How great is your backlink profile?
It’s something you probably don’t think a lot about as a small business owner. Yet, you do have a website right? And, you do want it ranking, getting traffic, and bringing you sales, yeah?
In this case – you need to build high-quality backlinks for your small business website.
There are a lot of ways to approach link building. Let’s not overcomplicate it, though, and keep it focused on eight tactics that will deliver the best results.
Let’s get to it.
Method 1: Produce Incredible BlogContent
The hardest but most rewarding method to build backlinks to a website is by creating incredible content.
Content that is extremely helpful to a community has a far more likely chance to be referenced by other website owners and bloggers; this creates a backlink to your website that is natural and relevant.
The key to creating quality content is the inclusion of a unique angle, the focus of the topic, community interaction, helpfulness, and being able to entertain the reader.
Incredible content has the chance of reaching viral syndication across social networks and relevant blogs within your niche; each time it is shared you are given an opportunity to build a quality backlink.
Method 2: Write Articles for Online Properties
Article marketing is a bit dead… but it’s also sort of alive.
There are still plenty of platforms out there that you can use to write and share your expertise. And, in the process, get a link back to your site.
Sites like Medium come to mind.
You can begin building quality links to your website by creating a content creation and submission schedule where you regularly submit articles. Every article submitted can include a link within your author profile or site; these are cumulative and will lead to a steady increase in backlinks with each new submission.
Method 3: Publish Guest Posts for Relevant Blogs
Guest posting is the process of writing blog posts for relevant blogs within your niche.
You can begin building links through guest posting by doing searches for blogs that target similar keywords and communities. Once you’ve found relevant blogs you may ask to submit a new post.
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The guest posts you submit will display your expertise and authority on a topic; this will entice readers to share and visit your website. Additionally, every guest post will give you the option of including a link to your website within your author profile.
Guest posting, by far, is quickly becoming the best option for building backlinks. It’s also highly effective for building your brand and influence.
Method 4: Get Active on Social Sharing Platforms
Social sharing websites, such as Reddit, allow members to submit and share content they’ve found on the web which may include their own.
Unfortunately, many people abuse the platform with “hit and run” tactics that don’t create a sustainable impact for their website. The best approach is to build a following, on these networks, as you would on other social networks.
Your connections on social platforms will help you promote submissions which results in higher traffic and greater chances of backlinks for your website.
Look for relevant sub-communities on these networks and deliver your best content. It may turn into something like an extension of your business, in fact, in that regular updates can come through these channels instead of just your business blog.
Method 5: Answer Questions on Q&A Websites
Question and Answer websites such as Quora have proven to be a quality source of backlinks for webmasters and website owners.
Q&A websites involve asking and answering questions; people that answer questions can place a link to the reference they used to answer the question. It’s much like the FAQ format we’ve talked about before – but in this case, it’s on a different platform.
You can build backlinks with Q&A websites by searching for questions related to your niche based on keywords. Answer questions you feel comfortable with and place a link to your website for additional information – it’s that simple.
Method 6: Participate in Forums
Forums are incredible social platforms where thousands of users discuss topics on a daily basis in ‘threads’ and comments.
And yes, forums are still going strong despite not being as popular as they once were.
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In fact, it’s probably great that you get on a forum because they’ve become somewhat of an untapped market. On forums, you’ve got super passionate people that really know their stuff and are open to learning and connecting.
Doesn’t that sound like a place you’d want to be involved in?
To build links with forums, search the web for relevant forums using your main keywords. Sign up for an account on the forum and participate in discussions that relate to your website. In time, you will be given the opportunity to create a signature that can include a link to your website.
Each new thread you respond to places a new link on the forum; this can quickly add up when you are very active.
Method 7: Hold an Online Contest
Online contests are a hotbed for potential backlinks to your website through community participation and sharing.
A trick to build links using contests is to ask participants to, in one form or another, share the contents (or your site directly).
You may also set up rules that may include tweeting the website link, becoming a fan on Facebook, writing a blog post linking back to the site, submitting articles to the website, and much more.
Requiring a form of interaction will weed out those trying to abuse the contest and keep those most interested, and willing to follow the rules, on board. Your contest, depending on the prize, has the potential to virally spread across the web and pull in thousands of links within a matter of weeks.
Method 8: Create a Press Release
Press release distribution services share your press release to thousands of websites and journalists; each of these increases your exposure and alerts the community at large of recent happenings at your business.
More importantly, press releases can be an effective form of link building.
A great news story that gets picked up and distributed through the channels can do a number for driving traffic and engagement to your site. The engagement could turn into business opportunities, free backlinks, and so much more.
Conclusion
The best approach to link building is to steadily increase your links naturally through a combination of the techniques discussed in this article. In time, your website will have a solid foundation of links that will raise rankings, increase traffic, build a stronger community and ensure you claim your website rankings for many years to come.
