Consider this for a moment:
What helps a page rank on Google?
By favorable engagement metrics like the time a user spends on the page, whether they clicked through to another page on the site, if they left the page quickly, and whether they shared the page with others.
Those metrics matter because they speak to the value of the page. If it’s good people stay, and if it’s bad people leave. It’s just that simple.
But what really pushes a post over into a top-of-the-page rank on Google search?
The answer: its authority.
A website’s authority comes from how many people are “speaking” about it, or to put it better, referencing it. When a website references another by linking to it within a given post, that’s called a backlink.
And every time your blog post is linked to by another website—particularly ones that are well-established like news outlets—that gives your website a significant spike in domain authority and raises your rank in Google search.
Link building is a serious component of modern SEO strategy and can be crucial in expanding your search visibility quickly and generating more traffic for your site.
So, let’s dive in.
What is link building?
Link building is an SEO strategy that involves building and soliciting authoritative entities such as news outlets, directories, and popular blogs to host a link to your page on their site.
Confused?
That’s okay.
Here’s a simple example:
Let’s say you wrote a blog post about “10 Essential Survival Tips for the First-Time Solo Camper.” It’s a well-researched piece and you do well weaving in practical anecdotes of your first camping experience.
Great.
Link building for that piece—and ultimately, your blog site—would involve shopping that piece around to any outlet you feel would be relevant on their website. So for instance, let’s say the New York Times has an article on their website titled “Into the Wild: A Pocket Survival Guide for Long-Distance Hiking” and you know that your blog has overlapping information on it.
You can reach out to the original author or editor, and ask them if they’d be willing to reference your blog on their website as a point of value to their readers.
Another tactic would be to find a reference link in an article for a topic you write on.
Let’s go back to our original camping blog post:
Assume the New York Times had a reference link already in their “Into the Wild” post that directed to an article titled “9 Survival Tips for First-Time Hikers.”
Perfect! You’ve got a similar blog post that features ten, which ideally would provide greater value. You can now pitch your article against the currently sourced original as an update with better, more comprehensive information to the original piece.
The New York Times agrees, and now you’ve had your blog referenced by the most exalted online publication in the world.
Now, just sit back and wait for your web traffic spike.
Why is link building important?
As we’ve mentioned before, link building is a shortcut to building organic authority, and the best part is that it’s free.
It costs you nothing but time to reach out to online news outlets and solicit a link, but the upside to a “yes” can be huge.
Link building with authoritative websites will dramatically improve your visibility in search engines, increase your organic traffic, and bring you more business.
Aside from the tangible benefits of greater web traffic, there are intangible benefits to consider as well.
Link building builds authority. And that’s valuable to a business in a competitive marketplace. Consumers today have become wary of the multitude of advertisements they’re exposed to. As a result, the power of online reviews has skyrocketed in recent years. By implementing the practice of link building, your authority in your field goes up, and so does consumer trust.
And a business that consumers can trust is frequently a successful one, which means higher online conversions and sales revenue.
Here are a few link building tactics to get you started…
Okay, so we’ve defined what link building was and stressed the importance of it to your business.
Now, let’s implement what you’ve learned…
Reach out to online news outlets and blog publications
Look at your industry and the type of information your blog offers. Then look for news outlets and popular publications that are writing about your industry. The idea is to offer value, so take your well-researched and well-written blog article and look for opportunities on these outlets to help make one of their articles better.
If you can find an appropriate fit, reach out. In this process, you’ll likely encounter more no than yes, but that’s okay. It’s a numbers game, and all you need is one.
List your business on popular directories
Directories like Google, Yelp, and Facebook exist for a reason: to help people find your business. Although these aren’t necessarily blog-specific, creating an accurate listing on these websites does improve search visibility online.
It doesn’t take very long either, so, dive in. Just make sure all listings of your business’s address, phone number, and pictures are the same. Any discrepancies will cause your customers and prospects to lose trust, which hurts authority.
Start guest-posting
Guest posting, as the name implies, is the practice of posting an article on another website. In many cases, online blog publications allow for guest posts because it keeps their content flowing, and it’s free. The benefit for the original writer is that they can link to their website within the article or their author bio. This is a great technique for generating links on authoritative sites; it establishes your brand and pushes web traffic organically through a well-recognized outlet.
For more tips on how to build links, keep reading here.
Closing Thoughts
Link building is a smart way to generate traffic for your website and increase your authority online. However, content is key in link building and your website or blog post MUST provide value first in order to be a source for others to link to.
If you’re interested in a content marketing plan that can position your business as an authority
Reach out to Content Writer Workshop for more information.