Backlinks are a way of helping your search performance in a simple stroke. How it works is by having your website linked on other website to lead back to your website. For example say you are a manufacturer that specializes in designer furniture. Perhaps an interior designer remodels a house, and post pictures on their website of the recent makeover. They also go a step further, they add links to show their viewers where to get everything that is in the picture.
It will look like a normal image as seen above, but when you hover over the image, links would show where you can purchase that item. Wouldn’t it be great if your customers can see for themselves what your products look like in a real environment?
The primary purpose of backlinks is to help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). However when used properly, backlinks not only improve your SEO, but they also benefit your company in many ways.
Benefits:
They give authenticity to your brand. This is accomplished much like the example above. If people are not able to visit your company, this allows the customer to see what your product or services are like. For example, there has been a sudden burst of food companies that ship food kits directly to your house. If your customer was leery of using your services, but saw your website featured on a website they like, they will be more likely to try your product.
4 Ways to Create Backlinks
Connecting to News Outlets or Bloggers
Publishers are always wanting a new story, and if you have a story that they are looking for, then they are more than happy to give you credit. They give you credit by linking the article back to your company. This is the equivalent of free publicity for your organization. While this is a great resource, it is also one of the more difficult methods to obtain backlinks.
Featuring in Podcasts
Podcasts are similar to radio shows. In order to be featured, you have to be on the show. When you make an appearance on a podcast, they are more than willing to showcase your company in the description so customers can find out more about you.
There are so many podcasts available on the market. There is a podcast available for every niche. You’re sure to find a podcast that will suit your business needs perfectly. By reaching out to people that run podcasts, not only are you able to get your website featured, but you can also be more specific about which section of your website you would like featured. For example, instead of customers being directed to your home page, you can have them directed to a product page or a specific service that you offer.
Video
Remember last night when you were watching TV and you saw credits at the beginning and the end of the show? This is considered a form of collaboration. The type of video collaboration that we are primarily looking at would be YouTube videos opposed to the ones you see on your TV screen. YouTube collaboration has really taken off with the ability to backlink. One of the biggest areas where you will see this is DIY videos, tutorials, and renovation videos. The majority of videos on YouTube now include backlinks.
The main difference that we are discussing is collaboration videos vs a basic video with a backlink. Both are great sources, and if you are able to create your own video and add a backlink, that is amazing. The easier way, is get a bunch of people interested in a video or join into a video project so you can be featured. For example, say you own a restaurant, instead of having to do a video by yourself about your restaurant, you see that there is an upcoming feature about the restaurants in your neighbourhood. You work on getting involved in that video, saving you money and time, and also getting you what you really want- to be featured, and a backlink.
This can also be achieved through video sponsorship. This works by giving a product to a vlogger (video blogger) where they do a full critique about the product. A common example for this is Nikon- they will give new products to trusted vloggers so they can give a full critique about the product. Nikon does this because it gives a raw approach to their marketing. More people are willing to buy a product when they hear both the good and bad about a product. Not the company’s “sunnied side up” approach to the product.
Through Social Media*
Social media is a controversial method of creating backlinks as many believe it does not count when creating authentic backlinks. However there have been many studies done that have proven that backlinks on social media have proven a great tool to help improve a company’s SEO ranking.
The Best Way to Take Advantage of This:
Design your posts; don’t just send out a post. Social media posts need to be well crafted for optimal shares and engagement. Depending on content of your post, it should include your website, and if not, your contact info on your social media page should definitely have a link back to your website. If you don’t have your social media account set up with your website, you are missing out on a lot of leads, and backlink opportunities.
If you are posting any videos about your company, they should definitely include a link back to your website.
Make sure to cater your post to the platform you are using. For example, on twitter you will not see as many backlinks, rather you rely more on your contact page for the backlink. Where as on Facebook you are able to use more characters, however regardless of the platform, make sure your post are reader friendly and eye catching.
Two terms to be familiar with:
dofollow
These are your basic backlinks. All of your links will be automatically set up as dofollow links. However when you start playing around with your website, the links can be changed to nofollow links. dofollow links tell Google to trust your website, which overall improve your ranking.
nofollow:
These links as you may have guessed it, do the exact opposite of dofollow links. Instead of telling Google to trust your website they instead tell Google to avoid your website. Below is an example of how nofollow links appear in HTML.
