Google’s ranking algorithm gives more than 65 percent importance to link building. This is because backlinks from authority sites tell Google and other search engines that your site is reputable, high-quality, and relevant to the target audience.
Building a healthy backlink profile is particularly important for small businesses as it boosts website traffic, improves brand awareness, aids in relationship building, and establishes online authority. The internet is full of tips about link building, but in this post, you will find the most practical tactics that are sure to work for you!
So, dive in to step up your link-building game.
1. Convert Your Content into High-Quality Backlinks
I bet you have heard of the skyscraper technique. Well, Brian Dean of Backlinko introduced this method to find popular content, create better copy, and share it, thereby getting backlinks and organic referrals for your site.
Here’s how you can use this technique to earn high-quality backlinks to your small business site.
- Fish for Popular Content
In order to make your content relevant and attract backlinks, you need to find out what’s popular in your niche. Tools like BuzzSumo point out to content that’s buzzing with high social shares. That’s the content you should target and include in your content strategy.
Another way to discover popular topics is to follow influencers in your niche on social platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. Forums like Quora and Reddit too can help you get an insight into the hot topics being talked about in your domain.
- Track Competitor Activity for These Buzzing Topics
Let’s say, you are a B2B marketer who wants to write about the digital marketing landscape as it is a popular topic in your niche. Here are the top Google results that appear for this topic.
Go through the top three to four links and aim at writing better content than these high-quality posts.
- Write Awesome Content
Now that you are aware of the hot topics in your niche and the content that’s already available, roll up your sleeves and create a better piece of content, attracting quality links to your site. Here’s how you can create link-worthy content.
- Create Data-Driven and Relevant Content to offer high-quality posts that not only address the target audience’s issues but also build authority and trust. Sprinkle your content with infographics, case studies, and statistics to create a kickass piece of content, making it link-worthy.
Here’s an infographic from UBounce to help you create a data-driven content strategy.
- Long-Form Content is perceived as a comprehensive source of information on a particular topic. Not just that, by offering content that’s more than 3000 words, you are boosting your chances of it being shared, thereby establishing online authority.
In fact, a study of nearly ten million most-shared online posts by OkDork and BuzzSumo revealed that long-form posts get more shares compared to the short ones.
- Include High-Ranking Keywords in your content to boost your SEO ranking and earn backlinks. An effective keyword research using tools, namely Google Keyword Planner, KeywordTool.io, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Ubersuggest, or Moz Keyword Explorer to identify a group of keywords to be targeted.
Using the skyscraper technique will help you strengthen your link profile, thereby boosting traffic and improving your ranking on Google.
2. Steal Competitor Backlinks
Wondering how those nasty competitors of yours manage to rank at the top for your targeted keywords? They have a solid backlink profile, of course!
So, let’s loot them, I say!
Here are a few valuable tips to loot your competitor’s links.
- Guest Blog for the Same Site as Your Rival
First things first, you need to know the websites your competitor is guest posting for. Then, you can target those sites with better content, earning you quality backlinks.
Use any one of these techniques to know where your rivals are contributing their content.
- Use Advanced Search Queries
Use this search query to find your competitors’ posts.
“Author Name” + inurl:author
So, if you are a blogger in the ‘motivation/inspiration’ niche and wish to track Brian Tracy’s (an influencer in this domain) guest posts, you will get the following results using this advanced search query.
- Google’s Reverse Image Search
Let’s say, you want to research on Neil Patel’s guest blogs. Right-click on his image and select ‘Search Google for Image.’
Voila! You get the complete list of the guest posts he has contributed.
- Ahrefs Content Explorer
The Ahrefs Content Explorer tool can help you find content written by a specific author and the number backlinks a particular page has.
For instance, if you use the query – author:Author name you will get the most popular content for that author.
Once you have pinpointed the sites where your competitors’ posts are accepted, pitch with the latest content in your niche for the same sites. There’s a big chance your post will get accepted too!
- Nab Your Competitor’s Broken Links
Check for broken links pointing to your competitor’s site. Online tools like Broken Links Checker by Ahrefs or Dead Link Checker can help you identify them.
For instance, using these tools a digital marketing professional can identify links that lead to a ‘404 not found’ error, see the sites linking to them, and offer better content as a solution. In the Broken Links Checker by Ahrefs, you can add the 404 filter to see the most linked‐to broken pages on the site, target them with better content, and grab links for yourself.
Check out the number of broken links Think Bonfire, a digital marketing firm in Portland has. Digital marketing startups in and around Portland can easily use this to their advantage.
Here’s a complete guide to broken link building.
3. Create an RSS Feed
RSS feeds can help with link building. How? There are several websites (commonly referred to as feed scrapers) that find content using RSS feeds and scrape it (or steal content without your permission). So, if you include internal links to other pages on your site in your content, these feed scrapers will use your internal links (if not to your original post), thereby boosting your link profile.
Websites using CMS like WordPress already have RSS feeds. If your site is not built on WP, it’s high time you create one.
4. Leverage Offline Events
Regardless of the size of your business, hosting, speaking at, or attending major industry events can help you earn quality backlinks while giving your business solid visibility. Events, such as conferences, seminars, and expos are perfect occasions to reach out to influencers, engage in face-to-face marketing, and publish event-specific posts.
Consider the below-mentioned tips to leverage such offline events to build your link profile.
- Connect with Influencers
If you are hosting an event, a dedicated landing page on your website carrying the key details of the event can help persuade potential attendees to register and drive links to your site. Connect with the prime bloggers and influencers in your niche and encourage them to share these details with their followers, getting you valuable backlinks.
- Write Event-Specific Content
If you are at an event, write about it! Sharing your experiences about the event and offering leadership insights or the key takeaways can help attract quality links. People like to read event recaps and other people’s take on the days’ sessions.
So, if you post event-specific content, there’s a big chance of it being shared, getting your free publicity and links to your firm’s website.
Notice how, Pratik Dholakiya, the founder of The 20 Media, shares an event recap after MozCon 2018.
- Network Like a Pro
An event marketing report by Bizzabo reveals that 95 percent of marketers consider events as a valuable opportunity to form in-person connections. Building strong relationships with the leaders in your domain is a great way to establish future linking partnerships.
In fact, it’s important to continue this practice even after the event. Were you one of the speakers at the event? Engage people who attended your lecture by sending them a follow-up email with a link to your site. Make it lucrative for them to link to your website or share your content by adding downloadable slides from your presentation.
Lastly, track your backlinks and brand mentions using social listening tools, like Brandwatch or BrandMentions. This will not only help you understand what people are saying about your presentation (and your business!) but also offer you unbiased industry insights.
Summing Up
A solid link-building strategy can make your business discoverable online, establish online authority, and boost profits. For small businesses, earning high-quality links can seem like an intimidating endeavor. However, the sure-fire tactics shared in this post will help you build a strong link profile for your business. So, go ahead and put them into practice!
Gaurav Belani is a Senior SEO and Content Marketing Analyst at The 20 Media, a Content Marketing agency that specializes in data-driven SEO. He has more than seven years of experience in Digital Marketing and loves to write about Blogging, Link Building, and Content Strategy to help clients grow their search visibility. In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies and listening to music. Connect with him on Twitter @belanigaurav.