Since the launch of the Penguin algorithm a few years ago, SEOs have been scrambling to develop new link building methods that will allow them to earn ‘natural links’ that will get sites ranking on the first page of Google. In the past, many SEOs had complained that the larger brands had an unfair advantage because of the competitive advantage that they had achieved with their brand presence. The thing is, those brands had executed excellent marketing strategies to establish themselves as an authority and allowed their site to ‘earn links naturally’.
Websites of any size can actually implement similar marketing tactics to larger brands in their industry. Nathan Elly, who heads up the link building agency Digital Next explains.
Public relations can get your site featured on prominent sites
To rank highly on Google, it’s important to earn links from highly authoritative websites whose content is related to your website. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by reaching out to webmasters and editors who will consider linking back to your web content.
What is more powerful is forging relationships with influencers in your industry, such as journalists, reporters and social media personalities who can publish your website on platforms that have a large audience.
There is a huge desire for people to get their website published on sites like The Huffington Post, Forbes or Entrepreneur magazine. But where most people fall short is that they don’t work to build a relationship with influencers so that they can earn mentions for their brand.
It’s important to have a PR strategy as a part of your SEO campaign so that these valuable mentions can grant your site more exposure and potentially more backlink opportunities. Fortunately, there are sites like Help A Reporter Out and Just Reach Out, which help website managers get their site featured on media outlets.
Publishing blog posts is similar to publishing editorials
In the days of old, it was necessary for brands to publish editorials in magazines and newspapers to inform customers about the brand, its products and services. With the internet era, this has shifted to blogs, online magazines, online newspapers and online journals. Some of these platforms have hundreds or even thousands of visitors a day.
Getting a link on these platforms can be a game changer for most websites, since the audience that engages with these sites tend to be very engaged. A feature on these platforms can send traffic and yield a high amount of organic link opportunities if executed correctly.
Furthermore, the content that is published on a major website might get syndicated onto affiliated websites. If your link is featured within the content when it is syndicated, the site will gain more SEO authority.
Use word of mouth through social media to gain natural backlinks
Users on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can spread the awareness of your website’s content, product or service quickly to your target audience. Execute it well and you will get inundated with qualified visitors in an instant. However, if it is done incorrectly, there could be a backlash that will affect the website’s online reputation.
When content gets shared on popular social networks, it tends to get the attention of web editors and journalists that are looking for a story to publish. If your site is the source of the story, then it will be cited and earn natural links.
Your followers are your brand advocates
You want to build a loyal army of followers who will do anything for you. They will buy your products and promote your site on their own platforms. They will even promote your website and its offerings on your behalf; which will allow you to earn links naturally.
Traditional marketing has been dismissed as ‘old’ by some SEOs; however it has just evolved. Applying traditional marketing techniques in the new forms of media should yield similar results to the marketing activities that were being used in traditional media. To ignore it would be unwise. That’s why we recommend people to look at their overall marketing strategy to see how they can forge their SEO and link building activities into the wider marketing mix so their campaigns will yield exceptional results.