SEO Link Building - 6 Tips

Often when a client approaches us requesting a new website, their budget does not allow for any SEO Marketing. A common misconception of many site owners is that if you build it, they will come. Unfortunately, this is very rare.

Whilst waiting for people to find their website - the competition is out there promoting themselves.

Think of each link to your website as a "vote".  The more votes your site receives - the more priority Google and other Search Engines will give to your website in Search Engine Results Pages.

Good link building is one of the most important things you can do to market your web site, however it is better to have fewer quality links than many links from sites that have unrelated content to that of your own. This said - every link helps!

Quality links are websites that are trusted, that have aged (the older the site - or specifically the domain name, the better) and have a good page rank. Links from relevent websites (e.g, if you sell televisions, a link from a television review website would be great) are particulary good - as are authority websites with .GOV.UK or .AC.UK domain names. Google gives higher priority to authority websites therefore you will see more impact with some links from authority domains. 

Here are some ideas for you to try out:

1. Submit to web directories such as DMOZ.org

Directories are a good way to get free links to your website. The more specific the directory - the better!

2. Ask your suppliers/customers/friends to place a link to your site from theirs

Sites from customers are particularly useful - especially if they can provide personal recommendations along with the link!

3. Spy on your competition with Yahoo Site Explorer

Using Yahoo's built in tool - Yahoo Site Explorer, it is possible to view all the links to any website on the internet. This is a great way of building links - why not check out who is linking to your competitors websites and see if you can get them to link to you too? 

4. Request a link in your order confirmation emails

If your customers are happy with the service you provide - why not ask them in your order confirmation emails to link to your site as a thank you? 

5. Search for sites with a similar theme and suggest exchanging links

Forming a relationship with other sites with related content is a great way to attract visitors and gain links to your site.

6. Start a blog, and contribute to other blogs

Content is king as they say and a great way to keep people coming back to your website is to have a regularly updated blog. If you write good content, people will link to you without you even having to ask! Posting to other blogs is a great way of building links and attracting visitors.

If you are interested in learning more about search engine optimisation and optimising your website for the search engines - get in touch with Flipside Digital and we'd be happy to have a chat about your requirements. Take a look at our portfolio for some of the work we do for our customers.