This is the second part of a four part series looking at how small business owners can be creative in developing high value backlinks to their business web site.
Be sure to reaa Part 1 of this series before reading this article!
Directories. Directories are still relevant but don’t go overboard. Pick Directories that cover your industry, your location (suburb through to Country specific) and submit your details. I would focus on finding good quality web sites at the local level first and then work outwards geographically.
The whole point of a Directory is for you to include a link to your web site – this is great, but probably carries little value in the eyes of the search engines.
Networking Sites. Networking sites, such as Linkedin, Facebook, Flyingsolo and Twitter, can all be used to build relationships with large groups of people. Build a solid relationship with these people and they will help you promote your business to their groups. This can be a very powerful medium for generating relevant backlinks and traffic. Be careful though, social media is about connecting with people to build relationships. Use them to force feed people your products at your peril!
Business Associations / Industry Associations. Are you a member of a Business or Industry Association? If so, these can be fertile ground for high-quality backlinks. Most Associations have a directory listing where you can include your contact details and web site url. Make sure you use it.
Whilst good, these listings are on offer to everyone who is a member of the Association. You want something more unique and valuable. Consider writing an article for inclusion within their website – include a summary of who you are at the end of the article and include a link to your web site. If your article is accepted then you have just earned yourself one of those gold-plated backlinks. Don’t forget to advertise your article through your Blog and social media networks.
Education. Similar to the Business Associations in that backlinks from .edu web sites carry a lot of value due to the difficulty in which they are obtained. Join the educational institutes’ Alumi and, if allowable, include your web site url in the forums.
Also, look at ways that you can get your web site url mentioned in the main body of their web site. Is your work directly associated with your field of study? If so, then the school may consider posting an article about one of their previous students. Can your business get involved in a field of research being conducted by the institute? If so, offer your skills and time in return for some free PR, always making sure that you obtain a link to your site.
[Clearly there is a lot of work involved here for a few, albeit valuable, backlinks. Always weigh up the cost to you in time and resources before committing to such activity. However, who knows what the longer term benefits could be for both you and your business if you can get involved?]
Look our for Part 3 next week!
Image by Ivan Walsh http://www.flickr.com/photos/ivanwalsh/ / CC BY 2.0
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Hi Gordon, I came across your blog and liked the style of your writing. We have a networking group with an associated website that publishes articles that we think would be of interest to small and micro business. We’re only new but growing nicely. Though we base events around Brisbane and the Gold Coast we have a few members in Sydney and Melbourne. SEO is something we get asked about a bit by the members and while we do have a couple of Web types involved with us, we do like to promote a range of ideas and opinions – its a part of our philosophy; we think there’s plenty of business for everyone. We don’t promote anybody exclusively and suggest that members seek out a product or service provider that is best suited to their particular needs. Have a look at the site and if you think you might be interested in contributing articles or getting involved in any way, you can contact me through the site or my e-mail attached.
All the best for your business
Regards
Paul Cunningham
Integr8 Networking