages that need to climb in the rankings. When your blog begins to perform well, you’ll find that it lifts your sales page up. This method is also dependent on the quality of the content on the secondary page. A well-written blog or review site will perform much better than a sloppy one. Invest in good writing services if you want the best results.
Long-term, however, this method pays off. You can turn the feeder page into a source of revenue, and hopefully, drive sales at the same time. You can explore more topics on your secondary page, which could lure in a wider audience to your sales page. It’s an effective strategy that has been successfully used by many businesses. And if managing it seems too difficult, get some professional help.
“Buy” a Backlink by Sponsoring Content
Although this method is a bit more expensive, it can speed up your progress significantly. This is how many startups and small businesses leapfrog others. Your goal is to get a backlink from a reputable site that has significant viewership. However, they aren’t going to just hand that backlink over for free. You’ll need to pay for that airtime or webspace. This is what is known as sponsored content.
Most commonly, businesses use local news sites to promote their content in exchange for a price. Many of the products you see on local TV news are not really the news team’s favorite items, but rather sponsored segments paid for by the product’s inventor. This can also be an online review or an article about your product. You get their traffic and a reputable link, they get money. But what if you don’t want to spend money for a backlink?
Find Online Listings
Look for websites that provide listings for various services, especially for your local area. Your local chamber of commerce or government website might be able to add your site to their list of local businesses. A backlink from a .org or .gov may even boost your ranking more than another .com. Just make sure the listing page is legitimate and up to date.
Classified ads are unlikely to help you here, though. Putting up an ad on Craigslist might get you a sale or two, but that listing will disappear quickly. Whenever a website can be edited by its users, search engines tend to disregard its links. Wikipedia links likewise don’t help your ranking much since anyone can place one there at any time.
Ensure Your Business Gets Reviews
Reviews typically include a link to your website, which means that reviews are an excellent way to drum up an extra backlink. Of course, most review sites will only link to yours once, but when more people review your site, they’re more likely to click that link. And when that happens, that particular backlink becomes more powerful. You should always strive to get reviews on as many platforms as possible to strengthen those links.
If you’re having trouble scoring reviews, offer your clients an incentive. Restaurants on Yelp do this all the time and lure in many top reviewers as a result.
Network With Other Businesses
Another smart way to backlink is to work in tandem with other companies. Trade links with other businesses, especially those that you work with directly. If you have a contractor doing work for your company, offer to put your company’s link on their site in exchange for theirs on yours. Do the same when you have a great relationship with a client. Organic backlinking is often one of the best ways to improve your ranking.
Get Professional Help
If you need to help your site rise in the rankings, you don’t have to go it alone. These strategies take considerable time and effort, and if you’re not experienced in SEO techniques, they might not work as well as you’d hoped. Schedule a call with AgencyHub to learn how we can lift your website and your business.
