Today we are looking at what a backlink is and why you need them. But before we get started, let me offer this one disclaimer…
Disclaimer
The content of this article requires work. If you are not willing to put forth said “work”, then you may be better suited finding your advice from charlatans or your best friend’s mom.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get down to business and talk about what it really takes to rank high in Google.
For those of you who just want the information fast, here it is.
Google wants websites that other people are using as a reference to find information from. That means the more people write on their website about you the more you will rank high in Google.
What is a “backlink”
Backlinks “link back” to your website. This could be something as simple as someone mentioning your name from their website. It could also be something like an “href” link.
An href link is simply a fancy term for a website link (sometimes called a “url”) that you can click on to take you to another website.
Think of your website as a research paper
Whether you realize it or not, Google got its start in a university. A couple of college kids – Larry Page and Sergey Brin – founded the company at Stanford University. That’s why when you think about your website think about it from their point of view.
They grew up and were around the academic world all the time. So in an age when information (and MIS-information) is so abundant, how do you decide what to show people on their Google search and what not to?
A Backlink shows Google that your content is useful, accurate and helpful.
Their reasoning is that if 1,000 other websites are using your website for information then it must be reliable, or at least, it is more reliable than the neighboring websites that only have a few people looking at their content.
It is all about comparison.
How does your website stack up against the other websites? By working to build your backlink presence online, you are showing Google exactly how useful your website is to others.
Check out Wikipedia
If you look anything up on wikipedia, you will find that people write content, but then they cite their sources. We all remember having to do this in school. You scroll to the bottom and find all the places that the information was gathered from.
Well, Google in essence does the same thing. They look at all the information on the internet and then determine from that information who is helping people the most. Then when someone types a search query into Google, Google responds with the top 10 most helpful websites on that topic.
You want to make sure that your website is more helpful than your competitors. This is a surefire way to rank your website higher than others in your industry.
Ways to get a “backlink”
Now you are probably wondering,
This is great, but how do I actually get backlinks to my website?
Well fine sire, I am glad you asked!
There are a lot of ways to get backlinks, but today we are going to talk about just 3.
1 The Yellow Pages / White Pages
Any website where your information is presented is a source of a backlink. That is why something like the yellow pages, white pages, the BBB or any other online registry is so powerful.
Now you might be wondering,
Aren’t the yellow pages kind of outdated?
You would be surprised…
In truth, whether someone actually finds your website off of the yellow pages isn’t relevant. Instead, when you register with these online pages you are garnering yourself backlinks to your website. That means that when people search for “website designers in Tulsa” (insert your niche here) you will come up higher because Google sees you referenced other places.
2 Press Releases
There is something to be said for a good ol’ press release. What is a press release you might ask.
A press release is when you inform your local news stations of a story or something happening in your company that might interest them.
Think about this. These reports have to find “news” to fill the entire time they are on the air. Sometimes that is easy. Other times it isn’t so easy. That is where you come in. You are fulfilling a need when you step up and say, “Hey! Check out this story about _____”
Sometimes these news stations might feature you on their channel. Other times they will simply post your story on their website. The important thing is that you write the press release as if the news station was telling the story.
These stations want things that they can take and use. That means the better written that the story is the more likely they will publish it.
3 Business Cards and Networking (the worst option)
This next option is highly not recommended, yet oftentimes, it is the only one any of us ever do! See if this sounds familiar to you.
You get all dressed up to go to a “networking event”. You spend money on business cards and fancy clothes. You end up talking to people and this kind of conversation goes down.
Awkward conversation example:
“Hey here’s my business card. If you put a link to my website on your website, I will link to your website.”
“Um…ok. I’ll make sure to do that.”
ONE MONTH LATER
“Hey did you ever put a link to my site on yours?”
“Oh man! I totally forgot sorry.
Actually, I’m not really sure how to do that.”
Ok. So not the best example, but I think you get the sentiment. Whether we mean to or not, without a doubt we get busy and forget to do the things we have the greatest intentions to do.
You might really want to help the businesses in your area, but in truth all it takes is one other task to come up that is more important for us to forget what we were going to do.
Centupli can help get you a backlink
The truth is that all of these things just take work. It is really important that we understand that there isn’t a shortcut to success. The Bible says,
The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
Proverbs 21:5 (NKJV)
At the end of the day, there are some tips and tricks to know when trying to gather backlinks but the true truth is that it just takes work. One way though that we can help you succeed is by giving your website a backlink. When you work with us, we will place a feature of you on our website. This not only pushes business your way, but also helps us show that there are real people like you who benefit from the services we provide.
You have to build amazing and helpful content that people return to in order to make it in the online world.
If you have any questions or would like to see how Centupli can help you with your website, call us today at 918-218-2228 or email us at info@centupli.com.
You can check out some of our previous posts here.