The Easy Link-Building Guide (for People Who Don’t Understand Link-Building)

Link-building is not ‘dead’ like some experts predicted, it’s just evolved due to algorithm changes and updates. In reality, link-building is more important now than ever – as your authority and trustworthiness depend on it.

There are many great link-building guides out there, but most are written for the near-expert or at least SEO-savvy individuals who want to update their strategies. Unfortunately, most of the link-building questions we get aren’t form experts, but from our clients – like, how the heck do you get a quality link in the first place? What makes a link good or bad? And what strategies no longer work (or can even hurt you instead of help you)?

Let’s look at 4 successful (and simple) link-building techniques that anyone can do.

1. Good Things Come to Those Who Ask

Sometimes, link-building is as simple as asking, because other companies online want links too. For example, if you are an auto body shop, you can talk about rental cars in the area and link to one – then you can simply ask that rental company if they would like to link to you in a relevant and helpful way.

Relevant and helpful means the anchor text to your link makes sense – i.e. ‘Need a rental car during your repairs? Visit us and then head to one of the local and trusted auto repair shops near us.’

Simply asking for (or exchanging) links with relevant and trusted companies or websites is a great way to gain backlinks as well as start in on tip #2…

2. Build Connections & Relationships with Others

Building relationships with other companies through connections, conversations, and yes, asking about linking in relevant and helpful ways is a great way to become known in your area and gain even more links.

Think of it in a non-business way – if you ask a friend to do you a favor, they’ll probably say yes, but if you ask a stranger, your likelihood of getting a positive answer declines dramatically.

Not only is building relationships good for business, it’s good for links too! So talk to others, remember names, reply to emails, and more – because even mere name-recognition can help boost your likelihood of gaining links from others within your industry or in adjacent industries.

3. Testimonials Are Win-Wins (So Are Blogs)

Making a testimonial for another and linking to your site (with permission) gives them a great review, you a backlink, and everyone leaves happy. Additionally, testimonials are easy to create and can be made for as many companies as you have professional experience with – so the list can continue to grow with little work from you.

Some backlink strategies are time-consuming and labor-intensive – but not this one, that’s why it’s a part of our easy guide.

Blogs are similar – because you can link to others, creating connections, while simultaneously creating new and educational content that others can easily use and link to as well. Creating a blog with great content can make it easy for your community to find resources that they actually want and will, therefore, link to, which means you’ll gain even more backlinks (and maybe relationships).

This is why creating educational and research blogs are more valuable and useful than sales pitches or even promotional ones.

4. Use Directories (The Good Ones)

Listing your company on relevant directories is the perfect final tip on how to gain relevant and useful backlinks. The only word of warning and caution we will say here is it is always good practice to check the authority of the directory. Make sure you are being associated with good small business directories, not the shady ones.

The directory being paid or free doesn’t actually mean it’s good or bad, so make sure you do a little research before you go through the steps of being listed.

Don’t know how to check page authority? Use a tool like this that checks their backlink profile and tells you if they are ‘toxic’ or not – or consult a professional who can help you determine where to get links from (or do it for you and acquire backlinks all on their own).

Do You Need Someone to Take Over Your Link-Building Strategy? JSL Marketing & Web Design Is Happy to Help!

If the above still seems difficult, or if it’s simply too time-consuming for you and your booming business, we’re happy to help with your rankings, authority, backlinks, and more!

Contact JSL Marketing & Web Design today to talk about packages, custom plans, link-building strategies and more – we love making businesses work, and we can’t wait to work with you.