Believe it or not, 91% of content receives absolutely zero traffic from Google.
How can you be sure that your site and your content are a part of the other 9%?
There are a number of different ways to boost your SEO and a lot of discussion about what tactics are better than others. Everyone agrees, though, that link building is a critical part of the process.
If you’re trying to learn how you can accomplish backlink building on a budget, you’ve come to the right place.
Backlink Basics
Maybe you’ve heard the word before when you’ve been reading through an SEO glossary or a list of SEO terms, but you’re not quite sure what it means. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the basics.
What is a backlink, exactly?
It’s not as complicated as you might think. A backlink is just a link from one website to another. If there are links to your website on other websites, those are your backlinks.
Why is that important, you ask?
The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more likely you are to have high organic search engine rankings. Backlinks will drive traffic to your website, increase your domain authority, and increase your page ranking in search engines.
Essentially, when a site links to your site, that’s considered a “vote” for the validity and relevance of your content and site. This is taken into account in the search ranking algorithms.
Backlink Building on a Budget
Now that we understand why building links is important, let’s take a look at how you can accomplish link building without doling out tons of cash. All of these tactics can be used in combination to boost your SEO and revolutionize your site rankings and traffic.
1. Create Top Tier Content
One of the best ways to get backlinks to your site is to have amazing content that everyone can’t help but link to.
This means that your content should provide real value to the reader and not just be a bunch of nonsense fluff. Writing high-quality pieces will emphasize your authority on the topic.
It’s important in blog writing to use a conversational tone. Don’t go into salesman mode, but rather write like your talking to a friend. Finding and developing your writer’s voice as a blogger is an important part of gaining a following.
Creating quality content takes time, but it’s well worth the effort. Look at the content of your competition and then take your content up to the next level. People backlink to content that stands out, period.
2. Produce Guest Posts
Guest posting on relevant sites is another sure-fire way to create backlinks. A guest post is when you write content to be published on someone else site, in which you can link back to your site.
Doing this generates site traffic and backlinks. This is not a time to spit out low-energy content. Put out your best stuff and add value to the website who is hosting your article.
3. Utilize Social Media
Social media can be used to drive traffic to your site and increase your brand exposure. By using social media in a smart way, you can increase the likelihood of attracting backlinks.
You should, of course, include your website in all your social media accounts so followers can easily check out your website when they want to. Whenever it’s relevant, you should include article links or a link to your website in the comments of your social media posts. Don’t forget to include buttons on your website so people can share them on social media.
The more people are reading your content, the more likely you are to attract backlinks from other sites. Social media has such a wide reach and so much potential for generating attention to your brand, you’d be crazy not to use it.
4. Write Blog Comments
Back in the day, one of the go-to link building tactics was to write blog comments that contained a link to your website. This technique got abused and overused, however, and so it no longer counts towards your number of backlinks.
However, that doesn’t mean you should write off commenting on other blogs entirely. This is another way that you can gain more readers, display your authority in a topic, and drive traffic to your site. The more people who are coming across your content and your site, the more likely you are to obtain backlinks.
5. Get Listed in Online Business Directories
This is an easy and sure-fire way to create backlinks. There are so many different online business directories where you can list your business. Each time you do, that’s a backlink.
You can even look for directories that cater to the specific niche your business is in. The result of this is not only more backlinks but also a means to generate more business. It’s a win-win!
Building Backlinks
If you’ve got more time than money, following these steps for backlink building on a budget could totally change your website ranking and traffic for the better. We don’t all have giant budgets to put towards SEO management. All of these strategies are accessible to even the smallest of businesses or sites.
Did you find this article on building links helpful? Be sure to check out more free marketing lessons so you can learn everything you need to know about digital marketing! Is it time for you to sign on with a digital marketing agency that specializes in working with small businesses? Click here to contact us today!
