Guess what? Link building is one of the most reliable ways to build your website search rank. Even with all the Google algorithm updates in the last decade, building integrity-filled inbound links to your site is still one of the best ways to improve your SEO.
Granted, in the early days of the Google “wild west,” black-hat (shady) link building methods ruled much of the SEO game. As Google becomes smarter with time, the only way to ensure your links build your rank is to employ white-hat (think Glinda, the Good Witch) link building tactics.
Today, we’re showing you how to build links to your site the right way. We have five DIY link building tips that work for improved search rank, which can improve your traffic and conversions online.
Don’t have time for DIY? Contact our friends at Romain Berg. They’ll help you implement a white-hat link building strategy that will drive results, not hype. Fill out their contact form today to get started.
Why do links matter for my website SEO?
The more reputable and secure websites point to your website, the more Google notices. When other companies in your industry or related fields love your content by referencing it with a link in their content, the more your organic search rank improves.
Back in the day, people were buying links, or over-stuffing their content with keywords, or other below-board shenanigans to get Google to rank their site. After the 2012 Penguin update to Google, the link game changed for good.
Today, Google recognizes link buying, links with errors, keyword stuffing, and other black-hat methods. At best, Google will send you to the bottom of the rank pile with these filters in place. At worst, you’ll get a manual penalty on your website, which takes time, energy, and know-how to sort out.
So, it’s crucial to determine whether your site’s links are reliable, trustworthy, and will put you on Google’s “nice” list. Further, as you create new links, you’ll need to use an updated strategy to make sure your website stays in the clear with SEO.
Try these tips for creating effective links and boosting your SEO
Here we go. Keep reading for all the link building magic. Most of our advice is pretty common sense in the SEO world, but we sometimes forget that often the simplest approach to SEO is the best one.
Also, “simple” doesn’t automatically mean “easy,” so prepare to put some good old fashioned work ethic into your approach.
Launch a blog
Your blog is where your best content lives. You can link to your blog from all your social media platforms, and you should be linking at least once in each article you post to another complimentary article from a non-competitive company.
You can see above where we did that with our link to more information about the Google Penguin update. The site we used is reputable and dives deeper into the Penguin update than we did.
Write about topics that relate to your business, your audience, their pain-points, their stories, or their priorities. Write informative, useful copy; do not try to sell something with every post. Fact-check and grammar-check your content before posting.
You must produce the best material you can to represent your brand and build trust with your audience and other companies that may link to your website.
Pro tip: building a blog following takes time and consistency. Get yourself on a publishing schedule and stick to it, even if it’s once per month.
When your audience can trust your output, they will think of you as an authority rather than just another company vying for their dollars. Those are the companies that get the most inbound organic backlinks.
Dust off your relationship building skills
Of course, we all could use a little more networking, right? If you can find other companies with which to partner in your community, your industry, your region, or something else, you’ll win with link building.
You can mine your Facebook or LinkedIn groups for collaborations, or get to know the other businesses in your neighborhood, especially if you depend on local traffic for customers.
Including a phrase like “try out our friends across the street when you need…..” in your next blog post, with a hyperlink to their website, is an effective way to create a relevant backlink for each other.
Commenting on each other’s posts on social media or on your respective blogs with valuable remarks and relevant commentary will also drive your SEO up.
Ask and you might receive
Friends and family can be valuable link building resources, but only if their websites or social platforms are relevant to your industry, product line, or service area.
We suggest having your friends link to your site in the body of their content, not their footers or sidebars. Of course, you can link to their sites in your copy as well, to create a win for everyone.
Write a glowing testimonial
If there are other companies you love that have helped you get where you are, give them a shout out. And, we mean a well-thought-out, detailed review of their products and services. In exchange, ask them for a backlink. Both parties get something awesome out of this deal.
Be a guest writer
Writing in your area of expertise for another website gets you several productive results:
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- A new business relationship
- An exchange of backlinks
- More authority in your industry as a trusted resource
- Greater exposure as a subject matter expert
- The chance to spread visibility further for each of you with links from your article to your collective social media audiences.
Who doesn’t love all of that? (We don’t know….we heart guest writing for all the above reasons.)
These link building tips will get you started improving your search rank with gold-standard backlinks. Let us stress again that backlink building takes time and consistency. If you’re that kind of steady-as-a-rock owner who nerds out on SEO, fantastic.
However, if you have a laundry list of other items on your biz-owner to-do list, get in touch with our friends at Romain Berg. As a full-service digital marketing agency, they’ll craft a link building strategy that will increase your rank, traffic, and conversions. Contact them today to discuss your SEO goals.
