In part one of this series on SEO, we discussed Keywords and how they influence your search engine ranking. And though keywords have a hand in SEO, the most effective way to optimize your search rankings is to get more inbound links.
Inbound links are links from pages on external sites that link back to your website. The number of inbound links your website is an important signal to Google of your website’s popularity, so the more inbound links you have, the more popular you appear and the higher your ranking is.
So how do you get inbound links?
Get on the List.
Directories, business links and local listings are easy, direct ways to get inbound links.
- Industry-specific directories
- Local business directories
- City-specific directories
- Links from your local chamber of commerce
- List your site on your local library’s website
For example, if you’re a restaurant in Boston, submit a free listing on Boston’s Yelp, CitySearch, Yahoo! Directory, Opentable, Dining Guide and Menupages, and Boston-specific sites, like Boston Magazine, Boston.com and Northendboston.com.
Make Friends.
This is a little harder and requires more effort, but reaching out to business connections to get inbound links can be a great way to drive qualified traffic to your website. Write an email or message connections through LinkedIn to ask if they will list your website’s URL on their Resources page and offer them the same opportunity.
Blog to Boost Your Rank.
Does your website have a blog? If so, use it! Blogs are great vehicles for getting more inbound links. You do this by reaching out to similar blogs within your industry or audience. Pitch a guest blog about something specific to your expertise. For example, if you are a florist, pitch a blog about “Do It Yourself Wedding Flowers” to a wedding blogger. Bloggers love having content, and diversifying their content with guest authors shows their audience that their blog is popular, important and relevant. When you make your pitch, ask the blogger if you can have a byline and brief description of you and your business along with a link to your website.
Getting inbound links is getting your name out there to audiences that may have never found you – an important piece to any successful business today and an integral part of the SEO puzzle.
Stay tuned for more tips on SEO…
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