Are you overlooking the benefits of backlinks?

There are many strategies which allow websites to improve their search engine optimisation (SEO) in the modern era. In fact, in many cases, an integrated plan which uses several different methods can be the best policy. But if you are not using backlinks to their full potential, you could be missing a trick.

In this blog, we take a look a what backlinks are and outline the benefits they could bring to your e-commerce website. Enjoy!

What are backlinks?

Backlinking refers to an activity which involves the strategic placing of links to a web page or website on other sites which are ‘respected’ by Google – this typically means that they have a high domain authority or see a large amount of traffic. By achieving these links through organic methods, it has been proven that backlinking can, in turn, improve the SEO ranking of the website which is being linked to.

How best to go about it?

The type of websites which can be targeted by backlinks campaigns include well read news sites or social media platforms. The key thing is having the means to achieve these links by ‘white hat’ methods. In the old days, it was possible to use black hat techniques which involved setting up networks of sites whose sole purpose was to accommodate backlinks from sister sites, thus building up a collection of backlinks across sites run by the same admin.

But Google has got wise to such tactics, so now the best way to place links can be by organic methods – that means having the right contacts at the right media platforms, and offering them an incentive to place a link within a piece of their content. It could be that you are giving them an exclusive piece of content in exchange for a link, or that you will return the favour by offering them a hyperlink on your own site.

What are the benefits?

Backlinking strategies do not work overnight, but a consistent plan which is hitting its targets has the potential to propel sites up the Google rankings. While Google’s algorithm is shrouded in mystery, it is thought that the domain authority of sites can be improved with backlinks on well-respected sites, as well as boosting traffic numbers through new visitors following the links.

If you haven’t got the time to execute a backlinking strategy independently, talk to your SEO specialist about making it happen.