The numbers are staggering. Over 260 million people in the U.S. and 2 billion shoppers across the globe will make an online purchase this year.1 And nearly two-thirds of these buyers will be led to websites by keyword searches.2 One of the ways you can improve your SEO ranking so that your company’s website appears near the top of online search lists is through backlinking.
So what is backlinking, and why is it important to your online brand awareness and, ultimately, your bottom line? Let’s take a closer look.
What are backlinks?
In their simplest form, backlinks (which are sometimes also referred to as “inbound links” or “incoming links”) link from one website to a page on another website. Pages with a high number of backlinks typically rank higher in organic searches – the type when someone types in “best plumbers in my area” during a Google search, for instance. A good example of backlinking is when an article features your website in a citation and lists you and your brand as a subject matter expert on a topic within your industry.
Why are backlinks important?
Attracting backlink traffic to your website alerts search engines that your website is valuable and important. The more backlinks you receive, the higher your website will rank with Google, Bing, YouTube, and other search engines. You can gain backlinks by consistently creating valuable content that others within your industry want to engage with and share. There are also backlinking services that can develop strategies to build your website traffic and attract more prospects and customers to your brand.
What are some additional benefits of backlinking?
While a solid backlinking strategy can yield key SEO results for your website and business, this marketing practice also can produce additional benefits, including:
Brand Authority
This refers to customers trusting your brand as a thought leader within your market. Brand authority gives your brand, and business added credibility and helps customers “feel good” about purchasing the products and services you offer. Also keep in mind that over 75 percent of customers do business with brands they trust.3
Domain & Page Authority
Two popular SEO scoring metrics that are based on backlinks are Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA). Both of these categories were established by a company called Moz (note the backlink that benefits Moz here!) and measures web domains and web pages on scores from 1 to 100. The higher the number, the better the possibility of a high search engine ranking. Also, note that the authority of the linking site matters. For example, a link from Forbes is more valuable than a link from a high school newspaper.
Referral Traffic
In addition to improving your ranking with online search engines, backlinking may also provide lead generation directly from the website on which your link appears. For example, people may click on your link that appears in a blog or article which will directly take them to your website – at a time when they are highly interested in your products or services.
Ongoing Promotion
Whether you get backlinks strategically or organically through a blog or articles you have shared, these links have long-term value. As long as the link is still up on the other website, the opportunity exists for you to receive direct web traffic and/or a boost in online search engine algorithms that can positively affect your SEO rankings.
Looking to enhance your online marketing results?
Interested in learning more about backlinking or additional ways to enhance your online marketing? The experienced team at Spoke is ready to help. Tell us your goals, and we can work with you to devise strategies that attract more web traffic, generate qualified leads, and help you increase revenue.
Let’s talk. We’ll help you get from where you are to where you want to be.™
1 Demographic Data Study, United States Census Bureau, July 1, 2022.
2 Ibid.
3 “Brand Trust is Built on the Cause Consumers Care Most About: Themselves,” Forbes, July, 2020.
