What are Backlinks?
Backlinks are links from one website on another website. When search engines crawl pages, seeing a high number of backlinks is very pleasing. It shows that the content is credible and valuable, and these pages tend to have higher organic search engine rankings.
In this article, we are going to show the importance of valuable backlinks and how to get your first ten backlinks for SEO.
Why are Backlinks Important?
It’s important that you know the importance of backlinks. For starters, Google revealed that backlinks are one of the top three most important factors when it comes to ranking. Actually, backlinks have been an important factor in Google’s ranking algorithm since the beginning!
Another reason that backlinks are important is that it shows your content is credible. So, not only do backlinks please search engines, they also please users by letting them know you can be trusted.
What to Look for in a Valuable Backlink
Not all backlinks are useful; you want to make sure any backlinks you get are quality so that you keep your credibility up. Here’s a short list of things to look for in a quality backlink:
- It comes from a trusted website.
This goes back to keeping your site’s credibility up. Users, as well as Google, would rather see links from authoritative websites versus random ones. If you really think about it, you would clearly rather have a link from a big-name site versus a no-name site.
- The link is from a website that hasn’t been linked to you before.
You want to minimize getting links from the same site over and over, and instead focus on finding new websites that are also related to yours. This is more pleasing to Google, and again, builds up that credibility.
- The page linking to you is related to your page.
Google wants to see how two linked pages are related, so you want to make sure you’re not just being linked from pages that aren’t even about the same thing that you’re talking about. This can hurt you more than it can help you.
- The anchor text includes target keywords.
Anchor text is visible in a link, so you want to make sure your target keywords are included. However, you don’t want sites that link to you to use too many because then Google will think you’re trying to use Black Hat SEO and filter you out.
Now that you know what kind of backlinks are helpful, let’s talk about how to get your first ten backlinks!
Top Ten Places to Get Backlinks
1. Social Media
You can get backlinks that you control by creating social media pages and then linking to your website. The most common social media pages for business are Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, and Reddit.
Right there are six extremely easy places to get backlinks from. With all of these, you should create a business page and then simply link to your website. If you need help getting started with a business page, read our article about Creating a Facebook Page for Business.
2. Google Business
You can create a Google Business Profile. This allows you to control your business on Google’s platform. You can edit all of the information about your listing including your location, phone number, website, hours, photos, and reviews. You can easily create a profile and link it to your website! Check out our article to learn How to Set Up your Google Business Profile.
3. Yelp
Yelp is another great place to get backlinks for your website. You can sign up for free and claim your Yelp business page and then you just link back to your website. This is pretty similar to the Google Business profile as you control the information about your website and customers can leave reviews here as well.
4. Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau is also similar to Yelp and Google Business, however you do have to pay for this. Getting your business in the BBB is a big deal as it is very trusted, and it can be very beneficial if you get a lot of good reviews. Moreover, if you get a lot of complaints, it could make or break your business.
5. Wikipedia
Wikipedia can be a go-to for getting information about a place. You want to write an entry on your business and link back to your website. Although some people don’t trust Wikipedia, it’s better to have correct information about your website there rather than no information.
6. Best of the Web
Best of the Web is yet another site similar to the Better Business Bureau. You do have to pay for it, but prices vary depending on the package you choose. The great thing about BOTW is that your business can be verified so that people know they can trust you. This backlink can really help your business to get noticed as well by increasing your online exposure.
7. About Us
About Us is similar to Wikipedia but is still another great backlink to get. You can create an account and add information about your business. This is a free and very simple way to link to your website.
8. Bing Places
Another website for creating a listing for your business is Bing Places. It may seem tedious to create listings on all of these different platforms, but it is important and helps get your website out there. You can just claim your business and start adding your information!
9. Yahoo Small Business (Turbify)
Yahoo Small Business, now known as Turbify, offers all kinds of resources to help your business. For getting backlinks, we are mostly focused on Localworks and Business Maker. Localworks allows you to control your business across online local listings, while Business Maker helps you build your business platform.
10. Yellow Pages
An old source that is still reliable: the Yellow Pages. Since most users turn to the web for their information, yellow pages are, of course, accessible online. With this, you can create your business listing and link back to your website and then you’re done!
It’s very simple yet very important that you create accounts and profiles for all of these platforms so that your business is getting noticed more often, and your website is getting linked to.
Have you checked all these off your list and are ready for more? We have even more ideas on how to get more backlinks for your small business.
Contact Us Today if you need assistance getting started with your backlink journey! We would love to help you build up your website credibility.