When you go through the grueling process of redoing your website, the designer should have explained and outlined a detailed SEO strategy with you. And somewhere in the top 5 points of the discussion should be linking. There are three different types of linking – today we are talking about inbound links – also referred to as backlinks.
What are inbound (or back) links? You get a backlink when another website links to yours.
The more credible the site, the more valuable the backlink. For instance, Huffington Post and the American Bar Association (link) are two of the most credible backlinks you can earn.
Why are backlinks important? Because Google tells us they are! Google considers your website content “rankable” based on a number of factors, including how many backlinks you have coming to your site.
But, you have to make sure your backlinks are credible and of high valuable.
What makes backlinks high value?
- Relevant to what you do
- You would normally find an article on there like yours.
- It is an actual website
- The more ‘popular’ the site the better.
What are some bad backlinks?
- Sites that practice Black Hat SEO for the purpose of ranking
- Link farms
- Sites that have been penalized from google
- Sites with thin content
- Sites with duplicate content
How do you know the difference between a good backlink and a bad one? You could do some research or you could ask me!
How do you find guest blogging opportunities:
Narrow your focus to a few credible websites. You could start small with a like minded but non-competitor business or even a news publication like The Patch. You also can get a backlink when you are interviewed so reaching out to a reporter with a topical story is also a good idea.
To guest blog anywhere your writing not only has to be perfect it has to be 100% authentic and unique. Go at this process with the goal of helping others and you will have a tremendous amount of success.
