As of now, backlinks are the most important factor when it comes to search engines deciding where to rank your website. In the future that may change, but there is no doubt that backlinks will continue to be an important factor in the ranking process. Due to this fact, it is important that you constantly build links back to your website. In this post, I’ll talk about some effective ways to accomplish this, including Link Bait building, blogging, press releases, and article marketing, just to name a few. But I will not only tell you to use these techniques, I will also tell you how to use them correctly and effectively.
Before we begin, we want to make it clear that I don’t care if a link has been tagged “nofollow” or not. Research by some independent SEO firms has confirmed that while PageRank is not transferred via nofollow links, overall rankings are affected by nofollow links in a positive way. I’ll get into this topic and discuss the studies in depth in a future blog, but in the meantime I want to make it clear that some of the link building tips I’ll be discussing include building links from sites that “nofollow” your outbound links and that I believe that this is not a problem. I believe this because Google built their entire algorithm on the fact that backlinks were the most important ranking factor. I don’t think Google intended for the “nofollow” tag to be used as widely as it currently is and would never allow millions of webmasters to screw up all the work they put into their algorithm by labeling every outgoing link on their site as “don’t follow.” .” Google may say that nofollow links have no impact on rankings, but I just don’t believe them based on the studies I’ve seen and simple common sense. In our opinion, Google goes on to say that “nofollow” links have no effect on rankings to keep the “nofollow” tag’s intended targets, spammers, at bay, but actually allows “nofollow” links to have at least some positive effect on rankings.
Link Building Tip 1: Blogging
Blogging is the easiest and most effective way to recover links. Blogs can not only generate backlinks, but they are also a way to consistently add content to your website, and we all know that Google loves sites that consistently add quality content.
The key to gaining links through blogs is to make sure you’re writing about topics that are directly related to your business or field of expertise or provide useful information for your readers. Once you’ve found your blogging niche, the next thing to do is create an RSS feed and submit both your blog URL and the RSS feed to as many blog directories as you can find. I have clients who gain hundreds of backlinks each and every month just by writing blogs on a consistent basis. I recommend that you blog at least once a month, but once a week is even better.
Link Building Tip 2: Press Releases
Press releases are a great way for businesses to win back links to their sites. There are many free press release syndication sites for submitting your releases, but using a paid service like PRWeb can generate hundreds of backlinks from major news organizations with just one press release. Making press releases a regular part of your link building strategy can result in thousands of quality backlinks over the course of the year.
Your press releases can be about anything you want related to your business. Whether it’s an expansion, the purchase of expensive new equipment, a fundraiser, or sponsoring a local event, a press release is a great way to get the word out about your business, as well as a way to get valuable back links that will help. your ranking in search engines.
Link Building Tip 3: Article Marketing
Article marketing has been declared dead as a link building and SEO technique many times over and is still alive and kicking. There are rumors of its demise once again floating around in cyberspace due to the new Google algorithm update that was released on April 25. I for one will not believe that article marketing is dead until I see it with my own eyes. It’s true that many article sites, such as Ezine Articles, took a hit in rankings when Google Panda was launched, but the effects weren’t fatal and Ezine has since taken steps to ensure that the articles published on its site are of the highest quality. quality. going forward
I’ve done my own SEO testing in the last couple of months and found that article marketing is still alive and well. I took a new site and wrote article after article and published them in Ezine, Articlebase, Articlecity and others. Articles were the only source of backlinks that I actively examined. The results have been amazing so far. Five of the six keyword phrases I’m currently optimizing for are now on the first page of Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. I can’t definitively prove that the only reason for these rankings are the articles and links contained in them, but the anecdotal evidence is pretty strong and most importantly my site hasn’t been penalized or dropped in the rankings in the last two months. . Things could change and I’ll keep an eye on that and let you all know if they do, but as of now, article marketing is alive and well and is a great way to gain links to your website.
The key to good article marketing is to create unique, original, and informative articles. Don’t just write an article and post it on 10 different article sites. Instead, write 10 different articles and publish them on 10 different sites. Be sure to mix up the anchor text of your links as well.
If done correctly, article marketing can result in a ton of quality backlinks and higher rankings.
Link Building Tip 4: Directories and Review Sites
Using business directories and review sites isn’t the most innovative link building strategy, but it is a proven way to win back links to your site. These backlinks aren’t the most valuable, but believe it or not, some of these directories get a decent amount of traffic and being listed on them can drive traffic to your site. Google takes into account the number of people who visit your site when deciding where to rank for it. Google figures that if many people visit your site and spend time on it, then your site must have valuable or interesting information and they will rank your site accordingly.
When listing your site in business directories, start with industry-specific directories, if they exist for your industry. A few years ago, I might have suggested that you submit your site to DMOZ, but now I wouldn’t even waste your time. DMOZ is not carrying the juice it once was and there are rumors of corruption and “pay per listing” schemes within the organization. I have submitted numerous sites over the years and only a few have been accepted even though I followed your guidelines to the letter. After submitting to industry-specific listings, submit your site to all the local business directories in your area. After that, pick a few business directories per week and submit them to your site. Over time, you will find that you have gained a large number of backlinks. Again, these aren’t the best type of backlinks, but they’re also not useless and can drive traffic to your site.
There are a few review sites that I recommend creating a list for. Manta, Yelp and Angie’s List are where I always list my sites and my clients’ sites. Don’t be afraid of negative reviews. If you receive a negative review, the best thing to do is find out if it’s legitimate. If it’s legitimate, your best course of action would be to respond to the comment on the review site and try to minimize the damage. If it is not legitimate, you can contact the site administrator and ask them to remove it. You’ll have to prove it’s an illegitimate complaint or they won’t remove it from their site. Links from these sites can also drive traffic to your website.
Another benefit of listing your website on sites like Manta, Yelp, and Angie’s List is the improvement of your Google Places listing. Google Places are ranked using a different algorithm than the one used to rank organic listings. Based on independent research, the consensus is that the most influential determinant of whether or not your local listing will appear in the results is mentions or reviews of your business on the web.
Link Building Tip 5 – Create “Link Bait”
“Link Bait” is content on your website that makes people want to link to it on their own. There are many forms of link bait that you can choose to incorporate into your site. Below are some examples.
1. Well written, humorous and/or informative content.
This one is a no-brainer. If you have well-written, informative, compelling, or humorous content on your site, people will link to it.
2. Widgets/Tools
Creating fun and interactive widgets and tools is a great way to get people to link to your site. I helped a client of ours to develop a BMI and calorie counter widget. That widget has resulted in many inbound links since its creation.
3. Video
Many people and companies have a YouTube channel. YouTube is great, but why should you push people to your YouTube channel when you can have them watch your videos right on your site? By embedding your videos directly on your website, you’ll encourage people to link to them and thus win back links.
Conclusion
These are just five examples of link building techniques. There are others, but these five are the most effective. In the future I will write about other effective, but less used link building techniques.
Keep in mind that link building can be a long and slow process. Patience is the key when it comes to building links. Don’t take the easy way out and participate in some link building scheme or pay for links. These techniques will only hurt your site in the long run.