Is This the Missing Link in Your SEO Strategy?

Is This the Missing Link in Your SEO Strategy?:

You’re doing exactly what you’ve been told: you built a website, started a blog, and put keywords in all the right places… but customers still aren’t finding you online. Why?

Maybe it’s because no one ever told you about the most important element of search engine optimization (SEO).

The missing (hyper)link

Creating a website that shows up in search results can be a long, tedious, and frustrating process. Especially when you’re not generating traffic.

There’s is a lot that goes in to developing a search engine optimized website: you need to know your keywords, create amazing content, update the site regularly, and format everything properly. And once you’ve done all that, you’ve only just begun.

The truth is, you might be doing everything right on your website, but if you aren’t getting any love from other websites, you won’t rank in the search results. Period.

What!

Allow me to explain. Search engines use hyperlinks–like this one–to navigate the web. They follow links from site to site, cataloging them and mapping their pages. While doing this, they meticulously track who’s linking to whom and how often. This data–and pay attention because this is the important part–is then used in determining who ranks first (and second and third, etc.) in search results.

Why you need a link building strategy

The way the search engine’s see it, a link equals a vote of confidence. If I link to your content from my website, I’m saying, “hey, this guy (or gal) has something worth looking at.” So the more links you get, the better.

But here’s the kicker, not all links are created equal.

Links from highly reputable websites — like those that end in .edu–can give your site a big boost, while links from highly disreputable websites–like those known as link farms–can actually hurt your search rankings.

How to get good backlinks

Your SEO strategy must include a link building element. By this I mean it is your job (or that of your SEO company) to find ways to get other websites to link to you. Here are a few suggestions on how to go about it:

Submit your website to appropriate directories. The Internet is full of directories that help people find what they are looking for. From the Yellow Pages to travel websites, often all you have to do get included in these directories is to fill out the submission form.

Write guest blog posts. Find a blog that’s related to your industry and there’s a good chance the owner will let you write an article for it that contains a link back to your website. Just make sure the article appeals to their audience and isn’t overly promotional.

Be active on social media. If you have a blog of your own (and you should) be sure to share your posts on social media, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If your friends and followers like a post they will link to it so their friends and followers can enjoy.

Create a badge. A badge is an image that your audience can post to their websites. It may show that the site’s owner supports your cause, successfully completed your training, or is a proud member of your group (think of the BBB badges that show up on Better Business Bureau members’ websites). Each badge should be formatted as a clickable link back to your website.

On a final note

To make sure you get full credit for all your link building efforts, you’ll need to address a little issue called canonicalization. You see, sometimes a single webpage can be accessed using two (or more) URLs–a common example is yoursite.com and www.yoursite.com.

The problem is that unless you tell the search engine’s otherwise, they will assume these are two separate websites, splitting your total number of links in two and thereby reducing the number of “votes” you’re getting. Talk to your web developer about setting up your website so that this doesn’t happen.

Of course, these are just a few suggestions on how to help your customers find you online. If you need more Internet marketing ideas, request a free website evaluation and I’ll be happy to give you some personalized advice.