Are you confused about your SEO strategy? Do you worry that too many links will hurt your Search Engine placement? You are not alone. Many site owners worry they will get penalized for posting too many backlinks.
Your SEO strategy is a full-time job. Not to mention, Google regularly updates their policies, which means you must do the same. Still, ranking highly on the Search Engines is what brings traffic to your site. Backlinks are the heart of ranking in Search Engine's results. If your plan hasn't been working as intended, read on to learn more.
Link Building is Not a Myth
Link building is about placing relevant backlinks and inbound links to a website in order to help drive targeted traffic to your site.
There are misconceptions out there that link building is illegal and Google will penalize you for it. Actually, while there are unethical forms of link building practices, white hat link building is not dead. In fact, ethical link building is flourishing. But, Google will penalize you for doorway pages.
Google still determines relevancy and importance through inbound links. Matt Cutts, Google’s Distinguished Engineer and head of the web spam once said this, "Links are still the best way that we’ve found to discover (how relevant or important somebody is) and maybe, over time, social or authorship or other types of markup will give us a lot more information about that."
Start a Blog… Regardless
Even if you have a site with a description of all of your products and services, you still need a blog. It is important to share relevant information with your visitors on a consistent basis. Plus, it helps with link building because others will want to organically link to your content. Starting a blog isn't difficult. The issue is around publishing valuable content on a regular basis.
With this in mind, you must think of your target audience. What types of content would they find valuable? How can you attract them to your site through content? Who will write for you? Do you have time to do all of the writing on your own? This isn't about throwing random articles on your blog. There needs to be a thoughtful process around what you will publish and how often. If you have good content, you will get backlinks and traffic.
Focus on Relevancy
Links aren't very beneficial if they are located on a website that does not resonate with your business. If you sell pet supplies, and you have a link on a construction site–that just wouldn't make sense.If someone was looking for a home builder, why would be thinking of a pet supply site? (See: Beware of Auto Submitting Programs for Backlinks for an example.)
This is why you need relevant links on related sites. On the other hand, if you sell pet supplies and one of your article's is linked to on a pet care site–you are more likely to get a boost in traffic. Make relevancy a priority when it comes to your link building strategy.
Make High-Quality Content a Mainstay
Compelling content is shareable and attracts visitors. The Internet is inundated with information. People are overwhelmed and somewhat desensitized to it all. As a result, they will only look at content that is unique and of a high-quality.
This is where it pays to spend good money on writers who will create great content. Don't nickel and dime writers, as you will get what you pay for. Even if you spend $50 creating a high-quality article, your returns will be far greater. Great content attracts great links. You will also probably get referenced by people and shared on social media. People like to share things, as long as it's interesting. Engaging content really is vital.
Don't Forget Social Media
It is critical to engage more on social media. You must regularly participate in discussions so people know that you're there. Social media is also part of SEO. People use social media to look for what they want. If someone wants to learn more about your brand, they will visit your Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter page.
Share your content on all of your social media pages. Join relevant groups on LinkedIn. You should even create an account in Quora to answer questions. If your answers get to the number one placement, that is huge social proof for your company. People will want to know who gave such an insightful answer. Facebook gets over a billion searches each day.
Target the Right Keywords
The reason is you want to attract the right links from relevant sites. One of the most important factors for good SEO is what keywords you select. Good keyword research helps to improve organic traffic to your site. Use keywords related to your niche and your locality. It helps to build out your local market first. So, you might use keywords that are relevant to your town or city, local SEO are essential to getting more profitable traffic.
Then, customize your content around the phrases and search terms your potential visitors are using. Just don't use keywords too much because Google will also penalize you for over-optimization.
If your current SEO strategy isn't getting you the results you need, it's time for an update. Remember, Google will continuously modify its algorithms. Nonetheless, relevant links are still the heart of good SEO. So, ask yourself, is it time to update your SEO strategy?
