We LOVE small businesses because they are SO passionate about what they do! We also understand that being a small business owner can be challenging. Often times you are a jack of all trades and stretched for time. We are a small business too, and we want to help to provide online marketing resources, including a few link-building strategies for small businesses.
Recently we published a blog post on link building “Website Link Building Tips & Benefits: SEO, Referral Links, and Website Traffic” that focused on the basics of link building. If you haven’t, please take a moment to read that blog as it will set the stage for the strategies listed below.
Just as a quick recap. Link building is a great way to drive relevant website traffic to your site, build relationships with other industry-related professionals, reach your target audience, attached visitors to your site via Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and keep those visitors on your site long enough to get the information that they are seeking or move them onto the next step in your sales process. What’s not to like?!
Link Building Strategies
Now that you are well aware of the benefits of link building for your small business. Here are ten of our favorite, and highly successful, link building strategies.
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Blog Comments
Comment on industry-related blog posts that inspire you. Offer feedback, share your experience, elaborate on the topic of the blog. Invite others to comment on your blog posts. Don’t be afraid, it’s a great way to encourage engagement. Offer and incentive to get the ball rolling.
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Testimonials
Offer to give a testimonial to other businesses that are AWESOME to work with! It will not only provide a link to your site, but it will encourage them to be an advocate for your business as well. Small businesses unite! Ask your customers for a testimonial. Add a testimonials page on your website, or ask them to review your business on Google or Facebook.
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Frequent Blog Posting
Post blogs consistently to your website, it’s great for SEO! Search engines are attracted to a blog that is rich in content and resources. This is built over time, and addresses topics that are currently trending. Keep offering resources worth linking to! Remember to insert links and add key words.
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Website Content Updates
Consistently updating your website content is also great for SEO. Search engines like to see a website that is active and frequently updating its content. Not a website that is stale. Don’t create an awesome website and then leave it to waste away. Keep it key work rich, and remember that those key word will likely change some over time. Continue to meet your target audience’s changing needs!
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Online Listings
Creating business listings on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing (links) is a great way for people to find your local business when searching online. It is also a great way to drive traffic to your website and is it completely FREE. Getting your business listed is easy and something that you can do yourself. Follow these steps to get your business listed on Google.
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Advertise Events
Adding events to your website provides many linking opportunities. This can be done through an events page or event calendar. Promoting your company events is a great way to raise awareness and increase attendance. Be sure to link to the venue, sponsors, and speakers. Then, ask those sites to link to your event page. Advertising local events and industry tradeshows or seminars is a great way to connect with your community or industry. It shows that you are passionate about your community and a leader in your industry. Again, don’t be afraid to ask for a referral links as well.
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Sponsor an Event
Being an event sponsor increases the likelihood that you will have a presence on the event page. Some event pages might even allow you to have a small add, logo or company description. Bonus if your sponsorship includes a table during the event! Take the opportunity to network with event goers and handout unforgettable swag.
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Optimize Images
Optimizing images on your pages, posts and events is important for SEO. Be sure to add a keyword as the alt tag of an image. Because a Google crawler is unable to identify the content of your image, the alt text, or alternative text, tells the crawler what the image is related to. This is also true for screen readers and accessibility software.
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Ask your Audience
Want to know what your followers are looking for? Just ask your target audience! Keep track of customer questions. Then post those questions and answers on a frequently asked questions (FAQs) page. Or create a blog post on that topic. Solving problems and targeting what is trending is a great way to attract more traffic from search engines and increase the possibility of link referrals.
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Use Social Media
Using social media has many benefits for your business, including SEO and link building. Frequently posting on your social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn (links) can increase search engine traffic. Additionally, posting links to a new blog or upcoming event can help drive traffic back to your website. Social media provides another opportunity for industry-related companies and your biggest supports to share your content. But remember, social media is all about engagement, so don’t just focus on posting about your business. Follow these tips to enhance your social media strategy.
We enjoyed sharing some of our link-building strategies with you. Feel free to be creative. You know your business BEST! Explore some link-building strategies that work for you. It really is an evolving science; enjoy the ride and look to us for backup.
