When you start a new business, you realize that there is much more to success than simply having a great product or service. Brand awareness and marketing are pivotal to generating leads and potential sales. Digital marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are the de facto ways to promote a brand these days. What is the role of link building, and why is it relevant to startups?
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What is Link Building?
Link building is the process of getting different websites and online publications to add links to your brand website. Having more third-party links to your website directly leads to higher organic traffic. If the third-party sites are relevant to your brand, there is a strong possibility that the audience will click on the links and visit your site.
The indirect benefit of link building is just as important—link building improves your search engine results page (SERP) ranking. In the densely-populated world of Google, researchers have found that users usually only click on the top three listings on a SERP. This means that you need to rank as high as possible if you want to get leads.
Google SERPs display listings based on a complex formula that includes page titles, keyword density, domain age, and many other factors. One of these key factors is backlinks. Backlinks refer to links from third-party sites that point to your website. Generally, the greater the domain authority (DA) of the linking sites, the better your website will rank in Google’s SERPs.
This is why startups need to invest in link building. Through obtaining helpful backlinks from high-DA sites, startups can get the exposure they need and ensure that their listings come up on top in SERPs. This can allow you to level the playing field against your more established competitors and even help you to get ahead of the pack in terms of visibility and leads.
Create Valuable Content
It may sound simple, but creating valuable content is truly the most effective way to guarantee that you will receive backlinks. Researching topics and keywords when you are writing content is essential. You want to craft content that attracts your potential clients and optimize it for the keywords that they will enter into a Google search bar.
The Internet is rife with questionable and poorly-written content and users are understandably appreciative when they find helpful information. Share your expertise on industry topics or keep things light with a listicle. Whatever you choose, make sure it is share-worthy. If your article is exceptionally good, you may find prestigious publications asking you to write for them as well.
Build Important Connections
This brings us to important connections. Google’s algorithm associates established and reputable publications with a high-DA. When your site gets a backlink from a high-DA website such as Entrepreneur, Google will consider it more trustworthy and thus award it a better ranking. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to secure links from high-DA websites as their content policies can be extremely exclusive.
Therefore, building and maintaining connections with the editors of such publications can help you to get a foot into the door. Key editors are often listed in the ‘Contact Us’ or ‘Newsroom’ pages of a publication or you can search for their accounts on LinkedIn or Twitter. Start a conversation and offer to write guest posts for their sites or publish a sponsored article if it is allowed.
Don’t Forget Diversity
That said, not all high-DA publications are corporate-run. Certain individual blogs can have high-DA ratings as well. Google’s algorithm looks at the overall picture of your backlinks and having a diverse range of third-party sites will seem more natural. A common mistake in link building is only sourcing links from big name sites, which can make Google suspicious.
Similarly, if you only receive backlinks from directories, they will hardly make a dent in your SERPs ranking. You need a healthy variety of referring domains with varying DA ratings while staying clear of the lower-DA spectrum. Having a good mix of anchor texts is important too. Multiple backlinks with the same anchor text can be a red flag and you may be investigated or penalized.
Consider the Professionals
Link building can be complicated, to say the least. In the eyes of Google, there is a fine line between marketing and manipulation. If the technical aspects of link building seem too hard to understand, consider hiring an expert link building agency such as PrestigeLinks to take care of the job for you. That way, you can spend your time on the finer aspects of your business.
Link building is a powerful tool for startups to gain ground in a competitive world. Specialized link building agencies can research keywords, formulate strategies, create quality content, and secure valuable backlinks to improve your organic traffic and search engine visibility. The Internet is an unlimited source of leads. Grow your audience and generate profit with link building.
