Make no mistake about it. Link building takes a lot of work and time. And it can be extremely intimidating if you’re a small business owner. But, you probably are already aware of that.
Link building isn’t the latest online marketing trend. It’s been burned in our minds for years. But, what if you are that small business that has limited resources?
Here are 7 killer link building strategies that you need to start utilizing today.
1. Think Locally
One of the most effective, and most convenient, places to start building links is by using the endless amount of local resources. You can start by getting listed in local directories and review sites that are relevant to your niche. Local directories include: Local chamber of commerce; Your building’s online directory; Local newspapers; and City/county directory. Local review sites would be Yelp, Merchant Circle, AngiesList or CitySearch.
But, why stop there? You can form a partnership with another local business by exchanging services.
- Get sponsored by a local business, or sponsor a local event or charity.
- Create a local guide, such as an events calendar.
- Provide testimonials for local businesses.
- Speak at local events or colleges.
No matter what exact tactic you use, there are plenty of opportunities to receive links back to you site by reaching out and becoming an active member of your community. Don't have the goal here to get links back to your site but to help people. Give them the best advice possible and it'll go a long ways.
My good friend Jim Shaw from Uncle Jims Worm Farm likes to throw local events in his town to gain attraction to his business. These are typically covered by local press as well as on local GOV sites. This has been one way that he's become more influential online. When building your business online, think locally for everything you do.
2. Interview an Expert
Just imagine how many links you can get if you landed an interview with an industry expert or prominent figure in your niche? Pretty much their entire community will come and visit your site just to hear what this individual has to say. Just keep in mind that you’re probably not going to snag an interview with a high profile individual like Mark Zuckerberg or Warren Buffett, but if you reach out and make introduction to an authority figure in your field, you may just land yourself a great chance in building links.
When performing the interviews, make sure that you ask questions that nobody else is asking. If you ask the same boring questions, why would anyone read/listen to your interview over one with them on Forbes?
3. If You Build It, They Will Come
Whether it’s an app, free software, a Firefox/Chrome plugin, WordPress theme/plugin or infographic, building something that your audience will find useful or entertaining is a great way to earn backlinks. You audience will share your product with others on blogs, forum comments or social media. Something like an app could gain you some additional coverage in leading industry sites.
You can visit sites like Elance or Guru to find talented freelancers to help you build an app or piece software.
Note: when building an app, make sure that it's something that people want or they will NOT come.
4. Become a Product Reviewer
Sometimes you just have to stick with a proven tactic like writing product reviews. This doesn’t mean that every time you leave a review on Amazon you’re dropping your website’s link. It means that you’re able to review a product in your niche and use your site or blog as a way to backup your claims. So, if you ran a food blog, then leaving product reviews on the latest culinary gadgets would be simple way to increase your amount of links.
You can use sites Tomoson, BzzAgent, Swaggable, Smiley360 or Sverve for opportunities to review products. These are great to put out your expert advice and truly help people out. Sometimes you get links for this, sometimes just more credibility. Goal here should be to put out your expert advice and help.
5. Host a Giveaway/Contest/Promotion
Everyone loves freebies or the chance to win a prize. Which is why one of the most trusted techniques when acquiring new links in your relevant niche. And what’s great about this tactic is that there are a wide range of creative ideas to promote your site. For example, you could host a photo contest on Instagram or Pinterest. You could give away a free product or service for the first 100 people that signup up for your email subscription or a coupon code for a retweet.
Just remember that the more outrageous contests or giveaways will get noticed more often than giving away a free pen set. And when that it happens your contest or giveaway has a better chance of being shared by your audience.
6. Create a Jobs Page
Warning. Don’t create a job listing unless you actually intend to hire a new employee. With that being said, when you post a job listing or internship you’re opening the door to a lot of new links - we’re talking about possibly in the hundreds. For example, you could post an open position in a local newspaper, local college or even a nationally known job listing site. When your job listing gets syndicated across so many sites you’ll notice a massive increase in links.
7. Alert the Media/Industry Leaders
If you have the resources, you may want to go out and hire a PR agency or copywriter to alert traditional media outlets and leading websites/blogs about your business. You can also network on sites like Help a Reporter Out to gain some additional publicity. Remember, it only takes just one mention on one leading industry blog or major publication to get some serious links.
Best tip for this is to create amazing content or visuals worth sharing. A friend on mine, Matthew Sullivan from Palmetto who get's a ton of PR from his amazing business says " If your business doesn't have anything amazing, nobody is going to write about it. You need to create a crave around your product. People have to want to spend time writing about what you have to say. If it doesn't have curb appeal, don't even waste your time pushing it out."
Biggest thing to remember when trying to build links is to keep your customer in mind. If you're building links just to build links, stop. If the links you're building aren't relevant to what you're doing, stop. If you are helping your future customers with the content you create...Go
