Backlinks are a large part of any SEO strategy. You will find that this term comes up all the time when you want to drive traffic to your site or business, but what are backlinks and how do they work?
Take a look at the tips listed below to learn how to gain backlinks, leverage them to increase visits to your pages, and generate an SEO infrastructure that dovetails with these links.
What Are Backlinks?
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your site. Why are backlinks so important? They act as a vote of confidence from other companies, sites, or writers, but they also give you:
- Domain authority
- Enhanced SERP rankings
- Improved perception of your site, business, or information
Where Do Backlinks Come From?
You can generate backlinks through a range of activities, depending on your strategy, connections, and needs. You might try:
- Guest posts that include links back to your website
- Press releases with links back to your pages
- Partnerships with other businesses or sites
- Roundups that include links from your site to others
When you try the tips above, remember that every business or site is different. Guest posts and press releases are completely under your control, but they can only go so far. You do not want to saturate the Internet with your content, but sharing now and again is quite helpful.
Partnerships with other businesses can include do-follow links that help build your domain authority. At the same time, you may also enter into paid partnerships that include no-follow links, simply because you want your name out there.
Finally, roundups are a good way to generate content that points to a lot of different places. Every company that gets linked from your content might link back, creating a chain of SEO improvement that everyone can leverage.
What About Actionable and Linkable Content?
If you prefer to create new content, make sure that it is:
- Evergreen
- Topical
- Linkable
Give other businesses a reason to link to your site because you explain the (for example) “Top 5 Reasons to Replace Your Shades in the Summer,” which can be used by many companies to further their own efforts. Plus, actionable and linkable content can be shared anywhere at any time because it doesn’t feel forced.
You Want Links from Reputable Sites
As much as you want backlinks, make sure that you are targeting reputable and authoritative sites. Backlinks from a large, regional business are more valuable than those from Joe’s Plumbing. At the same time, you should be linking to these reputable sites to make sure they know you exist.
By using this method, you are creating a two-way street that alerts other companies to your existence instead of hoping they notice you on their own.
Start Backlinking Today
Now that you can see why backlinks are such an integral part of any SEO strategy, you can start the process of seeking out these links and building an infrastructure that thrives on them. Utilize these tips to drive traffic, increase domain authority, and improve the visibility of your website, business, cause, or data.
