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SEO backlinking 101

Backlinking is one of the most important and most overlooked techniques (by newcomers to SEO) in search engine optimization. Understanding how it works and how to do it will help you grow your site traffic quicker than any other SEO tactic.

What is backlinking?

It’s the process of getting other websites to link to your website. And it’s very important because search engines like Google and Bing use these links to decide how valuable your website is. Each third-party site that links to one of your web page is a vote of confidence.

High number of credible third party links = site popularity = top search engine ranking on Google and Bing

An easy way to think of in-linking is to call it a referral. Think of it like this: Would you be more likely to go to the theatre to see a movie that you a) saw a preview for on TV, or b) that three of your best friends recommended? Probably the latter of the two scenarios would more likely influence your choice to go see the movie.

So, when another company puts a link to your site on their site it sends a message to search engines that your site has content that’s good enough to share. That makes it valuable. And as a result, your site moves up the search engine ranks.

5 easy ways to backlink:

1. Ask for a link. Search for similar sites that match the keywords you’d like to be ranked for. Email them and ask them to link to your site in exchange for providing free content to them. Or guest post on their site and in exchange, offer them to guest post for you.

2. Pay for a link. Find sites that get a lot of traffic from individuals in your target market. Pay them to link to your site. Or, provide them with an ad that links to your site. Text links in the body of an article are always preferred however and are assigned a higher value to search engines.

CAUTION HERE: Some ads are coded so that they are not used by search engines as a referral link. Their web site uses no-follow tags to tell a search engine to disregard them. These have zero value for SEO purposes.

3. List in free listing resources. List your site in free business directories.

4. Make yourself available to the media. Provide your expertise to online media outlets – get interviewed. Ask that the writer link their article or show notes (in the case of broadcast) to your web site. This will help you gain major clout with search engines because media websites tend to be highly ranked.

5. Share content on social media. Share your content on social media. People who find it valuable will share it and it will get linked in blogs.

Important information about backlinking:

Be judicious about guest posting. A few years back there was a high number of SEO gurus that caught on to guest posting. Naturally, they used it to their advantage. They would provide the same article to large quantities of web sites.

Google caught on and adjusted their algorithm. They clamped down on the entire process. So now, if they decide that you are mass sharing the same article just to get links, your site will be penalized. You will actually fall down the search engine ranks.

Google counts links and actually looks at the content of the site that is linking to your site. For example, if your website is about horses and it is linked to by a site about knitting it won’t be as high a vote of confidence as another website about horses.

Google considers the position of the link. If you a third party site puts a link to your site in an article of a popular web post versus the bottom of a page that gets less attention. Google sees this as more valuable.

Create content that is good link-bait. The best links are the ones that happen naturally and organically so create content that is the best on the web. People will naturally share it especially if it’s a bit unusual and rare.

Anchor text in the link is important. If a site links to your site about dog food and presents the link as it’s url it won’t be as influential as a statement, such as linking the keywords words: “Check out this site about dog food reviews“. In this example the linked keywords tell Google what the linked site is about.

Cross-link all your web properties. Wherever you can link to your site from web sites you own.

Link inside your web site. Cross-link pages on your website. If you write a post and mention a keyword from a post you wrote on another topic, link to the post. This will also keep site visitors on your site and engaged with your brand. And it helps Google understand your content better based on the words you crosslink.

In-linking takes time but the end results is more site visitors, which could lead to more sales. It’s the third step in the process of basic search engine optimization strategy. To be most effective, you’ll also want to check out the articles on keyword research and on-page optimization.

Most common content marketing mistakes

If you’re using a content marketing strategy to grow your business and you’re frustrated that you are not landing more sales, read this article. You’ll discover the most common content marketing mistakes made by business owners. Find out what they are and learn how to avoid them below.

Frequent content marketing errors

The entire content marketing process can be synthesized into three basic steps:

Step 1 – Create content that you believe your target market will find valuable enough to use and share.

Step 2 – Promote the content. Post it on your website, on social media platforms, and use search engine optimization tactics to make sure your content gets picked up by search engines.

Step 3 – Out of the web traffic that experiences your content a percentage will sign up for your product or service (when called to action).

The focus is to share your expertise often. This will naturally attract your target demographic.

But, there’s a common misconception that many business owners have. They think that if they do Steps 1 and 2, then Step 3 will happen immediately. It’s not that simple.

Here’s what you need to do: Repeat Steps 1 and 2 many times for Step 3 to happen. Often you have to expose your brand many times in many different ways (we call those “touch points” in marketing) before you actually land a customer.

That being said, it’s not unheard of to convert customers upon initial contact with your brand. Customers will buy immediately when they encounter your brand at the same time they have a need for what you offer. You all need to make sure you’re not making any of these common errors:

Not tracking your conversion rates and stats If you don’t look at your site analytics you won’t know which articles are getting the most visitors. When you have this information you can gain an understanding of what’s a popular topic. If you keep writing articles that fall under that category, it’s likely you’ll be speaking to what your target market needs more of. If you do email marketing you’ll also want to track you conversion rates by reviewing number or emails opened and links clicked.
Not growing your social media following If you aren’t actively following new contacts on Twitter, engaging with people on LinkedIn, and joining new groups, when you post your content you’ll be getting limited exposure. The same people will see your stuff. And those people may or may not be good candidates to buy from you. Do your research and connect with people you want to do business with and also other vendors in your industry.
Doing no search engine optimization (or doing it incorrectly, thinking you’re doing it right) If you’re doing work to write one to five new posts a week for your site, you are wasting your time if you are not doing any SEO work. It is crucial for positioning your brand so the right people find you. Learn how to do it yourself. Or, hire a reputable company to do it for you.
Selling too soon If you are trying to sell a $99 program to people you’ve sent only two emails to, you’ll need to do more work to convert them. Individuals need to see your brand many times before they purchase from you. This requires time. You have to build a relationship of trust and affinity. So, you want to warm people up. Give things away for free often. Sell them on smaller priced items first. And diversify your products and service packages so you can understand what price points sell best.

Remember, building your list of contacts and then taking them from someone who knows about you to buyer is not a quick process. It’s like a romantic relationship. It takes time and effort to build trust and love.

But, if you consistently post great content and do it strategically, you’ll be able to double, triple or quadruple your business in less than one year.

How to be seen as an expert in your industry

The fastest way to grow your business is to become an industry expert. This means, you want to shift your focus from landing more sales to sharing your expertise with the demographic your targeting.

When you provide value by way of knowledge and/or freebies (especially if you have a product you can sample) it gives you immediate credibility as a topic expert. This is as true as it is for authors and coaches as it is for major brands.

How to be seen as an expert in your industry: 6 Quick tips

1) Make your website an industry resource versus simply being online business listing:

It’s important that your target market can find you online but don’t limit your business to having a site that only looks good and has your basic business information. Think about making your site a resource.

Dedicate a section of your website to content that provides value. You can even call it a library. Post videos, written articles, and answer the most frequently asked questions in your industry. Take on the job of solving the challenges of your target market.

When your site is a resource, visitors come back often. They learn to build a relationship of credibility and reliability with your brand.

2) Answer questions:

One of the easiest ways to become an expert is to answer common questions in your industry. You can do this on your own site by providing an opportunity for site visitors to ask questions on a contact form. With the inquiries you received you can build an FAQ page.

You can also use services such as Quora. It is a site that connects people who have questions with those with answers. There are thousands of questions that get posted daily. You can browse questions by topic and respond to ones that fit your area of expertise.

There are media outlets that use Quora to find topic experts for articles. It can also be a great platform to network with other professionals.

3) Get active on social media:

Make sure your company is on the following social media platforms:

Facebook
Twitter
Google +
LinkedIn

Post informative content that addresses the challenges of your target market. You’ll want to post up to 3 times a week, though you can post as frequently as once a day.

Join communities on LinkedIn and Facebook. Answer questions in those forums. You can also follow Twitter hashtags for topics you’re an expert in, and participate in conversations. Theses days even journalists use hashtags to find experts.

4) Join HARO:

There is an incredible website called HelpAReporter.com. Popular media outlets use it to post queries for topic experts. You can join and respond to the ones that apply to your business. It’s a great way to get exposure.

5) Publish a book:

Prove your expertise by writing and self-publishing a book. It’s direct evidence that you are knowledgable about the topic you’ve written about.

At CWD, we have a book called Digital Marketing Secrets Revealed, where we give away all our secrets. The book helps us share who we are with our customers easily. It establishes immediate credibility and it is proof that we know we know about digital marketing.

6) Give out freebies:

Share your knowledge for free on a regular basis, everywhere. If you have a product that speaks for itself when people use it, then give out samples. People who encounter your brand will want to engage with you often. You’ll be able to build a relationship and of trust and brand affinity overtime.

Speaking of free stuff, if you want more free digital marketing secrets click here to order your free ebook:

How to pick the right keywords for SEO

Picking the right keywords for search engine optimization is one of the most important steps you can take in SEO. It can lead to volumes of traffic arriving on your web site for free if you do it right. If you do it wrong you’ll end up with a trickle of visitors and a lot of wasted time and effort.

The best way to start your research is to make a list of the keywords – or more accurately “keyword phrases” you think a web search would type into a search engine such as Google or Bing to find your web site. Then search for them on Google and see what web sites and content come up. If sites that you compete with come up then you’re likely on to the right keyword phrases.

Quick Keyword Research Strategy

The next thing to do is to try combinations and variations on the keyword phrase and see what Google suggests in its pop out search menu. These are phrases a known to be searched on in Google index and likely have good traffic behind them. For example, start typing “dog food” and Google will suggest common searches that use that keyword.

keyword research on google — Use Google to see what keyword phrases are auto selected

For the time-pressed SEO, this could be all that you need to determine what keyword phrase could be valuable.

Of course it doesn’t tell you the best keyword phrases or the search volume you’ll likely to get by winning a top spot with this phrase. But this is a quick keyword research strategy that can be done in a few precious minutes.

Google’s Keyword Research Tool

Google has a nice free keyword research tool called Keyword Planner which is built into Google Adwords. That’s the search engine’s paid keyword ad suite and it is a good place to do your SEO keyword research.

Using it you’ll get a good sense of what a particular keyword is worth per click and what the search volume is for the keyword phrase.

To find it visit Google Adwords (click) then log-in with your Google account (a Gmail log-in will work) or create a new one because you will need this for a Google Analytics account and Google Webmaster.

After logging in to Google Adsense, click the “Tools” menu to the far right, then choose the research option you find most appealing. I like the “Search for new keywords using a phrase, website or category” option.

Google Keyword Planner is a handy free keyword research tool built into Google Adwords

Paid Keyword Research Tool: WordTracker

At Cyberwalker Digital we like to use WordTracker, a paid that runs $27 to $69 per month depending on which plan you choose. The base plan works fine unless you plan to do international search engine optimization and need multiple country data.

WordTracker lets you input keywords to find related and suggested keywords that are getting good search volumes. Once you have identified a series of phrases you can use a secondary tool to determine search volumes. It also lays out for you several key indicators as follows:

VOLUME: This is the number of searches estimated for the keyword phrases per month.

COMP: This is competition rating. The higher the number the more competition there is to win a high ranking on this keyword. “Cars” has a volume of 1.2 million searches per month and a COMP value of 45.22. So that would be a tough keyword to win. Of course the pay off would be high. The keyword phrase “iphone 6” has more than 6 million searches but a COMP value of 35.65. This value is handy to compare similar keywords however. Use the volume and competition values to determine which is a better keyword phrase to chase.

IAAT: This means “In Anchor and Title” and shows how many web sites have the keyword phrase in their page titles and linked in inbound links from another site. It’s an indictor of keyword popularity and shows what you are up against. If the IAAT is a high number you are for some hard work to win ranking on the keyword.

KEI: This is Keyword Effectveness Index and goes up when the keyword popularity increases and goes down when there is lots of competition. You will never see a KEI larger than 100. You want high volume and low competition so a moderately rated KEI is likely to be attractive. Use it to compare keywords too.

paid keyword research tool WordTracker — Paid keyword research tool WordTracker

The Ultimate Keyword Research Strategy

So what to do? Design a keyword phrase portfolio that has a blend of low volume keywords that are easy to win and moderately high volume keyword phrases that you have a shot at with some effort.

You might want to add a few “golden” keyword phrases that would would love to win. Tracking these will give you an indicator of how successful you are against top competitors. In a niche these are fun because with time and with great content and persistence you can win them. They are the golden eggs you can attain. If you can win national single word keywords (like “cars”) then you’re doing really well.

Even a regional win like “cars for sale in Tampa” will take some effort. If your business has a local angle then its worth making this kind of keyword phrases of of your golden eggs.

Bottom line though: start with the easy stuff. Cut your chops. Learn what works and get more aggressive as you develop your skills. And be sure to celebrate every win as your organic search volume grows.

How to build a website strategically

Read the 9 web site strategies below, that if followed, will put you significantly ahead of your competition.

How to build a website strategically

1. 50% of people who buy online through ecommerce-enabled web sites make a purchase using a mobile device. Ensure your website is mobile compliant, which means it looks good on any device. You may hear people use the term “responsive” around this idea.

2. Switch to a Content Management System such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. It will reduce the cost to operate your website and allow you to easily add new features and content without the need for a technical webmaster.

3. Make sure your web site is fast. This helps keep people engaged and it impacts you search engine rankings too.

Test it with: http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/. Make sure your webmaster updates your content management system and plug-ins to protect against having the website being hacked and knocked down.

4. Smaller images load faster. Be sure to size your graphics so that they don’t take the end user’s web browser a long time to load. This is important for mobile too.

5. Test your web site on multiple browsers. The industry norm is to engineer for the top current browsers minus one version. That includes: Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox. Also audit mobile browsers and screen sizes.

6. Track your traffic by installing Google Analytics (it’s free) and look at the visitors, sessions (visits), and page views every week. (We look at it daily.) Use this to evaluate what content is valuable to your visitors and produce more of it.

7. HTML is the language that the web is written in. Get to know it, because it will come in handy when you are tweaking articles and positioning images. It’s not hard, and you don’t have to become a code guru. Understanding a little HTML will give you a lot of street cred with your technical staff or contractors as well.

8. Advertise on your own web site. Some people put ads on their content-based web sites to generate income. Instead, develop your own internal ads and promote products and services, and even web site features on your own site.

9. Add share buttons to your web site content. This way, it can easily be shared by site visitor on social media, which will drive more traffic to you. Buttons like the ones below!