How to create more backlinks to your website.

If you have spent over 10 seconds on my blog in the past, you might have noticed that I’m a strong advocate for SEO. It’s the amazing compounding marketing tool that allows businesses to turn up in the search results of Google.

What I don’t love about SEO, is the sleazy reputation it has.

SEO Marketing is a Competetive Industry

SEO agencies exist solely to work ruthlessly with large brands to promote their content and ensure it appears at the top of search results.

It’s no surprise, that because of this competitiveness, some companies are happy to ‘cut corners’ to get better results. Things like paying to be listed in a “Top 50 lawyers” blog post is not uncommon.

Let’s be clear: What these companies are doing is not illegal. You could easily hire out this kind of work yourself if it aligned with your company values. But it’s the kind of work that feels sleazy and unnatural to me, so I don’t do it.

“So how can we keep up?“

The answer is that we can’t.

I’m going to be real. SEO is hard. And it doesn’t help when there are companies who are prepared to literally willing to pay thousand to get their website top-of-page.

Luckily for us, there are still ways that we can boost our rankings. Ways that don’t go against our brand priorities and don’t involve spamming comments with your URL.

5 Ways to Create more Backlinks:

Directories

But not those nasty, crappy ones. Genuine directories are a great way to list your site! Look for local blogs/directories or ones in your niche or category. While many of them are paid (which you can do!) there are free ones out there as well!

Sell or Teach Something

I have found that when you create a seller or teacher’s profile on some sites, they allow you to list your website. Some websites have better domain authorities than others, so it’s often worth checking them out and seeing whether it’s worth creating something.

Some examples of places to look include:

• Etsy
• Skillshare
• Creative Market
• Teachable
• Udemy

Guest Blog

One of the most popular ways to create backlinks to your website is to guest blog. Guest blogging is when you write a post which lives on someone else’s blog. You can link back to your own website which will create authority with Google and possibly also generate some new traffic.

You might have a friend who would be willing to trade guest posts with you, send a proposal to a popular blog in your area, or find websites in your niche that allow for guest contributors (they’re out there!).

Partner with brands

Not everyone can leverage their business with partnerships and sponsorships, but if it is something that you are already doing or considering, think about the ways that event or organisation can help you out. You might see if they can do a feature about you or at the very least, put up your logo in their sponsor’s section with a link back to your own website.

Write testimonials for other small businesses

Testimonials are a great way to work with some of your existing vendors or contacts and work together to strengthen each other’s website authority.

When you write a testimonial for a business, ask if they can link your name to your website so that if people click on it, it opens in a new tab.

Don’t focus on it

While it’s useful to create more backlinks, it’s only one of 200 factors which contribute to your SEO. A lot of the time, backlinks will form organically, like if someone mentions you on their blog, links your website, references something you mentioned on your blog, give credit for images, and so on.

My biggest advice is to keep creating and keep nurturing relationships and collaboration throughout your industry and niche. When you are genuine and open to new opportunities within your business, you will be surprised how people are willing to help you.