If you have a website of any kind, you’ve probably heard a lot about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how important it is. The rumors are true. You can have the most innovative business on the planet and a kick-ass website, but if people aren’t finding you, you’ve got a problem. And when it comes to visibility on the web, the Google algorithm is king. That’s why good SEO is essential to driving traffic to your site.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing tips on how you as a small business owner can improve your site’s SEO performance and expand your visibility. For starters, let’s talk about organic backlinking.
What is Backlinking?
A backlink is simply when a website links back (see what we did there?) to an article, page, or product on another website. When users click the link, they’ll be redirected to the linked site.
Organic Backlinking vs. Inorganic Backlinking
In agriculture, organic refers to something that is produced without chemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides. In other words, the way they would naturally grow. Organic backlinks are links that make sense and feel natural in their context.
If you’re on a website for gardening tips, and they throw in a link to their favorite ski equipment, you might be confused and even put off. How is that relevant to what you’re interested in?
Readers on the web are primed to look for scams, sneaky sponsorships, and content that feels inauthentic. Bing and Google bots are able to pick up on these inorganic links as well, and they don’t like them.
Organic backlinks should come from reputable sources whose content is relevant to your site.
How Does Organic Backlinking Work?
Here’s how it works. I want to learn about organic backlinking. I do a Google search and find a few articles about the topic. The most helpful article is the fourth link I click on. In fact, I find it so helpful, that I decide to link that article when I write my own post about backlinking a few months later. Now there is a digital connection between my site and the other site. I’ve created a backlink to that site which will help to increase their web presence and improve their SEO.
This works in reverse as well. Your SEO performance will improve every time an independent site backlinks to pages on YOUR site.
How Do I Get Other Sites to Backlink to My Site?
The straightforward answer is to generate meaningful content.
Organic backlinking is an extremely effective strategy for improving your SEO and increasing your web presence. But it isn’t a quick and easy solution.
The great thing about the organic backlinking strategy is that you don’t need an SEO specialist, a huge marketing budget, or lots of technical know-how. What you do need is hard work, consistency, and a long-term mindset.
Pay attention to what people in your industry are talking about and create content that adds to those conversations. Think about what industry-specific problems people are bringing to Google and create content that offers ideas and solutions to those problems.
Apart from your own website, publish on industry-wide blogs. Utilize press releases. Spread your content through social media platforms and networks to create more opportunities for organic backlinking.
The Takeaway
Organic backlinking is an excellent long-term strategy for increasing your digital footprint and improving your search results in Google. Although it takes time to achieve a network of solid backlinks, the effort will be worth it in the end when you achieve a solid SEO presence that isn’t affected by every update of the Google algorithm.
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