8 ways to create a successful backlinks campaign

Remember: What are backlinks?

Backlinks are links from an outside domain that point towards pages on your domain. These referring domains act as a vote of confidence for your site.

In the SEO world everyone talks about the power of backlinks. They help improve your optimization, increase your website traffic and build-up a good online reputation but just where do you start? Here I look into 8 ways to create a winning backlinks campaign.

1. Decide what type of links you want
I want this one and that one…ooo wait, maybe this one instead.

The first thing you need to do is decide what types of links you want to create. Don’t just create any links towards any pages of your site for the sake of it. You need to have an objective. Here are some examples:

• link for your landing page
• link towards a specific product page
• link containing your brand name
• link containing the keywords that you’re targeting/positioned upon

Your backlinks need to be relevant and you need to take into account the site’s authority i.e. does it have a good reputation?, is it credible?, will it drive in lots of traffic? You can be fussy here because if you create a backlink that doesn’t answer the three questions above, it won’t help with your SEO or online reputation either.

REMEMBER

• Decide if you want links to your landing page, a product page or links containing your brand name
• Be picky, don’t just create backlinks from any website that lets you

2. Look at your competitors’ backlinks
Never keep your eye off the ball!

Now if some of your competitors already have a large online presence then there’s no harm for you, who might just be starting out, to have a little look at where they’re getting their backlinks from. There are lots of SEO tools that have this feature so that you can see exactly what sort of links your competitors have.
Having access to this information will help you come up with ideas of where to create your own backlinks. For example, the sites that have a good domain reputation, drive in website traffic and that are relatively easy to get a link.

REMEMBER

• Look at where your competitors are getting their backlinks from
• This will give you ideas of where to create links for your site

3. Start guest blogging
Have you got something worth saying?

Writing an article for another website is a great way to earn a backlink. Start with looking at blogs related to your domain that accept guest articles, then once you’ve found one, get writing! Even if you find the perfect blog to write for and you can’t find anywhere about guest posting on their site, don’t be afraid to contact them. Provided you explain in detail what you’ll both get from the opportunity, I’m sure they won’t say no .
A good thing about guest blogging is that nine times out of ten you can include a link back to your site in your author bio, and if you’re lucky a few pertinent links within the text itself.
Remember though, your guest post needs to be valuable. Google doesn’t like spammy guest articles so if you’re really adding value then there’s no harm in including links to your website.

REMEMBER

• Search for relevant websites that can post an article by you
• You will have at least one backlink towards your website

4. Create shareable content
See that ‘share’ button right there? It’s itching for you to click on it.

People love content that is easy to share and the best type of content for this right now are infographics. Infographics are easy to understand and take just seconds to share. Let’s admit it, visuals tend to catch our attention more than long blocks of text .
When deciding what infographic to create, firstly do your research and come up with an original idea. It’s need to be an interesting story for your visitors to read with information that is currently trending. Then its time to share it! There are plenty of ways to share your infographic whether that be on your blog, your social media accounts or on platforms dedicated for this type of content.

REMEMBER

• Create content that pleases users and gets them to share it on their site
• E.g. an infographic that can be easily shared on social networks or other blog articles

5. Add business listings
Start with the basics for your online presence.

If you’ve recently launched your website, adding your business to directories is a good place to start. Now you can add your business to general directories but I would advise to choose more niche ones that are specifically related to your domain. For example, if you provide a SaaS (software as a service) tool then have a look at G2 Crowd or AlternativeTo, two directories that are specifically designed for web applications.

The good thing with business listings is that Google understands most businesses will start with adding their sites to online directories, so because of this they’re part of the local algorithm. It’s a good way to start getting your brand name out there.

REMEMBER

• Add your site to directories, both general and niche ones
• Google understands that most businesses will use directories so they’re part of the local algorithm

6. Make use of online forums
There’s no harm in asking for help from time to time.

Now forums are a tricky one because to include a link back to your site means you need to be quite clever about it. The reason for this is that most forums are very strict about allowing members to link back to their website and so you need to play by the rules.
My advice is that you sign-up for industry related forums, create your profile and start engaging with other members without necessarily trying to include your website link in the first comment you post. You need show the forum that you genuinely want to interact with others in a similar activity. Then from there, start looking out for key opportunities where you could link back to your as a suggestion or advice for a post. There are some really popular forums out there so you may just be surprised how much traffic it could drive to your site as well as the pertinence of the backlink.

REMEMBER

• Engage with others in industry forums
• Look out for opportunities to suggest your website for others by including a link in your reply

7. Perfect your internal linking structure
It’s like a game of Chinese whispers with your content.

Just to recap, your internal linking is linking one piece of your website content within another piece of website content. For example you write an article about the importance of user experience, during the article you talk about the link with a good website design (that you wrote about the week before on your blog); perfect opportunity to link the two!
So if you have a blog for your site, start thinking whether you can add internal links within your articles. Internal linking is great for navigating your website visitors to other information making their visit to your website even more valuable. It also is welcomed by Google because if you have strong internal linking then Google has an easier time to find the fresh content…and if you make Google’s life easier then you’re going in the right direction .

REMEMBER

• Internal linking is links between different pieces of content on your site
• A successful blog is one with internal links that help navigate your website visitors
• It makes it easier for Google to find fresh content on your site

8. Write testimonials
Dish out a few compliments here and there.

Last tip for a successful backlinks campaign is to write testimonials for products or services that your business uses. You praise them for their services on their homepage and you’ll get a link back to your site from a authoritative website. If you’re a customer then there’s high chance of getting a link within the testimonial. My advice would be to make a list of all the tools you use for your business and get in contact with them to see if you could write a testimonial for their website.

REMEMBER

• Praise other websites that you use by writing a testimonial
• Make a list of all the tools that you use and contact them offering a testimonial for their site

Conclusion

A successful backlinks campaign requires clear objectives, time and creativeness. Start putting in place these actions today and you’ll soon see your domain reputation increasing.