Whether your brand has just started link building or has been doing it for a while, I am sure you will find something interesting in this guide.
SEO and linking strategies change frequently and link building has never been more important than before. In order to succeed with SEO, it is very important that you understand and can build links with quality. This guide will help you along the way.
Probably you know why do you need SEO? If you want to be visible on Google & other major search engines you need SEO.
Content
- Definition of link building
- Most important ranking factors according to Google
- How can link building benefit my business?
- This is how you create links
- mentions
- Here are some points that are important when contacting blogs
- Bloggers and websites could do this for you:
- How many links should I have to my site to compete with others in the same niche?
Definition of link building
Link building is the process of obtaining links from other websites to your own. A link also known as hyperlink is a way of navigating between pages on the internet. Search engines like Google use these links to search the web.
There are several techniques to obtain links and this is probably one of the most difficult SEO tasks. However, if you can master the art of building links on the internet, you are probably ahead of all your competitors in SEO.
Tip: Read about Google panda update here
Search engines use links for two different reasons:
- Discover new websites.
- Define how well a page should rank in their results.
Most important ranking factors according to Google
How can link building benefit my business?
- Links are important because it primarily makes you rank high on Google.
- Through links you create partnerships with bloggers and websites in your industry.
- Traffic comes from pages that are relevant in your industry to your own site.
- The brand strengthens because Google makes your business more visible in your niche.
READ MORE What is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)?
Remember: all activities related to link building must always start with something worth linking. So what’s worth linking to? It can be exciting content on your website that is readable, good customer service, data, products, services or people.
Think of something that is special to your business and that makes people care about your business. It can be news, something fun, controversial, data visualized, competition or long and detailed content.
I usually use infographics that are fun and provide a value. There are different types of programs for you who want to create stylish infographics and are not professional designers. I use a program called Canva and you can find it here: https://www.canva.com/ as an example.
This is how you create links
Once you’ve created something worth mentioning, it’s important to start telling it to people, especially in your niche. Find bloggers and websites that mention important things in your niche. You can find them through the tool: https://app.buzzsumo.com/ or https://ahrefs.com/ (content explorer).
Read our Ultimate GUIDE to Link building >>-
Start with the websites or bloggers that you think are most important and most relevant. You can then have them as a reference when you contact those who are less important. Remember that you contact real people behind the websites / blogs.
mentions
There are companies that mention your brand on blogs or websites without linking to your site. One tip is to look up these “mentions” and ask these companies to link to your website or blog. Do a search with tools like ahrefs (content explorer) and find all your mentions. Then contact the article managers and ask them to link to you if they have not done so before.
Here are some points that are important when contacting blogs
- Tell them why they care about you.
- Tell them what you want them to do for you.
- Make it clear that you are genuine and not someone who spams them.
Bloggers and websites could do this for you:
- Share your content on social media like Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
- Embed your content if it is an information graphic or a “widget”.
- Accept a guest post from you related to your content and link back to your site.
- The blogger writes a review about your content and links back to it.
Write a serious and well-worded message to the blogs and always follow up. Prepare an excel list with everyone you have contacted. Take a no in a good way and keep in touch.
How many links should I have to my site to compete with others in the same niche?
The answer to this is that it varies. Depending on how many links your competitors have to match it and have more quality links to your site. Do a survey in for example Ahrefs and get answers on how many links your competitors have. Get even more than them and be the best at having links to your site in your niche.
