Link Building Strategies To Boost Off-Page SEO
Inbound links are the most valuable commodity a marketer can have when it comes to SEO. Building authoritative and relevant links into your website from external sites is something you shouldn’t precisely disregard in your SEO strategy, given that off-page SEO (as opposed to on-page SEO) accounts for the bulk of a web page’s potential to rank for a certain keyword.
While link-building is essential, it can be difficult because you don’t have full control over who decides to connect to your site. As a result, it’s one of those inbound marketing strategies that needs your whole attention and patience. The question then becomes how to exert influence over a situation that appears to be beyond your control. Have faith; it’s not all bad news.
Off-Page SEO Strategies that Focus on Link Building
Submitting to Web Directories
One of the few link-building strategies you have full control over is this one. Yet, it is also one of the least effective SEO strategies. While connections from website directories may not carry much weight, the low barrier to entry makes them a worthwhile place to begin generating links, especially if they are free.
Making outstanding content
Others will want to link to is another strategy for gaining backlinks that is entirely under your control. Such posts have a checkered past because of their association with the derogatory term “link bait,” which refers to posts written with the explicit intention of drawing attention and inspiring external links to the website in question. Yet, not all ‘link bait’ is malicious. Why wouldn’t you want others to link to the content you’re providing if it provides value to your intended audience? Original data and research, infographics, viral films, and information about controversial themes are all examples of the kinds of content that are likely to go viral and, in turn, produce excellent link bait. If you want to share this type of information with the world, a business blog is the way to go.
Put in the time to network and create relationships
Doing so will help keep your business and content front of mind with others who could be interested in linking to you, even if they can’t immediately link to you. Create a directory of influential and informative blogs in your field. Next you should initiate contact with them and work to develop a rapport. Connect with them on Twitter, share their information on your own feed, and show them some link love by referencing them in your own posts.
Perfecting your online persona
Alright, we tried to sneak this one in there. Links on social media profiles or shared in status updates carry no weight in search engine optimization because many social media sites employ the “nofollow” tag. There is still an external link pointing to your site, even if it doesn’t help with SEO. And social signals are being used more and more by search engines to determine which pages and posts may be trusted as authoritative sources.
Politely Requesting
We are not advocating that you resort to begging or bribery in order to gain backlinks. You should never force another blogger to link back to you, but there are times when it’s OK to do so graciously. Let’s imagine, for example, that a news story on a highly credible website mentioned you favourably. Although the website used your information and credited your company, it failed to include a clickable link to your site. It’s OK to email the writer to express gratitude for the mention of your data and to request that a link be added to your site.
Sending News Releases to Distribution Services
News releases have significant search engine optimization (SEO) benefits in addition to being a terrific method to get the word out about your business’s latest product announcements and other noteworthy updates. Your press release will receive an inbound link every time it is syndicated online through a wire service. It’s even better when another website picks up the news you’re pushing and writes an article about it of their own, linking back to your site. While the vast majority of news release distribution firms will charge you, there are a few that won’t.
Benefiting from Co-Marketing Efforts and Alliances
Opportunities for collaboration and cross-promotion can be fruitful sources of inbound links. Co-marketing campaigns are most effective when carried out with companies whose offerings complement your own rather than directly compete with your core business. You should think about using such connections to your advantage while creating links. You’re referring readers to their site. They’ve linked to you. It’s a triumphant occasion for all.
Guest blogging (external content)
The best technique to get high-quality backlinks to your site is by guest posting. Sure, you’ll have to put in more work creating content, but the payoff will be substantial. Any company worth its salt in inbound marketing would, presumably, be working hard to maintain a consistent stream of new material. Would you not leap at the chance to publish a guest post from a competent writer if you were having trouble filling your blogging queue with good content? A blog manager like that enjoys the benefits of regularly updated content with no work on their part.