Actionable Tips For Small Businesses On Effective Link Building

Never underestimate the power of link building when it comes to taking your small business to the next level.

Yes, hiring an expert link builder would be ideal – but it’s not always financially possible. Besides, knowing just the basics of effective link building efforts will really give you an edge over your competition.

How do I get those highly coveted links pointing to my web page?

How do I DOMINATE the search engine optimization for my company’s site?

How can I build relevant links to rank higher in search engines?

If you’re looking for new tactics to build more high-quality links to your content, look no further!

Here are my killer link building tips that you can utilise today!

#1. Industry Relevant Guest Posts

One of my top link building tips is using the power of a well-written guest post.

This involves finding blogs (relevant to your niche) that are looking for guest bloggers. By writing relevant articles for their websites, you have the perfect opportunity to include a link back to your business’s website.

Search engines will weigh this backlink as a positive ranking signal and boosts your search ranking BIG TIME.

How can I do this in the most effective way?

• Search Google (or other search engines) for high authority sites that are relevant to your industry.
• Build relationships before pitching. (This can be by contributing comments on their blog posts, sharing their posts on social media, etc.)
• Write quality content. (Use those keywords!)
• Get your blog post out there. Share it far and wide on all social media platforms and community forums to make it reach massive audiences.

#2. Fix Broken Links

Broken link building is a foolproof strategy. It may seem like a tedious task, but trust me, it comes with big rewards!

How it works:

1. Keep track of your backlinks and fix any broken ones. (This happens from time to time.)
2. Find broken links on industry-related websites (they usually link to competitors.)
3. Imitate the content (that once existed at that link) on your own website.
4. Get in touch with the website that has the dead link and recommend that they replace the dead link with your working link.

Top tip: You can use a free Google Chrome extension to immediately find all broken hyperlinks on any website or page. A true time-saver.

As easy as that!

#3. Grab Unlinked Mentions

This one is simple, but not obvious.

I call this a quick win when it comes to link building strategies.

A lot of the time content writers will mention brands in their posts but forget to link the websites. This is one of those link building opportunities that you simply can’t miss.

Follow these easy steps:

1. Search for your business’s name on Google using quotation marks. (Like this: “The Best Business Ever”)
2. Look for sites or blogs that mention your company’s name without including a link to your site.
3. Contact them requesting that they add a link to your website.

#4. Join Industry Link Roundups

Okay first of all, what on earth is an industry link roundup?

Simply put they are blog posts that contain a list of a writer’s best picks. These posts are typically published weekly or monthly.

If you want high-quality niche-relevant backlinks (the ones that actually drive targeted traffic), link roundups should be at the top of your to-do list!

You’ll easily find these in almost every niche.

Here’s what to do:

• Look for roundups that are updated consistently. Outdated posts won’t get you far.
• Pitch high-quality content that is relevant. You need to provide value.
• Make sure that your published content matches the time period of the roundup.

This link building strategy has proven to be very effective when following the above 3 tips.

Top tip: Avoid pitching the same roundups too often, unless you have a great relationship with the author and you are truly providing quality content.

#5. Create Local Resource Pages

Does your town have a local resource page for businesses in your industry? Is it up to date?

If not, it’s the perfect opportunity for you to create a local directory containing useful information for small businesses in your town.

Think of it this way: You’re a health store in Bristol. You can create a resource page listing all of the best natural wholesalers in the UK. The same goes for any type of industry – get creative!

By providing useful resources, other businesses (and better yet, your competitors) will mention your resource page, generating you dozens of backlinks.

Another perk of creating local directories is that they can lead to even more opportunities to grow your business. They often land up on local forums and get you guest appearances, interviews, and of course, MORE LINKS.