Link Building For Small Businesses in 2021
Before we get into the steps of building links, it is important to understand what makes a link good or bad. This will allow you to focus on building links that will improve your Google organic rankings. Link building agencies like Linkflow.ai offer these kinds of services and notoriously improve their client’s visibility.
Here’s how you can identify links that are worth building.
Authority of the Page
After years of testing, I have shown that the authority of the link pointing to you is more important than any other factor. This is because links from authoritative pages transfer more authority (also known by PageRank) to your website.
The Effect of Pages with High Authority
(Note: Google does not share PageRank information publicly, but they still use it to build their algorithm.)
Ahrefs makes it easy to check the proxy PageRank indicator (“PageRating”). Simply enter a URL in Ahrefs to see its “URLRating”.
Authority of the Site
The domain’s authority at the site determines the quality of a link. A link from NYTimes.com will generally have a greater impact than one from a non-name blogger. These links can be difficult to find, but they are well worth it.
Ahrefs is again a great tool. You can enter any URL to the tool to check the site’s “DomainRating”. Moz’s “Domain Authority”, a respected metric, can also be used
Relevance of the Site
Link authority is important when it comes to websites. However, it is also important to consider the site’s relevancy. Let’s take, for example, a website that you have created about The Paleo Diet. You get a link from an authoritative website…about unicycles. Does that link still count?
An interview with an ex-Googler suggests that it might not. That Google engineer said: “…getting links from high PageRank pages used to be always valuable, but today, it’s more about the relevance of the site to yours. Relevance is the new PageRank.”
In general, you want to get links from authority sites…specifically, authority sites that are closely related to your site. Link’s position on the page: Is your link embedded within a piece or content?
Your link’s location on a page is crucial. Particularly, links hidden in sidebars and footers are not worth as much as those found in the middle or center of a page’s content. The bottom line: Your links should appear in the main body of a webpage.
Is the link editorially placed?
It doesn’t matter where the link is located on a page. Ask instead “Was this hyperlink placed editorially?” Or, in other words, did someone link directly to your site because they think it’s awesome? If so, it’s an editorial hyperlink. Did you make a profile on some random site and then drop a link? It’s not an editorial hyperlink. Google places a lot more emphasis on editorially placed links, as you might imagine. According to Google “…creating hyperlinks that were not editorially placed on a page or vouched by the site owner can be considered unnatural links.”
Link Anchor Text
The clickable text portion of a link is called anchor text. Google uses anchor text to rank websites, it turns out. Let’s take, for example, a link to your website with the anchor text “paleo desserts”. Google detects the anchor text and responds: “Hmmm. This site used the anchor text “paleo deserts”. They must link to a page about paleo desserts.
Keyword-rich anchor text can be misused, just like any other SEO tool. Spamming anchor text is the practice of creating many exact-match anchor text link links. Here’s an example: I do not recommend linking with anchor text that is keyword-rich. If you do get a link that includes your keyword in the anchor text it is time to celebrate.
Guest Blogging
These are the red flags that could make guest posting seem spammy. The post is published by someone who is paid. This post has exact match anchor text. This site is only for guest postings. This site is not related to yours.
What if you write a guest post that is truly amazing on a relevant, authoritative site? I have found that this link can help you rank.
Nofollow.vs. Dofollow Rel=”nofollow” refers to a tag that is added to a link and tells search engines, “Don’t count the link as an endorsement.” SEO is all about getting “dofollow” links wherever possible. Now that you know how to assess a link’s quality it is time to build them.
How to get world-class links with content marketing
Content Marketing is key to unlocking amazing backlinks. Here’s the deal: Publishing content alone won’t get you any links. It turns out that certain content types are best for link building. Here are the top 4 content types that generate the most links:
#1: Visual Assets
What it is: Visual assets include: Images Diagrams Infographics Charts and other visually-oriented content
Why it works: Visuals are extremely easy to link to. If you post a chart on your website, you will get a link whenever someone shares it on their site. Text-based content is not eligible for this powerful “share my picture and link to me whenever you do” relationship.
We believe visual elements are important enough to merit their own place on this list. Our brain loves visual elements as a human being. Because aesthetics stimulate emotions in our brains, we love colors and objects.
This allows us to be more involved and immersed in our environment. Infographics are a great way to make information more interesting and easier to understand. Images in blog posts can grab users’ attention and help them to focus not only on the visual element, but also the surrounding text.
It is important to understand that not all images you find on the internet can be used by those just starting out. Copyright protects images and copyright infringement can lead to serious consequences. You should use your images, graphics and photographs in the best possible way. However, not all bloggers can be graphic designers or photographers. There are many resources available to help you find royalty-free images. You can also use tools to create your own graphics.
Pexels
Pexels has a large and well-organized collection of public domain photos. It is easy to browse images by category or use the search function.
Pexels photos are all free and can be used without attribution.
#2: Influencer Outreach
Influencers are a great way to promote your blog and increase your website traffic.
The problem is that influencers receive a lot of messages. They assume that you don’t have much to offer in return for your new blog.
How do you attract the attention of influencers? How can you get influencers to promote your blog?
You must first start a conversation on social media with them.
Next, comment on their posts, respond to their threads and leave comments.
Make sure that each interaction adds value.
Users appreciate influencers’ efforts. They will remember and notice you. Once you have formed a rapport, you can reach out to them for advice.
Although it sounds hard work, it can help you to build long-lasting friendships that will be mutually beneficial.
