Are you struggling with traffic, or should I say the lack of traffic? In this article, discover how website backlinks could help you drive more organic traffic from search engines.
What Are Website Backlinks And How To Build Them
Video Transcription
There are several ways to generate more traffic to a site. Many variables will affect a site’s visibility and PageRank. If it were as easy as a step-by-step strategy, everyone would be using it and no one would be trying to generate more traffic.
Before I talk about website backlinks, I would like to take some time and talk about the importance of producing content for your blog and website.
Google rewards sites and blogs that have a lot of content. You will want to create many pages filled with high-quality content that supports your brand.
It was easier for me to generate traffic to my first online store that I started in the early 2000s. All I had to do was focus on the keywords I wanted to rank with and my online store was quickly ranking high in search, and the traffic was pouring in.
Today it is much harder to generate traffic. One of the reasons is because there is so much content online. Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and other platforms had to come up with an algorithm that could filter out all the content that is being produced. If they didn’t people would be swamped with content they are not interested and leave the platform.
In the post (What is Your Target Audience Searching For), I talked about how much content people are consuming:
“UC San Diego News Center wrote an eye- opening article on November 06, 2013, “U.S. Media Consumption to Rise to 15.5 Hours a Day – Per Person – by 2015.”
The report stated that a study at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) said that the amount of media delivered to mobile devices and homes would take more that fifteen hours to hear and see by the year 2015.
The report also stated that the amount of content consumed between 2008 and 2012 has increased by 5% per year.
Content consumed per day:
2008 – 11 hours per person per day
2012 – 13.6 hours per person per day”
The amount of content being consumed is rising, and the amount of content being produced is increasing.
What does this information show you?
Times are changing, and it will be harder for businesses to be found online.
You have two options. You could keep doing what you are doing, or you could change with the times.
If you are ready to change with the times, you will need to produce better quality content than anyone else in your niche. You will need to put in a lot of hard work, but your efforts will be rewarded.
If you are struggling with content marketing, you might want to consider taking my Content Marketing Basics Course. You will learn everything you will need to know about the basics of content marketing as well as a 28-day blogging challenge that will help to jump-start your blog.
Besides producing the best content available online, you will want to focus on SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Basics. One way Google rewards websites is by the number of backlinks that are directed back to the site.
What Are Website Backlinks?
Website Backlinks is described by WPBegginner.com as:
“A link one website gets from another website. Backlinks make a huge impact on a website’s prominence in search engine results.”
For example, if I write a post that links to your site, your site will receive a backlink. You will be rewarded by Google, and they will rank your site a bit higher in search results. I do want to say that it does take a lot of backlinks from popular websites to see an increase with PageRank.
Now if someone reads my post and likes what I said about your site or a post you wrote and writes a post linking to my post, I will be rewarded.
Google’s algorithm is very involved, and no one can say for sure how much backlinks affect search engine rankings. However, it has been shown to provide positive results. The more you can do to optimize your site, the better your chance will be to rank higher.
I want to point out, do not get involved with any bad practices. Because backlinks are vital for websites, some sites get involved with purchasing backlinks, selling backlinks, link exchange, etc.
These practices are penalized and will lower your PageRank. Backlinks need to be natural and relevant to the site. Google is very smart and will always find sites that are trying to beat the system and penalize them. This is great news for hard-working people trying to get noticed.
Website Backlink Benefits
- PageRank
- Build Brand Authority
- Build Trust
- Referral Traffic
- Build Relations
PageRank
Search engines crawl pages to determine if the page has sufficient quality to be ranked for relevant keywords. One way search engines can determine if the content is relevant is by sites linking to the page. If someone links to a post or page, it usually means they like the content. They are telling Google the post provides value and are recommending it to other people. Google takes this into consideration when ranking a page.
Build Brand Authority
Besides backlinks helping you with PageRank, they also help you build brand authority. It shows people you are an expert in your field if someone includes a link from your site to validate their views.
Not only will people start to get to know your name, but they will also begin to trust your opinion. They will search for you when they need help on a specific topic and associate your site as an information source.
Backlinks will benefit your SEO and attract a new audience by association.
Build Trust
Not only will backlinks help you build brand authority, but they will also contribute to building trust. People will be more willing to trust your views if someone linked to your site and mentioned you.
Let’s say that someone was writing about how to choose colors to accent a room and they linked to a post you wrote. The person reading the post would see you as an expert in that area and trust your opinion just because someone else liked your views and linked to you.
Referral Traffic
Another way your site will receive more traffic from backlinks is by referrals. Organic traffic is a big part of the picture but not the only factor for generating traffic to your site. Referral traffic also plays a significant role.
Referral traffic can come from someone linking to your site or share it on a social platform. You will reach a new audience by referral links.
The question is, how do you get people to share your content? The answer is simple. All you need to do is create valuable content for the reader. If the reader finds value in what they are reading, they will want to share it with their family and friends.
Build Relations
If someone reads valuable content from a post and sees a reference link to the creator, it is a good chance the reader will want to learn more and click on the link.
This can lead to a person joining a newsletter or performing a call-to-action. The situation could also end up with the person connecting and following you on your social media sites. You will start to take notice of the individual and start to engage with them building a relationship that could become very beneficial to your business.
Website Backlink Strategy
Now you have a good understanding of the importance of link building. It is time to develop a strategy so you can start to see the benefits of generating backlinks for your site.
A backlink strategy is not something that will not produce instant results. It will take dedication and hard work which will lead to a slow, steady incline of traffic. If you are in this for the long hall, list building is a strategy you will want to participate in.
Create an Art Blog
If you are interested in generating backlinks to your website, or online art gallery, you will need to produce content and have a platform where all your content can be stored and published online. Large enterprises have learned about the benefits of owning a company blog and have developed a content marketing program.
Ramona Sukhraj wrote an interesting post (21 Little-Known Blogging Statistics to Help Shape Your Strategy in 2016) revealing some eye-opening statistics.
Here are a couple of statistics I wanted to share with you from Ramona’s post:
- “Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13x more likely to achieve a positive ROI (return on investment) on their efforts.
- Companies who blog receive 97% more links to their website.”
I recommend reading the rest of the article if you are still debating starting a blog or if you just love statistics as much as I do.
Here are a couple of posts I wrote to help you get started blogging:
For more helpful articles visit Starting an Art Blog
Create Sharable Content
Once you have your blog up and running, it will be time to write content on a regular schedule. Shareable content is inspirational, motivational, educational and maybe humorous at times.
To be noticed online your content must be more valuable than any other content relating to your niche. Google and other search engines want to provide the best content to their audience.
Here are some articles to help take your blog posts to the next level.
Blogging Strategy Research Your Niche
Blogging Tip That Works Learn Your Writers Voice
How to Create Posts People Will Read
You might also want to consider taking my Online Courses to help you with your content marketing.
Developing a Niche Marketing Strategy
Conclusion:
Everyone wants to drive more traffic to their website. What works well for one business might not produce the same results for a different business. Every business is unique, and every customer base has different needs.
Your job is to learn what your customers are looking for and provide it for them. This is hard work and is constantly changing as your business changes. Be willing to change and adjust, and the rewards will be far greater than you could have ever imagined. You will start to notice more website backlinks, shares, comments and traffic.
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