What Exactly Are Backlinks, Anyway?

The term backlinks gets bandied about quite a bit, but not all businesses understand what they are. The good news is that it’s a very simple concept. Backlinks simply refer to links on one website that send you to another website through the use of anchor text. The external links take customers directly to your website, which helps drive organic traffic. So, let’s talk about how to get backlinks to your site.

Why Are Backlinks So Darn Important?

The most obvious reason why backlinks are important is that they help drive traffic to your website, as we briefly indicated above. But, it goes much further than that. When another website links back to your site, it signals to Google that another resource finds your content valuable.

This improves your reputation with Google and works as a ranking factor for search results. As high-quality backlinks continue to be added in various locations, you can see a huge boom in new sales and brand awareness.

How to Get Backlinks to Your Website

One of the best things about backlinks is that they’re not difficult to get. All you need is a little tenacity and some basic outreach skills. Our team knows exactly how to get backlinks to your site, and we’d like to share some of our favorite strategies:

Guest Blog Whenever Possible

One of the best ways to build effective backlinks to your website is through guest blogging. No matter what industry you’re in, you’ll quickly discover that many businesses are interested in posting guest blogs because it opens up their visitors to new voices and provides the perfect opportunity to connect with others. Plus, it’s a great marketing opportunity for them, too, because your customers are very likely to visit their site as well.

Reach Out to Your Partners

Companies and individuals with whom you do business are typically willing to add a link to your site. This is a very popular virtual transaction for business partners, distributors, and suppliers. In fact, many reputable businesses will have a partner page or similar page where they list the companies they do business with in some way. You can also repay the favor by adding them to your site and linking back to them as well.

Enlist the Help of Influencers

Influencers can be a very useful commodity, but you need to be careful. You need to make sure that the influencer is reputable. Plus, you should only enlist influencers for backlinking whose followers would be interested in your type of business and/or the specific products or services that you offer.

Original, Informative Content

If you can produce content that other businesses or individuals want to share, then you’ll have multiple backlinks done for you without lifting a finger. There are two primary qualities that people are looking for: originality and information. The original part is a no-brainer because you should always be producing your own original content instead of sharing the content of others all the time. But the content must also be informative so that people will find it helpful and want to share it.

Simple, Organized Content

In addition to your content needing to be original and informative, it should also be simple and organized. We all know disorganized content when we see it, and we certainly don’t want to share it with everyone. The best type of content has three simple parts: 1) a brief, casual introduction; 2) several sections with well-defined headers, and 3) a short, decisive call-to-action. You should organize your content into short paragraphs with three or four sentences each and use bullet points every once in a while.

Create an “Ask the Experts” Post

People are thirsty for great content. If they see an “Ask the Experts” blog post, they’re more likely to read the content because they want correct and thorough information. Many professionals are more than happy to take part in this type of post because it’s a simple interaction that can garner them a lot of attention.

Become a Respected Source

There are so many awesome ways to get backlinks that it’s hard to rank them in order. Becoming a respected source is definitely high up in the hierarchy. You can become a respected source by producing high-quality content on a long-term basis. Once you’ve established yourself, companies and individuals—aalong with Google—wwill see you as a respected source, which will increase the number of backlinks.

Check for Any Broken Links

Here’s a nifty little task that you can do to improve your backlinks: check for broken links. It’s very common for a business to switch things around on their website, which can sometimes cause past links to go nowhere. You should keep track of which sites have shared your links whenever possible, and then check back to make sure they haven’t been broken. If they have, you can ask the site to update the link.

Write Reviews & Testimonials

Writing reviews and testimonials is a great way to get companies to create a backlink to your website. What you can do is write a blog post that highlights a product or service that’s somehow connected with your business. Then, let the company know that you’ve written a positive review or testimonial for them. Once they see the favorable words, they’re likely to share a link to your website in exchange.

Use Images to Earn Mentions

Human beings are visual creatures, so if you want to earn backlinks, using images is the perfect way. It goes without saying that you want to choose images that are eye-catching, but the keys to success are those that are shareable. If you can entice a user to mention and share your image, this will automatically create numerous backlinks to your site.

Contact P3 Agency to Learn How to Get Backlinks to Your Website

P3 Agency understands how to get backlinks to your site, and we’ll integrate that into an effective marketing strategy. If you’re in need of digital marketing, search engine optimization, or web design in Clearwater or the surrounding areas, give us a call at (727) 474-9064 today to schedule a free marketing assessment.