Backlinks are crucial to any SEO strategy. They are links to your website that other blogs or companies include in their posts, thus redirecting visitors to your page. Think of them as scientific research papers: The more citations an article has, the more value and the more people rely on it.
You want many backlinks to your website to have search engines consider your site trustworthy and relevant. Then you’ll rank higher in search engines. But how do you create a strategy related to backlinks? Let’s dive into it.
1) Find Out About Your Competitors
Researching the market and your competitors is key, and it will help you understand what keywords they’re using and what users search.
For example, you might think that “dentist near me” is the best keyword for your company. But then you identify a pattern: Your competitors use more complex keywords like “private dentist clinic near me,” and you decide to join the trend.
By researching successful companies, you’re on your way to success. But be careful, as some are too strong for you to compete. For instance, you don’t want to use Amazon or eBay’s exact keywords, and people will rely on those companies rather than yours!
2) Analyze Your Competitors’ Backlinks
Now that you know what keywords your competitors use, it’s time to analyze the actual backlinks. What websites are redirecting users to your competitors? Are they high-quality?
Search engines don’t rely solely on the number of links but also on the quality. If you spam links to your site on pages like “best-reviews-dot-com,” search engines like Google might identify you as spam and lower your ranking, which is exactly the opposite of what you want.
Note what quality sources are backlinking to your competitors, and then join them or find a better one. Say your opponents use a local digital newspaper. You can use that information to decide whether to advertise your local business in the said newspaper or find a better medium.
3) How Relevant the Backlink Is
If you seek to boost your online traffic and SEO ranking, you need the backlinks to be relevant. For example, it’s best to have backlinks to your site come from other websites in your niche. If you manufacture and distribute sneakers, it’d be better to have Nike link back to you than McDonald’s.
Another factor to consider is the anchor text and the link text. The anchor text is the (usually) blue text you click on. It doesn’t have to match the actual link, but it does need to be relevant and similar to the landing page.
For example, if the landing page for the reader is a local hair salon, the following anchor text lacks relevance: “this convenience store.” Instead, aim for text like “the contemporary *location* hair salon.”
4) Cyber Security Tips for Your Website
Include Identity Theft Protection
With identity theft being more common than ever, you and your workers need identity theft protection against these attacks. Cybercriminals will take out loans, buy properties, use your medical insurance, and more with your credit card and personal information.
Not only will this damage your reputation but also your personal finances. Hire services that provide protection against these attacks and stop fraud before it’s too late.
Software and Hardware Update
It’s not uncommon for companies to run on unpatched, outdated Windows, Mac OS, or Linux operating systems. Outdated systems may not run antiviruses properly, leading to ransomware attacks.
Moreover, old servers and computers may become an easy crack for hackers. You shouldn’t keep around computers or laptops longer than 3-5 years as a general rule. Besides security upgrades, your experience will be smoother due to better memory cards, processors, and hard disks.
Avert Suspicious Emails
Most people are familiar with pishing and other online scam techniques. Never click a link that looks suspicious, and always make sure that the sender is who they actually claim to be.
Don’t Keep Bluetooth on
You should not keep Bluetooth on if you’re not using it. Scammers’ devices can connect to yours without noticing, and the results may be unpleasant, such as stealing data or getting malware.
Keep a “White Hat’ Hacker in Your Office
White hackers use their power for the company’s sake. They try to find security loopholes via hacking. If they find one, they advise software engineers and other professionals to fix it. Having a white hat hacker in your office may save the day!
Employee Training
Teach your employees about cybersecurity, confidentiality, suspicious activity, and more. They’ll learn to avoid email scams, turn the Bluetooth off, and every tip we went over in this section.
5) Link Building
Broken Link Method
This method can be time-consuming but pays off. It consists of finding “dead” or “broken” links in blog posts or other pages. You then recreate the content the link was supposed to redirect to and ask the creator to backlink to your page instead.
It’s a win-win situation. Bloggers don’t want their website crowded with broken links, and you need more traffic!
Guest Post Articles
Guest posts may be the easiest way to get authoritative links back to your page. Make sure the website ranks high and, of course, that your content is relevant to them.
Why would a gardening website want to feature a guest post from a cybersecurity company? If your host isn’t directly related to your niche, try somehow to make the content useful to their audience.
Crowd Marketing
This strategy narrows the focus to a highly specific target audience. The target audience is already interested – or at least it should be – in your product or niche.
People willing to buy a product or service rely on professional opinions, reviews, and comments from your former customers. Crowd marketing implies building brand awareness, strong SEO, and more.
You will achieve this through influencers backlinking to your site, joining forums with people interested in certain products or trends, and basically doing anything that shows your company is reliable.
Links in Social Media Profiles
This method is particularly effective because it relies on highly authoritative websites. You probably have an account on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. They are reliable websites that everyone uses, so including a link in your profile that redirects visitors to your website is a smart move.
The Bottom Line
If you want your company to succeed, you need to build strong SEO. You also need to take care of other technical issues, such as identity theft protection or having updated software.
To build strong SEO, backlinking is one of the most effective strategies. This article reviewed the three top methods:
- Social Media links
- Guest posting
- Crowd marketing
Including these into your strategy will improve your SEO ranking and thus boost your online traffic and conversions!
