Organic Link Building 101: Your Ultimate Roadmap
Ask anyone for the top SEO strategies of 2022, and you'll hear "link building" within the first five techniques. Today, link building is considered one of the best ways to build authority, generate more traffic, boost conversions, and grow your brand.
What is link building? Also known as "backlink building," link building is the process of generating external links to your website. These external links are called backlinks.
Let's consider an example. When a high-DA (domain authority) website like Forbes includes a link to your site, you earn a backlink. Think of this as Wonka's golden ticket. You've earned a shoutout from a site that generates a ton of high-quality traffic! As this traffic is redirected to your site, you'll earn more impressions, clicks, and conversions. It's like piggybacking off of a popular and authoritative website's success!
Link building can help you rank higher on Google SERPs (search engine result pages), gain more visibility, and secure your bottom line. This blog will take a closer look at the top four link-building strategies for small businesses and startups. Let's get started!
1. Guest Blogging
If you're new to link building, start with guest blogging. You'll write a high-quality blog for a high-DA website that generates a consistent stream of traffic. As their readers engage with the blog and click on the backlink in the CTA, they'll land on your site.
This is a golden opportunity. As web users explore your content, products, and services, you'll maximize your chances of earning a sale. Use the right guest blogging game plan. Start by shortlisting a set of industry experts. Make sure they're not direct competitors.
Check their DA score (0-100) to get an idea of how much traffic their site generates. The higher the DA, the better! If you're just starting off, aim for a site with a DA of 50+. Over time, increase the bar to 60+, 70+, and so on. Shortlist at least 3-5 sites. Send them a well-written email that demonstrates expertise in your local industry.
You should appear as an established company interested in achieving further growth through white-hat SEO strategies. Take your time, re-read the draft, and make sure it's engaging but not too persistent.
Wait for their response. Once you get the green light, partner with a team of professional guest bloggers who can write an engaging, well-researched, value-added, and optimized guest blog for you.
Avoid relying on your in-house content writing team for the first few guest blogs. Professional guest bloggers specialize in writing for a range of industries. They'll perfect everything from the grammar to the syntax to the spelling. Moreover, they'll demonstrate industry expertise, presenting your business as a qualified, reliable, and informed source.
A winning guest blog can help you climb SERPs and boost your sales. Kick things off on a great note!
2. Social Media Networking
Social media can help you earn a ton of quality backlinks. How? It's all about smart networking. You'll find almost every other business on social media today. Your social media pages will gain more traction as you post more pictures, videos, updates, polls, and stories.
This is a great way to earn more customers. However, it's also an excellent way to get noticed by some of the top industry players. It's like feeding two birds with one scone!
As your brand gets more exposure, your brand identity will also improve. At this point, you can reach out to brands on social media requesting a backlink partnership. You can also send them a direct message requesting a guest blogging partnership.
3. Competitor Analysis
If you aren't doing as well as your competitors, don't enter panic mode just yet. Over the years, many brands have managed to outdo their competition by using the right strategy. Even if your competitors are doing way better than you, you can eventually get up to par with them and do even better.
The trick? Competitor analysis. Take a closer look at your competition's backlinks. Which sites are linking to their content? If you're having trouble collecting this data, reach out to competitor analysis experts who can lend a hand. They'll create a comprehensive backlink profile for each of your top competitors.
Using this insight, they'll create a similar link building plan. As you recreate the most successful backlinks, you'll start generating quality traffic and bagging more conversions.
A well-conducted competitor analysis can go a long way in helping your brand become more visible to industry giants. However, make sure you go about this ethically. If you're confused about how to get started, hire link building services.
4. Quality, Quality, Quality!
No matter how great your link building plan may be, you can't achieve much luck until you up your quality. Think about it. Sure, you've identified the top backlink partners in your industry. You've also run a comprehensive competitor analysis to learn the top tricks of the trade.
You're all set. But wait. Your product/service quality simply isn't good. Moreover, your online content is also fair-to-middling at best. No matter how excellent your link building plan may be, it'll fall flat on its face if you haven't checked "quality" off the list.
Before you get started, make sure your products/services are top-notch. Your blogs should be engaging, well-written, and free from errors. Make a good impression on every web user who lands on your site! If your quality is top-notch, your link building efforts will bear fruit.
Combine a stellar link building game plan with:
- A high-quality website (design and development)
- High-quality content (blogs, images, videos, infographics, etc.)
- High-quality web copy (product pages, service pages, "about us" page, "contact us" page, etc.)
Once you've taken care of these basic on-page, off-page, and technical matters, you'll start earning organic backlinks. Quality will take you far. Combine it with top-notch SEO, and your business is in for a treat!
