You’ve created some quality content for your website and you start to see an increase in traffic. Unfortunately, though, the results aren’t quite as positive as you expected. Don’t panic, there’s more you can do to optimise your inbound marketing strategies! We’re going to walk you through another great SEO method that you might not have tried yet.
Inbound vs Outbound Links
Today’s article is all about inbound links (or backlinks). These are different from outbound links (links from your website to another). Instead, backlinks are a type of ‘off-page’ SEO where you drive other websites to link your website and attract readers to your site this way.
Backlinks can increase traffic to your website in two ways:
- When someone else posts a link to your website on their website or blog, their readers might click on it.
- Search engines rank you higher in result pages because backlinks tell them that your website is an authority on a certain subject.
Sounds good right? Backlinks are a great way to get organic traffic to your sight. The more authoritative the websites are that link to you, the better your rankings will be and the more traffic you will generate. So, how do you build backlinks? Well, you have to earn them, and there’s plenty of ways to do this. We’ve created an extensive list of effective link-building strategies for you to have a go at.
1. Produce consistent blog content
If you’re producing regular blog content then you might already be well on your way to earning some quality backlinks. By maintaining the quality and frequency of your blog articles, you’ll naturally build authority on your chosen niche which will drive people to link to your blog.
2. Link to other blogs
A really simple way to earn backlinks is by simply linking to other people’s blogs in your writing. If you do this enough, someone is bound to return the favour.
Make sure you don’t go overboard with this though by linking to every Tom, Dick and Harry. Only link to another blog if the opportunity arises naturally in your writing.
3. Write guest posts
This one might feel a little strange, but trust us it works a treat! Write a really good blog post and reach out to other bloggers to see if they’d be interested in publishing it on their blog. If someone bites, ask if they’d be willing to add a link to your blog. The result is that they get some quality content for their blog and you’ve earned yourself a backlink. It’s a win-win situation.
4. Produce handy resource lists
This strategy is the gift that keeps on giving. Put together a really useful resource list that’s relevant to your niche, for example if you’re a digital marketing agency you could put together a list of the best social media scheduling tools and post it on your blog. This will not only be helpful content for your readers, but great link bait too. Other bloggers can easily link to it instead of having to write out their own.
5. Write newsjack articles
You have to be on your toes for this one. By being the first blogger to comment on a news event, you’ll not only be favoured in Google’s algorithm for your freshness, but you’ll also be the blog post that everyone wants to link to when they publish their own version of the story.
6. Write case studies and rave about your clients
Sing your clients praises in a case study about their business and they’re bound to link to you on their website. Showcase their great results and you’ll leave them no choice but to backlink you.
Or, get on the other side of this strategy by volunteering for case studies. Offer up your time to be the subject of someone else’s case study so that they link you in their post.
7. Offer free tools and templates
Going back to the resource lists we mentioned earlier, you can reap the benefits of being included in one of these lists by creating a free handy tool that other bloggers can include in their resource lists.
Templates are another useful service that people will want to link to. Spend some time thinking about the kind of templates that make people’s jobs easier, for example prospecting email templates, and create shareable ones. Again, other bloggers might link to it in their posts.
8. Write book / product reviews
Write an extensive (positive) review of someone else’s book or product and they’ll definitely want to link it on their own website.
9. Design high-quality infographics and visual content
People love infographics. Create your own aesthetically pleasing and informative infographics for people to share and use in their own posts – they’ll link it back to you as the original source. If you’re not a designer, don’t worry, there’s lots of simple tools you can use to create your own compelling infographics.
10. Make slideshare presentations
Similar to the last point – people love to share visually pleasing content. Pull apart your infographic and spread it across a slideshare presentation. Or maybe you’ve got some old ones you can repurpose. Either way, publish these on your blog or website so people can get sharing.
11. Use comedy
Every marketer’s dream is to produce content that goes viral, and humour spreads like wildfire. Even the most ordinary business can find the private jokes in their industry. The Dollar Shave Club produced a perfect example of this, have a look at this viral video they created that worked wonders for their business. If you want people linking to your site, this is an extremely effective way to do it.
12. Reach out when you post something great
If your company has big news to share, or you’ve put together an amazing bit of content, do some outreach to gain attention from the press. Getting published in industry publications will put your business in front of a huge audience, massively improve your credibility, and hopefully gain you those all important backlinks.
13. Team up with other companies
Partner with companies in complementary organisations to yours and work together to build each other up. They’ll want to talk about your business because they have a vested interest in your success. The bigger your company is, the more traffic you drive to their website, and vice versa.
14. Get people to review your products
Obtaining positive reviews of your business is a surefire way to earn backlinks and attract new customers. Ask industry experts who’ve got credibility to review your products. There’s also product review websites you can utilise such as Trustpilot and Yelp.
15. Network
Building relationships with other webmasters will open doors for your business. If you can make real friendships with the people behind organisations, you’ll have a better shot at working with them when future opportunities arise. A company is much more likely to give your business a shout out if you’ve got pals behind the scenes. Networking is a crucial skill to have in the marketing world.
16. Look for brand mentions
Monitor what other webmasters are saying about your business. There’ll be times when something they’ve said warrants an inbound link. For example, if someone quotes some data from your site, you’re well within your rights to ask them to include a link to your site.
17. Search for broken links
Utilise site crawling tools to identify outdated or broken links to your site. It’s natural that over time your website will change and elements of it will get updated, this can lead to the expiration of inbound links within existing brand mentions as they become outdated. Again, you’re well within your right to reach out and politely ask if the webmaster can correct the link.
18. Track your competitors’ backlinks
Carry out frequent competitor research, weekly or monthly, to monitor your competitors’ backlinks. This way you’ll identify any new ways your competitors are gaining backlinks, and you’ll have the opportunity to hop on board and get in on some of the action. For example, if one of your main competitors has been recently reviewed, the chances are the review site will be interested in reviewing your product too.
19. Encourage sharing on socials
A big part of off-site SEO is getting your content out there. If you can get people sharing your content regularly, you’ll rank higher on search engines and social feeds. This will result in even more opportunity for your content to be cited and referenced, along with those all important backlinks. Everytime you create content worth sharing, whether it’s infographics, white papers, blog posts or that humorous viral video we suggested earlier, include social sharing widgets so people can spread the love.
20. Sponsor or speak at an event
If you sponsor or speak at an event, you’re guaranteed to get some publicity. The event host will value having you on board so don’t be scared to negotiate inbound links into your terms.
Also, If you’re speaking at an event, you can use this opportunity to get some great content in front of an audience. Create an amazing slideshow presentation that people will want to share and talk about later – and hopefully link to you!
And there we have it, 20 tried and tested ways to build up your backlinks.
Good luck!