Organic search engine traffic is often considered the holy grail of traffic sources. It is free and plentiful (depending on your niche), and people across the globe use search engines every single day.
However, as any seasoned website owner can attest, search engines can be fickle. The ever-changing algorithmic metrics that web content is evaluated on can throw you and your website for a loop. This has never been more true with the introduction of AI, language models, image, and voice search.
To position your website to be more resilient to these changes, it is important to master the art of link-building.
Link-building is defined as locating other targeted sites in your niche, and either exchanging links with them or having them link to you. The latter of the two - one-way links - is considered the most ideal option amongst link-building professionals.
Obtaining links from other sites gives you targeted traffic; in many cases, links from other sites can last forever. Because of this, it is important to incorporate this tactic into your overall online marketing plan.
The following are some of the suggestions for constructing effective link-building strategies:
Create content that will compel other site owners to link to you.
Put together helpful resources for people in your niche and create hero content that encapsulates everything within your niche. In more competitive niches, hero content is crucial in getting those top 10 placements on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and can have a trickle-down effect on the rest of your website. Hyperlink specific points that you touch on in your hero content to full articles about said point and watch as the algorithm starts favouring your “sticky” content and website.
Purchase back and hyperlinks.
This is one of the most frequently used link-building strategies because it can quickly increase your domain authority and backlink profile if done correctly. Many directories specialize in matching text link buyers and sellers. These directories are good because you can find several sites to choose from in almost any category. Plus, you can read reviews from other text link buyers in your niche. It’s important that you are not overindulging in this strategy, however, as too many links can come across as spammy to search engines, and you could get penalized for using “black hat” tactics.
Obtain blog reviews.
A simple way to build links to your blog is to get blog reviews. The concept is basic. Someone reviews your blog content and you get a link.
Blog reviews are great because someone is giving specific details & insight about your site, rather than just a hyperlink you hope someone will click on.
If you search for "blog reviews" you will find several sites offering the service. If you run a personal site, a blog review can do wonders for you. If your blog is associated with a business you may have less success with this tactic.
Link-building requires patience and commitment. But the payoff – increased targeted traffic – makes it well worth the effort.
Want to learn more about how SEO can benefit your business? Click here.
