Google is visited 89.3 billion times a month, which by the way is over ten times the earth’s population. Since we can safely assume babies aren’t on Google and some people sleep, that’s a lot of people using Google daily. That means your website or business has to be fully optimized to make it in today’s commerce world. So how do you get noticed? By building your SEO value online. There are a lot of ways to do that, but for the sake of this article let’s zero in on how to harvest the power of backlinks to boost your SEO value. Building a strong link profile for SEO is a strategy that will continue to pay off when executed properly.
What are Backlinks?
Backlinks (also sometimes referred to as inbound links) are links for your website that appear on other websites. Think of it as a popularity measure. The more pages link to your website, the more popular you appear organically to Google. Pages with many backlinks naturally end up in higher positions within the SERPs (search engine ranking pages). So, if you want to get noticed on the SERPs, you need to get backlinks. Backlinks are tricky, however, because they involve a third party, you can’t just drop your website link at will.
Where Should Backlinks Go?
Before you get too excited, Google values quality over quantity. While you may be tempted to drop a link to your website on every blog and comment box you can find, this can hurt you more than it can help you. When building a strong link profile for SEO, it is smarter to make sure your backlinks are in places that Google already considers high authority or is relevant to your website. For instance, if you sell organic dog biscuits, it makes more sense to write a guest blog for a pet website (with your backlink included) than to create a guest blog for a real estate firm.
How Do You Build Backlinks?
While building a strong link profile for SEO requires strategy and effective marketing skills, it is not impossible. The following steps are essential to every effective backlink strategy.
1. Convert Mentions Into Links
Google offers free alerts so that you know when someone mentions your website. Many people will mention a website not link to it. The alerts notify you this has happened so you can reach out to the person, thank them for acknowledging your hard work, and then ask if they add an actual backlink
2. Optimize Anchor Text
While it can be tempting to only link to your prominent keywords, remember that Google appreciates quality over quantity. Link naturally to your website and you will be rewarded for it over time.
3. Create High-Interest Content
One of the best ways to get people to link to you is by offering them high-value content they can’t ignore. Everything from poignant statistics to local guides to how-to guides will encourage people to naturally share your website.
4. Check Out Guest Blog Opportunities
Want to prove you are an expert within your niche? Prove it by guest blogging on related industry blogs and leaving your backlink in your profile. It is a win-win situation for both you and the blogger.
5. Dive Into Your Community
Chances are you already work with a lot of viable people and websites that would be willing to link to you. Take a second to think about vendors, customers, and industry partners with a web presence online that you can take advantage of. Offer to share links and make it beneficial for both parties.