In search engine optimization, link building describes actions aimed at increasing the number and quality of inbound links to a webpage. Link building can increase the number of high-quality links pointing to a website, in turn increasing the likelihood of the website ranking highly in search engine results. Link building is also a proven marketing tactic for increasing brand awareness. But many of the online marketers are not giving importance and dismissing it, especially small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs)ignoring link building as something they don’t have time for.
In SEO, fact is link building is much important and it also helps you build the way with valuable customers and increases your site visibility in search. Link Building not only for large business, it meant for small business too.
Are you thinking link building is difficult or strange concept?
If yes, don’t panic. Actual truth is Link Building is simple. Link building requires hard work and determination, but really it can be done by anyone – there’s no magic or secret sauce involved. Many people think you must invest time and money into content creation in order to build links. However, it’s possible to build links without content.
Having great content will certainly make building links much easier, and if you have the resources to invest in content you absolutely should. As a small business though, you might not have the budget or time to pursue content creation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still pursue links.
Here the list of tactics to build links:
- Image link building
- Local link building
- Fresh mentions
- Link reclamation
- Social Networks
Image link building
It’s possible to build worthwhile links with the images you already have, especially if you have great images hosted on your site. Chances are there might be a number of websites using your images. All you need to build some links is to find these sites and ask for a citation link.
To build links with your images you will first need to compile a list of images associated with your company or brand that could potentially be floating around online.
Some examples include:
- Logos
- Employee headshots
- Branded graphics
- Product photos
- Company buildings/locations
Local Link Building
It’s a great way to build relatively quick and easy links.
Some common techniques for building local links include:
- Local partnerships
- Give testimonials
- Local sponsorships
- Engaging within your community
Other link opportunities:
Loyal customers with websites
- Business associations and community groups
- Group interviews/surveys
All of these opportunities exist within your local community, and you can build links by simply being involved and then reaching out for a link where opportunity exists.
Fresh Mentions
Building links through fresh mentions is somewhat similar to image link building. Instead of looking for images related to your brand you are searching the web for brand mentions and terms.
Collect a list of any and all terms associated with your company, for example:
- Brand
- Company name
- Product
- CEO
Once you’ve organized a list of brand terms, you will need to use a tool to find mentions across the web. You can use Google Alerts, it is a free option.
Link Reclamation
Link reclamation is named as such because it involves reclaiming lost or missed link equity. One of the most common methods of link reclamation is retrieving link equity lost to 404/dead pages. This can be a great strategy if your website has had updates or migrations recently. If you are not sure with the 404 errors in your website, just go with google webmasters crawl errors section. There you can find these errors if exist.
Once you find the missing links, you can heal it with two options are contact the webmaster or create a 301 redirect from the 404 page to a new page on your site.
Social Networks
Nowadays, 90% of people aware of social networks and using it. So it’s a great thing for online marketers. Place your business in all relevant social networks. Link social networks to your website. Engage your followers with fruitful information not only content. Then it build your business in great way.