Every business wants to boost its search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. If you rank high in Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP), it usually means your content is credible and valuable. In turn, this increases your visibility, engagement, and ultimately, conversion rates.
You might be wondering: what is one of the most effective ways to get Google to recognize your business as a trusted source of information? The answer is high-quality backlinks.
Why Backlinks Are Your Business’s Best Friend
Backlinks are basically links on a website (that is not your own) that lead the user to your website. Think of it as something similar to a citation. If you were to link to another website on your own page, then the page you just linked to has received a backlink.
Google and other search engines actually take these backlinks into account when they rank pages. Each backlink that a page receives looks like a “vote” in the eyes of Google. The more votes a page receives, the more chances it has of attaining high organic search engine rankings. In fact, backlinks have always remained as one of Google’s top search engine ranking factors.
Backlinks are much like votes that influence the decision of search engines when choosing which sites are useful and credible. It’s off-page SEO at its finest. Now it’s time for you to start the campaign for backlinks so your business can get the votes it deserves—and climb its way to the top of the search results.
Quality Over Quantity
Backlinks fall under the “quality over quantity” category. Search engines don’t just look at how many backlinks you have, what matters most is who you received those backlinks from. A single backlink from a website with “authority” is viewed by Google as much more valuable than hundreds of backlinks from random, spammy websites.
Think of it as the power and energy that come from quality backlinks getting transferred to your website’s search engine ranking. This is the art of domain authority, and it can do wonders for your business’s off-page SEO.
These are the factors that search engines pay close attention to:
Relevance: Backlinks from sites that are similar to yours have more impact than unrelated ones.
Variety: Receiving backlinks from various websites rather than numerous ones from the same website is considered more effective SEO.
Long-form: Backlinks that appear in blog content that is over 1,000 words are deemed more powerful.
How to Get the Quality Backlinks Your Business Needs
Be Linkable
So, you want quality websites to link to your page to improve off-page SEO. You’re going to have to earn those citations by being something worth linking to. This means creating content for your business that deserves to be shared, such as:
Blogs
Surveys
In-depth studies
Quizzes
Videos
Infographics
Ultimate how-to guides
Come up with data-rich content that will establish you as a thought leader for information that’s in the public interest.
Use the Skyscraper Technique
Earn backlinks for your content by composing it the skyscraper way. This is how it works:
Look for a topic with a ton of backlinks. If it appears at the top of the search results, then that usually means it has accumulated many backlinks.
Take a good look at the article and find ways it could be improved. Could it use more in-depth information like infographics and external links? Is it missing some important details you could expand on? Could you convey the message of the article better if you worded it in your own way? Basically, make a bigger, better, and more improved version of what you just stumbled upon.
Once you’ve done this, use a backlink checker to see which sites have cited the original piece of work you expanded on. After gathering this information, reach out to these sites and let them know there’s a 2.0 version with expanded coverage available on your website. Since they’ve linked to the original topic in the first place, there’s a chance that they’d be willing to backlink to an improved version.
Walk the Two-Way Backlink Street
Public relations is something that’s vital to any business. Surrounding yourself with the right people will widen your network and open up countless opportunities. If you find that you need more websites to backlink to your page, sometimes what you need to do is a little outreach first. Start by backlinking to other websites in a similar niche. Once you’ve done this, reach out to the website to let them know you’ve linked to their valuable content – you never know who might be willing to return the favour!
Invest in Authentic Reviews
If you’re willing to give out free stuff to bloggers, this might be the off-page SEO trick that you’re looking for. Look for the influencers that are relevant to your niche and reach out to them to know if you could send them your products. Take note that this is a strategy that has to be carried out very carefully, as it is against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines to offer products in exchange for a review or backlink. You can’t send them free stuff and directly ask them for a backlink in return. You’ll just have to hope that you’ll end up earning a review with a backlink on their blog.
Look for Unlinked Mentions
Not everyone who mentions your brand on social media has actually linked to your website.
If you come across people who’ve already dropped your name on social media or on their blogs but haven’t directly linked to your page, then these mentions would make the perfect backlinks. All you have to do is reach out to them and kindly request for that valuable backlink that will contribute to your off-page SEO.
Look for Relevant Resource Pages
Resource pages exist to link to sites that serve as useful industry sources. They’re websites constantly on the lookout for valuable backlinks to list on their page. By utilizing these steps, you’ll be able to find the right one that caters to your niche— and score a quality backlink prospect.
Start Backlink Building
Backlinks prove that off-page SEO is just as powerful as on-page SEO. Through backlinks, you’re building a network of discoverability by putting your name out in the right places. Creating shareable content and reaching out to people in a similar niche will get your business the backlinks it deserves. Contact The Influence Agency to learn more about how you can climb your way to the top of search engines with our team’s SEO expertise!
Dale David is a Content Writer at The Influence Agency. She's also a sneaker-wearing, guitar-playing, light wash denim-clad, pizza-munching, proud European '90s baby.
Dale David is a Content Writer at The Influence Agency. She's also a sneaker-wearing, guitar-playing, light wash denim-clad, pizza-munching, proud European '90s baby.
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Perfect Your PPC Marketing Strategy Paid Search Checklist
1. Define Your Goals
Are you aiming to increase web traffic or grow your social media presence? Figure out why you’re leveraging paid media in the first place and build your strategy from there. Having clearly defined goals in mind will help you focus on your brand’s key priorities.
2. Outline a TOFU/MOFU/BOFU Strategy
Designing strategies that cater to all three stages of the buyer journey ensures that you’re maximizing your brand’s reach. Every user at every stage is valuable—and you have to make sure you’re creating paid media content that speaks to each audience type.
3. Research Keywords for Search
Effective paid media is tied to targeting the right keywords. If you’re leveraging paid search ads to appear on SERPs (search engine results pages), then in-depth research is necessary. Bid on the keywords that are most relevant to your business to trigger only the most effective ad appearances.
4. Craft Engaging Ad Copy & Stand-Out Creative
Gather your team—because it’s time to start coming up with ad copy that wins attention. The key is to resonate with your audience and inspire engagement. Be real. Be relatable. And most importantly, don’t underestimate the power of creativity.
5. Create Conversion-Friendly Landing Pages
Do the landing pages on your website effectively push visitors further down the sales funnel? If not, you’re letting potential customers slip through your fingers. Optimize each of your landing pages so that they nudge users towards converting.
6. Choose Your Paid Platforms
The options are plenty when it comes to paid advertising, including Google, Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Pinterest among others. Analyze who your target demographic is, research where it’s best to connect with them, and then target the platforms where you wish to build awareness.
7. Build Campaigns & Ad Groups/Sets
If you’re ready to build your paid media ad campaign, you’ll find that it will be further broken down into “ad groups” to ensure more effective pay-per-click advertising. These ad groups house one or more ads that have similar targets or categories. Let’s say your brand’s website features categories such as clothing, shoes, and accessories. Creating ad groups according to keywords that fall under these categories will help the PPC system decide when to show ads for these products.
8. Don’t Forget About Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads are bound to succeed because it’s a second shot at a conversion. Visitors have shown interest in the product/service once before, and sometimes all it takes is a little reminder to push them to the checkout page. So don’t forget to retarget and aim better this time.
9. Run A/B Tests
In the world of paid media, what works and what doesn’t? You’ll have to run A/B tests to find out! Whether you’re testing which keywords bring more traffic or which social platforms earn more ad engagement, you won’t find out what really works for your brand until you test it.
10. Track Your Results
Revisit your initial goals. Did your efforts bring about the results you expected? Tracking results is an essential step in your brand’s paid advertising campaigns. The data you collect from currently running ads will help lay the foundation for your future campaigns.
11. Adjust as Needed
After tracking your results, you’ll be able to see where adjustments are necessary. There’s always room for improvement, so keep striving to consistently resonate and build trust with your audience—it’s how to create paid ads that pay off.
Perfect Your PPC Marketing Strategy Paid Search Checklist
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