As a business owner or manager, you have your hands full with so many different aspects of the company. It’s difficult to wrap your brain around online marketing strategies, much less building backlinks. That’s why you hired an outside firm, right!? However, you’ve heard time and time again that “links are important” and you keep wondering if there is anything you can or should be doing to obtain these power boosts for your website.
Your Business Credentials Mean A Lot
The truth is, dear business owner, there is a lot you can do! We don’t want to put more work on your plate, but as the owner you have a certain “street cred” that allows you to get links for your business that sometimes us SEO’s can’t easily access. Here are just a few links that are relatively easy for you to get, but can help improve your website’s placement by leaps and bounds.
- Join your city’s Chamber of Commerce and other local networking groups
- Provide a testimonial to any vendors you are using, and request a link back to your website
- Sponsor a local event like a 5K run, school fundraiser, etc.
- Claim your social media business pages (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest)
- Request links from any third-party brands you carry to show you are a distributor
- Represent your industry on a public radio show or podcast
- Submit a press release to an online news publication
Think of a Backlink as a Referral
Don’t ever be afraid to ask for a backlink from other business owners or managers! Think about the people you do business with on a regular basis. You likely give and receive referrals quite often. A link is another extension of business – you’re simply asking for others to “vote” for your business with links. Don’t forget to provide them with the correct variation of your website’s URL (http vs https. www vs no www), and ensure this variate is on your printed marketing materials as well.
Quick Tip
Obtaining backlinks from numerous sites that have no relationship whatsoever to what you do generally are not as helpful as other links. Search engines like to connect related things, be it linking a tire brand to a tire dealership, a local business association to a business within that same locality, or a satisfied B to B customer to their vendor. Related links are more powerful.
Beware of Black Hat Links
One more thing – there is such thing as a bad or “black hat” link. We encourage business owners to think outside the box and always be on the lookout for link opportunities, but if you are unsure, it doesn’t hurt to run it past your super friendly SEO specialist first. A few red flags:
- Being asked to pay directly for a link (emails that promise 500 links for $100 – just don’t!)
- Unnatural link networks (you link to me, I link to this other website, that website links to you)
- Links from websites that don’t seem to have any purpose/content beyond links
Of course, here at Top Of The List we are happy to help our clients with the above link opportunities (and many, many more!). But if you’d like to get your feet wet, start with just one or two of the strategies listed above, and you will be doing more than the majority of business owners out there! This will set you apart and boost your success online, too.
About the Author
Nicole Vesota
Vice President & Project ManagerNicole has been working in online marketing since 2007 when she joined Top Of The List. She loves creative endeavors and spending time with her daughter.