If you’re investing in content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), there’s a lot more to it than just the content on your web pages. One of the most central elements to the success of any SEO strategy is backlinking. This critical component can be the difference between reaching the top of page one on Google or having your content disappear into the depths of the internet. We’ve created this guide to explain the basics of backlinking, why it’s so important, and how to build a strong backlink profile for your brand.
What is backlinking and why is it important?
The term “backlink” refers to any time another website links to a page on your website. Backlinks, which you may also see called inbound links or referrals, are a critical part of your SEO strategy. They help demonstrate your website’s value to search engines, which can cause their algorithms to rank them higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The overall backlink profile of all the referring domains that point to your website is a key element in how legitimate and credible your website appears to search engines, often called “domain authority.”
Your domain authority has a big impact on how long it takes for SEO content to rank on the SERPs. Websites with a high domain authority are more likely to appear on the first page of the SERP, while those with low domain authority are less likely to surface. If you’re investing time, energy, and money in creating high quality content, it’s imperative you have a strong domain authority in order for that content to be discovered by users. Your website’s backlink profile is a critical part of strengthening your domain authority.
Strong backlinks vs. weak backlinks
Not all backlinks are created equal. Backlinks from reputable, authoritative, and established websites are valuable, while backlinks from unknown, shady, or brand new websites aren’t. The optimal backlink profile maximizes strong backlinks and minimizes weak ones.
When you start to gather strong backlinks from sites with healthy domain authority, it’s a signal that you have authoritative, useful content on your website. If you have a lot of weak backlinks pointing to your web pages, it could be a signal that your content or brand isn’t authoritative.
A spammy profile of weak backlinks can even be detrimental to your website. For example, they could be seen as a signal that you’ve purchased backlinks from a link farm, a group of web pages created just to link to other websites in a bid to game the search engine algorithm. Even if you have great content on your website, having a lot of weak backlinks could prevent it from surfacing on the SERP.
How to get a backlink: Building a strong portfolio
You can expect to gain some backlinks simply by publishing and circulating high quality content, but in order to really build a strong backlink profile you’ll need a more deliberate strategy. This strategy is called link-building. This can include publishing certain types of content, like round-up lists of statistics or product reviews, which tend to generate a lot of backlinks.
Link-building could include media outreach and public relations to not only gain coverage and brand awareness, but also backlinks from reputable news outlets. It could also mean creating content that features prominent voices in your space and asking them to help distribute it in their networks as well.
While there’s a lot you can do yourself, building a healthy backlink profile takes time and effort. When you’re already running a business, it’s a lot easier to trust professionals to handle it for you. That’s why CannaContent offers link-building services so you can get back to focusing on your business while we make sure you’re getting the backlinks your website needs to succeed.
We can execute a wide range of link building campaigns and tactics for your cannabis business, including (but not limited to):
- Development and distribution of press releases
- Geo-page creation and networking for local SEO (great for dispensaries!)
- Gated content development, such as PDF resources, interactive tools, or webinars
- Creation of Social and Web 2.0 user generated content, such as customer reviews
- Development of guest posts and featured articles
- Map embeds and geo-location pins
- Hand-built citations to avoid spam flags and filters
- Video links
For each of these approaches, we develop a list of prospects and thoroughly vet them to ensure we’re only pursuing backlinks from authoritative and reputable sources. Once we’ve verified that each prospect meets our exacting standards, we conduct personalized outreach to contact them and build a relationship that includes a published link pointing to your website. Ultimately, we leverage these relationships to improve your backlink profile and boost your domain authority.
Curious about our cannabis marketing and backlinking services? Request a quote today to learn more about what CannaContent can do for you!
How strong backlinks drive more business
When your backlink profile is filled with strong backlinks from other authoritative websites, it can have some significant benefits for your business. As you gain more quality backlinks over time, you can expect to see the following impacts.
- Improved SERP rankings: If you want to get your content in front of more users, a strong backlink profile is a necessity. You could have the best content in the world, but if your site has a weak backlink profile and low domain authority, it’s unlikely it will outrank those in a stronger position. Accumulating valuable backlinks helps to lift all the pages on your website because search engines will see you as an authority that provides useful content to users.
- Better local search: When you employ a holistic link building strategy, you’ll be able to gain highly relevant local links that drive users in your area to your website. Part of improving local search is ensuring your Google Business Profile (GBP, formerly called Google My Business) and social media channels are all properly built out with a consistent name, address, and phone number (NAP), as well as collaborating with local organizations and media outlets to gain visibility in your community or among your target audience.
- Increased web traffic: Higher SERP rankings and more visibility lead to increased web traffic, which you can use to generate more leads and drive more sales. Web traffic can be the starting point for building valuable relationships; as more users land on your pages, you can capture more in your sales funnel and begin to nurture these leads until they become paying customers.
- Faster indexing: Websites with a healthy backlink profile are more likely to be crawled by search engines, which in turn leads to faster indexing of new pages. The more websites that point to yours, the more “on ramps” there are for search engine bots that crawl the internet and look to index content, so it gives you a greater chance to be indexed and start ranking right away.
- Wider brand awareness: More web traffic, social proof, and endorsements from reputable organizations can help spread awareness of your brand and legitimize it in the eyes of users. Link building campaigns can also be a good way to start networking with others in your space and building partnerships that are mutually beneficial.
Thinking of linking? Think CannaContent
The benefits of link building for your business are many, and the effort is well worth it. A strong backlink profile can help supercharge your business and strengthen your competitive advantage in your market segment. If you’re ready to invest in link building for your website, CannaContent offers effective, proven methods for driving success. If you’d like to learn more about our link building or other cannabis marketing services, contact us for a free consultation.
