As your website jockeys for rank in search engine results, you probably wonder what separates the top five sites from everyone else.
There’s no one thing that does it. Site ranking is based on a complex combination of factors. That said, one thing all of the top sites share is a deep well of the most powerful backlinks.
The good news is that backlinks are something you have more control over than a lot of other ranking factors. You can take actions that help to create powerful backlinks for your site.
Before we dive into the tips for creating backlinks, though, let’s take a look at the different kind of links.
Let’s go!
Internal Linking vs Backlinks
If you’re new to the world of SEO and site building, you might feel overwhelmed by all the terminology. After all, it’s hard to spot the most powerful backlinks if you can’t define a backlink. So let’s do a quick recap of two main kinds of links: internal and external.
Internal links point from one spot on your site to another spot on your site. You can check out a good example of internal linking on this custom flags site. In SEO terms, it’s a good way to show search engine algorithms your site is consistently on topic.
External links or backlinks come from another site to your site. So, let’s say someone loves your custom flags. They post a link on their blog to the product page of the flag they bought.
Boom! That’s a backlink.
Organic Backlinks from Quality Content
Organic backlinks are the most powerful backlinks, which makes them the gold standard.
In simple terms, an organic backlink is one you got with little to no direct action. You didn’t buy the link or trade links with another company. Someone just linked to your content because they thought it was good.
For example, let’s say you put up a blog post about the different durability of flag materials. The CEO of a fabric manufacturer reads it and thinks it’s the best thing she’s ever read on the subject. She links to it in her next blog post.
Getting organic backlinks starts with creating quality content. A series of 200-word blog posts that flog your latest custom flag won’t cut it. Those are glorified ads.
Quality content captures audience attention. In most cases that means it’s useful, informative, or entertaining. A post about material durability falls between useful and informative.
If you wanted to be entertaining, you could write a blog post titled: 5 Ways to Prank Your Friends with Custom Flags. A post like this draws attention from people who like pranks. If you do a good job, they’ll share the link.
Backlink Reclamation
Sometimes people will mention a brand or product, but don’t include a link. This is a golden opportunity to get an easy backlink.
You’ll need to do a bit of legwork to find these sites. Once you find them, it’s just a matter of shooting a quick email. It could be something like this:
“Hi Blogger Q. Public,
I’m Jay Smith, owner of Custom Flagorama. Thanks so much for mentioning us in your post (insert post title here)! I really appreciate it.
I noticed you didn’t link out to our homepage. I was curious if you’d be willing to add a link to help people find us.
If you are, here is the current link: www.flagorama.com
Thanks,
Jay”
This approach has good odds. The person already mentioned you, so they probably won’t mind adding the link. If they don’t want to add the link, you’re no worse off in terms of backlinks.
Social Sharing
People spend a lot of time sharing on, reading on or posting to social media. It’s anyone’s guess how much value search engines give links on social media. Even if links shared via social media don’t count for much as backlinks, you should still share them there.
Why?
It gets that link in front of a lot of people’s eyes. That dramatically increases the odds that someone will include the link in a way that search engines do count as valuable.
Of course, even among the most powerful backlinks, there’s a hierarchy. You hope that your content will get noticed and linked by someone who writes for a high authority site.
For practical purposes, high authority sites publish credible information and command sizeable audiences. Think of major business magazine websites as good examples.
There’s no guarantee it’ll work. Still, getting that link in front of a lot of eyes tilts the odds in your favor.
Go Green
Did you know that around 56% of people will shell out a little more for environmentally-friendly products. Consumers also prefer to buy from environmentally-conscious businesses everything else being equal.
If your custom flag business buys from green businesses or runs as a green business, it’s an avenue to getting the most powerful backlinks.
You can get listed in green business directories, for one. Just make sure to pick curated and reputable directories.
You can write a blog post about why you embrace green initiatives. You can also write a post about how your company went green.
Again, there are no guarantees, but it can encourage green-minded consumers to link to your page. It also makes your business more likely to get profiled by a newspaper or magazine interested in sustainable living.
Parting Thoughts on Most Powerful Backlinks
Building a well of the most powerful backlinks is something you can exert some control over.
Develop quality content that informs, entertains or is useful. People are much more likely to link to that content than a glorified ad.
Reach out to people who already mentioned you on their site and ask them to link to your page. As long as you aren’t pushy, a lot of them probably will.
Share your content on social media. It gets your content in the public eye and may even get you mentioned on a high authority site.
If your custom flag business is green or works with green companies, make a point of mentioning it. People want to do their part to save the planet. It also means they’re likely to post links to you, rather than your competitors.
If you’re looking for more pointers on improving your SEO, check out our post on SEO and PPC.
