The world of SEO and Backlinks
If the word backlinks have you confused, don't stress - we've got you! This week we wanted to explore the world of SEO, Backlinks, guest blogging, and more to show you the benefits that these things when prioritised, can have on your business!
Especially coming into the new year, these are just some things you can add to your revision list when looking back over the year just gone. Have you analysed your SEO? Are backlinks something you want to look into? Will you add these to your content strategy for the new year?
All of these things can be looked at today! This is your sign to give it a go! So if you want to learn more, let’s jump into it.
What is SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is actually quite a simple concept. It is all about making sure your business or your website shows up on Google. If you are showing up when your customers are looking for your products or service you have the best chance of getting seen.
SEO is the science of getting to the point where your website, business or socials are showing up at the top of the Google search results.
Overall, there are three types of SEO
Technical SEO: This includes anything ‘technical’ done to improve search results
On page SEO your content: The content on your pages, so blogs, website copy and sales pages
Off page SEO (backlinks live): Any copy away from your website that helps with your SEO (this is where backlinks come in)
If you want to learn more about the three types of SEO, check out the podcast this week here with @averimelcher!
What are backlinks?
Backlinks, simply put, allow links back to your website. Yep, just like the word suggests!
If you think backlinks from social media have no use, think again! Social media backlinks present an audience that could benefit a site, this is why you always hear us talking about having a link in your bio!
Backlinks, however, don’t just have to be found on your platforms, they can include anyone mentioning you on their website, press releases/podcast/PR coverage where they mention your brand and even guest posting where you link to your site!
Social media will SOON be indexed on Google. This means keywords on your social media content will be important and WILL rank! This is good because your social content will provide backlinks BUT also it means more work to your captions and content!
Backlinks vs interlink
You might hear the term interlink when looking into backlinks, but to clear up any confusion between the two we thought we’d give a bit of a definition. A backlink is a link back to your own website, whereas an interlink is a link in your website to another page. Pretty easy to understand, right?
So, how can we get backlinks to our website?
This is all about effort vs reward, we find the best way is to guest post. There are a couple of reasons why:
You have more control over what is posted
Things like your photo and byline are written by you
AND you, of course, can link back to your website
Some guest posting you do you can pay for and some are free - when looking into doing this, aim for free.
The “do’s and don’t’s” of backlinks
Here are some quick-fire tips on backlinks!
Do:
Write your own and put it on your own website rather than pay
Create guest posts for sites you are excited about
Turn on Google alerts when you are mentioned and then you can reach out to them and give them a link to your website
Look at backlinks last (you might need to do 100 emails just to get 1-2 backlinks)
Have your own blog (it is SO important for SEO, backlinks)
Don’t:
Pay for a backlink unless absolute benefit
Worry about what your neighbours are doing before you have made your SEO on your page is done
Link to a sales page, instead, link to quality content that your audience can gain knowledge from
What is guest blogging?
Guest blogging is an amazing technique in content marketing and the improvement of SEO. It involves someone writing and publishing a blog post on a website other than their own to promote their brand!
There are so many benefits to guest blogging and that’s why we love it. For example, it exposes a brand to a relevant audience and helps generate brand awareness! What’s not to love about that?
How do we start guest blogging?
So, if guest blogging sounds intriguing to you - how do you start?
Well, there are a few ways, but one that we recommend is a website called HARO. HARO (Help A Reporter Out) is a platform that helps connect journalists and bloggers with expert sources to meet journalists and those alike demanding deadlines all while allowing brands to tell their stories. It is an awesome way to find connections with brands and business owners who are aligned with you that are there to help you find places to guest write for!
Other than this, you can also use Facebook groups to find people to collaborate with or utilise the connections you already have, reach out to them, and propose a collab!
It can really be that simple, just open up the conversation!
What do you do if people reach out for a backlink?
This can be a bit of a red flag. If people reach out to you for a backlink, make sure you proceed with caution and reject it. Remember that collaboration is best. Find people you want to work with rather than posting and collab with your peers.
As we mentioned above, find the collabs in FB groups and create something new for your audience rather than add a link in.
What if I have mentioned people in my blog?
Make sure you email the people you collaborate with before you have published the content. This ensures that they can get excited about it and even shout out the blog! A social media shoutout always helps!
Tools to help with backlinks
If backlinks are something you want to get into, here are some tools that can help you get the most out of it!
Google alerts (turn these on with your name or your business name)
Domain authority check
What is domain authority? The domain authority of a website is technically a search engine ranking score developed to describe the relevance for a specific subject area. This relevance actually has a direct impact on its ranking in search engines (through analytic algorithms).
The scale is measured from 1-100
This can be calculated through the Mozbar Google Chrome extension here. This helps show you how many backlinks you need to rank for your keywords!
Final thoughts
Overall, if you’re going to get into SEO and add it into your strategy, make sure to get some ‘in-house’ before looking outside! Get some blog content out there and utilise a content strategy to help. Hopefully, this helped you to understand a little bit more about the world of SEO and backlinks!
If you need a template to get you started, we’ve got one right here for you! So make sure to check it out.
