You’ve done everything you can think of to advertise your website. But despite posting to social media, paying for ad space, and plugging in top keywords, you’re still struggling to get a higher ranking in search results. So, what part of the puzzle are you missing?
The solution may be to improve your inbound links. Other web pages linking back to yours is an effective way to put more eyes on your site and gain a wider audience.
But it’s a little more complicated than that. How you get more inbound links matters to search engines.
Not sure where to start? We’ve written this post to explain different strategies for building inbound links and the various ways they can boost your site’s standing. Read on to learn the best strategies for building inbound links.
Inbound Links Explained
Three types of hyperlinks connect web pages: internal links, outbound links, and inbound links. Internal links connect one page to another on the same website. For example, many blog posts link to other relevant posts on the same website.
Outbound links are those on your page that lead to someone else’s web page. They’re used to direct readers to relevant information not hosted on your own site. You often see these on news sites that reference the reporting of another agency.
Inbound links (also called backlinks) come from other web pages and direct to your own. Search engine optimization (SEO) looks at the number of inbound links a page has to determine its authority on its content and keywords subjects. Pages with more inbound links tend to rank higher than those with few or none at all, with a caveat — Inbound links should come from a reliable source, (ideally with better SEO ranking than your own) or else they’re not worth much at all.
Likewise, how you develop your inbound links matters for improving your SEO. Simply having your link included on irrelevant pages or spammed across social media can negatively affect your standing with potential readers and search engines.
How Can I Get More Backlinks?
Thankfully, building your backlinks is as simple as networking with other site owners and ensuring that your site provides valuable content. In addition, these solutions require very little technical knowledge on your part. Even better, they don’t cost a thing to implement, although some sites might ask you to pay-to-play.
Write Quality Content First
Before tackling the other strategies listed below, you need to start at home. If you think of inbound links as networking, you need to give other people a reason to want to associate with your page. That’s why the quality of your content is so important.
With the number of web pages active right now, the chances are good that the subject of what your pages cover isn’t unique. To make it stand out, you need to make it authoritative to search engines and easy for users to navigate. The most common ways to do this include:
- Linking to sources in your text
- Writing long-form content
- Adding new content regularly
- Include images with descriptive captions
- Use a minimal, uncrowded design
- Focus on a handful of relevant keywords
The last point is crucial because so many people get it wrong. It’s not enough to have many keywords: they must be relevant in context and read naturally. Stuffing keywords will read unnaturally and lower your page’s ranking with Google and other search engines.
Ask Other Sites to Link to You
If the quality of your content is high, other web admins working in the same or adjacent niches may find it worthwhile to link to your page. However, it doesn’t make sense to openly advertise for backlinks from anyone. Instead, it’s better to connect directly with other websites and ask for a backlink.
It’s a good practice to return the favor and offer them a backlink in return. Doing so can help both pages grow their audience and SEO rankings. Plus, it’s a great way to build new business relationships.
Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly
As of 2021, there are more than four billion active internet users. As people spend more time surfing on mobile devices, web design has shifted towards favoring displays on mobile phones and tablets.
Why does this matter for inbound links? Because fewer people will want to link to your site if it’s challenging to navigate or has a visually unappealing design. You risk losing those users if you aren’t using an optimized design.
Thankfully, it’s not an all-or-nothing issue. Your website can have two designs—one for mobile and one for desktop—and it will deploy either depending on what device a visitor uses. This is the best option for maintaining usability for all users while encouraging backlinks.
Future Proof Your Business With The Best SEO Portland Has To Offer
Your local competition and global chains are working to one-up their competition and gain new customers. To survive in a more competitive online world, making sure you utilize the very best SEO practices is essential to find success.
It’s important to remember that SEO is not a one-and-done process. SEO is always ongoing and the search algorithm constantly changing. With all of the responsibilities required with running your own business, you might not have the time to manage this all on your own.
That is where we come in.
At Stoute Web Solutions, we specialize in creating custom website care plans, managed WordPress hosting, SEO, and web design services. Based in Portland, Oregon, we are ready to help your business grow and specialize in working with small and medium-sized businesses with affordable SEO services and web design.
If you would like to take your business to the next level, please reach out to us to schedule a consultation today.
