So, you’ve just started adding some SEO magic to your business’s website. You’ve named your images, added links, and sprinkled low-competition keywords on every page. The trouble is, you’re not seeing any rank changes. And after all that work, you’re starting to feel deflated.
Take it from us: you’re on the right track!
Building a great website is a lot like baking a cake. There are all sorts of ingredients required to bake the best one, but a few small ingredients — think frosting, chocolate chips, or a pinch of salt — can make the flavor infinitely better.
When it comes to baking ‘SEO cake,’ that means adding backlinks!
You can think of backlinks as support for your domain that’s created when other websites link to a page on your website. This makes your content look more impressive to Google and (hopefully) gives it a boost above your competitors.
This guide covers all the ins and outs of backlinking for your business. Once we look closer at its actual definition, we explain its nuances so you can get started today.
What Is Backlinking Anyway?
Backlinking occurs when other websites link to a page or set of pages on your site. For example, if a local news station hyperlinks your website in its online content, you’ve just received one ‘backlink’ for your site.
There are two different components to a backlink: the anchor text, and the hyperlink.
- Anchor text: The actual words you’re hyperlinking to another website. For example: ‘how to make a landing page.’
- Hyperlink: The link you embed into the words. For example: ‘how to make a landing page.’
For humans, backlinking is a great way to find more information about a specific topic. For robots and search engine ‘spiders,’ it’s also a great way to check the social proof of a website and see how many votes of confidence it gets. The more backlinks you have leading to your website, the higher you rank on search engine results.
But backlinking your website isn’t a foolproof method of generating more traffic for your business. The amount of attention you get from search engines depends on the domain authority of each backlinking site.
So How Does Backlinking Work With Domain Authority?
You know how they say ‘to make money, you need money?’ That’s how it goes with backlinks.
Google weights each domain by the amount of authority they have. A backlink from a more authoritative website gives your website more authority, too. This means you get even more traffic and SEO power when a more authoritative website gives you a backlink.
This means getting hundreds of backlinks isn’t great in every circumstance. One authoritative backlink is worth hundreds of less authoritative links.
But how do you get those?
You have two different options.
Paying for Backlinks Versus Building Links Organically
Once upon a time, businesses used to pay other businesses to place a backlink on their website. In exchange for a few hundred dollars, you could get your website linked to dozens of sites.
But these were the ‘wild west’ days of SEO — and life is exceedingly different. Today, paying for links doesn’t always work out — and it only pays off if you don’t get caught! If Google’s algorithm identifies a buying pattern of ‘spammy’ or low authority backlinks, there’s a good chance you’ll see negative impacts on your ranking.
So should you pay for backlinks? In our opinion, no. But you can, however, focus on getting as many DoFollow links as possible.
Here’s what we mean below:
The Two Types Of Backlinks
There are two different types of backlinks you can have: DoFollow, and NoFollow.
Long story short, you should focus on DoFollow as much as possible.
Let’s outline the differences below.
DoFollow Links
These links have a tag allowing search engines to see the backlink. These are the most valuable types of backlinks you can get.
NoFollow Links
These links have a tag preventing search engines from reading the backlink. So even if you have 50 backlinks to your site, only those marked ‘DoFollow’ are useful to your team.
How To Get Authoritative Backlinks For Your Business
Ready to build some backlinks for your business?
It may not be easy, but you can still get started today:
1. Look for referral partners
Do you send customers to other businesses for services you don’t offer? These referral partners can help grow your business both with domain authority and credibility.
First, send a message to your referral partner offering to link their services on your site. Then, ask them to do the same to complete the link exchange cycle.
If you don’t have any referral partners, look for connections with people or brands you know. Your local Chamber of Commerce, professional organization, or small business organization may be willing to link to your site.
2. Build connections organically
Writing, designing, and publishing great content naturally attracts backlinks from other websites.
Let’s say you’re a 3PL and want to drive traffic to your website. To do this, you write a detailed blog post explaining the state of the industry for this year. Then, you publish your post and share it on social media. Other websites publishing content (including potential competitors) may link to your content and create a backlink for your site.
Remember: quality over quantity matters! To build connections organically, you need detailed resources with lasting value — think images, charts, templates, and more.
3. Work with a Google search marketing firm
Building backlinks on your own is possible, but it’s certainly no walk in the park. Not only does it take time and effort to build links, but it may also take months if not years to start reaping the benefits of your labor. Getting results on a measured, accessible timeline is possible with the help of an experienced marketing team.
You can rely on the team at Autumn Consulting to naturally build backlinks with authoritative websites. By positioning your brand as an industry leader, we can help your business reach Google’s page one.
Learn more about our approach to backlinks by submitting an online contact form. Once we have a chance to review your needs, we can develop a custom solution for your brand.
