Link building remains the cornerstone of most search engine optimization efforts. In accordance with Moz in “2015 Study of Search Engine Positioning Factors,” links have the strongest association with high search rankings within all the known factors used by Google in its ranking algorithm.
But one of the most common problems for small businesses is the struggle for quality link building. Lacking familiarity with current SEO best practices, many small businesses use the infamous blackhat tactics to gain links.
That is an error.
Search engines will continue to kill off link exchanges, paid links, and other approaches for the purpose of link building.
Therefore, it is best to avoid these “old school” methods and focus on relevant, authority links that drive real traffic. Here are six ways to build these types of links for your small business website in 2016:
1. Partner with influencers specific to your niche
Niche-specific influencers have connections with readers outside of the “industry environment” and form meaningful relationships. You can establish content partnerships with influencers who offer relevant content to your target audience.
For example, you can be a regular contributor to your blogs and sometimes link to your own landing pages. Consumers are more likely to trust these links over one or two sponsored posts for two reasons:
They trust that the influencer only allows contributors who provide value and a regular contribution for small business owners or employees seen as an honest contribution.
2. Take advantage of local partnerships
If you are going to target people in a particular geographic area, partnerships with local organizations can be an opportunity to get links from your websites. In that case, you may already have existing partnerships, so all you have to do is contact partner sites for link placement.
Aim for franchises and locally owned businesses instead of large corporations. You can also replicate the first link building strategy by contributing to local blogs. And aside from local business blogs, through official community blogs and local news blogs that welcome guest blogging.
Another thing you can do is sponsor local events that cater to small businesses. This can be achieved with links from the event sponsorship page.
Aside from events, you can sponsor awards shows, conferences, and charities.
3. Use the skyscraper technique
Invented by Brian Dean of Backlinko, This technique simplifies the link building process by not requiring reinventing the wheel. Instead of coming up with new ideas week after week, you can simply take what works for others (including your competitors!) and improve it. There are three steps to the skyscraper technique:
- Discover the best performing content in your niche. The best performing content can be determined based on the number of times it has been shared on social networks or the quality of the links pointing to it. You can use a tool like BuzzSumo to find content that has performed well and a tool like Open Site Explorer to analyze the quality of the links.
- Create something better. Maybe the best performing content is low on practical examples or case studies. Or maybe it doesn't go into as much detail as it could. You can offer more value on the same topic by creating a more in-depth or comprehensive piece of content on the same topic.
- Promote your content. Reach relevant websites and influencers via email and social media. (Hint: Look at the websites and influencers who are already linking to the content you're improving.) Give them a hand with that new content that includes more recent information and examples.
The skyscraper technique is also considered “content marketing for link builders.” Various reports reveal that this technique has helped businesses build organic links and drive traffic to their websites.
4. Look for business mentions
Finding mentions that do not include links to pages in resource communities, forums, etc., is a convenient and cost-effective way to build links. In addition to using the brand name when it comes to discovering backlink opportunities, you can use other relevant keywords listed on the page in addition to the company name to narrow down your search.
5. Create a resource page
Depending on your location, you can create a local resources page that includes useful information for small businesses in your area. For example, if you are a clothing retailer, you can create a list of the best wholesalers and manufacturers in your city.
When you provide useful information, other businesses (even competitors) link to your resources page. You can partner with local subject matter experts to create information-rich resource pages; The efforts dedicated to these pages will be rewarded once they capture the attention of companies in the industry.
A resource page can be cited by participating in question and answer websites and local business forums. They could even land interviews and special appearances (webinars, podcasts, etc.), providing opportunities to build links from engaged content.
6. Create premium content
If you want to get backlinks from the biggest publishers and top blogs in the industry, you need to create quality content – Content that demonstrates thought leadership and is not just a compilation of tips or lists from other small business blogs.
Premium content includes:
- Books
- E-books
- Resource Pages
- blog posts
- Podcast
- Case studies
- Infographics
- Posts like Guest blogging
While premium content pieces require more time to complete, they have a much higher chance of being linked to than a standard blog post. Partnering with other companies that are not direct competitors can reduce costs by giving all partners the opportunity to attract authority links.
Follow these Strategies to build links to your website and you will have links in less time than you had thought, but remember to be patient.
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