More and more small business owners are coming to realize that their businesses can’t thrive in today’s daunting economy if they don’t maintain an active presence online. If you are struggling to keep your head above water, you need to realize that something is not working as it should be. More often than not, the problem can be traced to the marketing strategy. More specifically, it is the SEO strategy that is incomplete and lacks an extremely important component – a “white hat” strategy to build links.
One of the best ways to ensure that you stay on top of your marketing efforts is to capitalize on other websites that can give you back links for free. The more quality links you have, the higher you will rank in search engines, and consequently, the more customers you will gain. Keep in mind that search engines crawl the web on an hourly basis, and the links and hyperlinks between sites are like streets in a neighborhood. You don’t want the “crawlers” to get lost because you didn’t provide relevant information or clear directions.
The Power in a Link
An effective link building strategy is not easy, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. Practice and patience are keys to success when it comes to link building. Don’t forget that it’s about quality, not quantity.
If a page on your website has a lot of links from authority websites pointing to it, the possibility of a higher page rank increases greatly. Most of your website’s Page Rank is determined by the number of top-quality links you have from important sources. You want the search engines to see a relevant relationship between your targeted keywords and those found on external websites. This way, when you have a link placed on that particular site, the search engine says, “It’s a match!”
Since link building is a major factor in improving your rankings, it will directly affect how many potential customers will be able to find you online by simply typing in a few keywords. Find out what your customers are searching for, build links around those words and phrases, then wait for the search engines to reward you.
Build Links: Link it or Sink it
As with any other marketing activity, there are some steps you need to follow when it comes to implementing a proper link building campaign. Some of the most important are:
- Sharing is Caring. If you have loyal customers, clients, or partners you work with, simply ask them to link to your site from theirs. In return, you can give them a backlink on your site.
- Build a Blog. Up-to-date, relevant, and quality content is critical for a successful link building strategy. That applies to both external content, and onsite content, which means a company blog is absolutely necessary. You need to have a valuable place to publish new content because search engines are watching.
- Get on the List. There are thousands of directories that offer free outbound links. However, make sure you have a well-rounded link profile and stay away from spammy links or black hat tactics.