Discover the Truth About Link Insertions (and See How They Work for You!)

Link insertions, when done right, are a powerhouse SEO strategy. By partnering with bloggers to seamlessly place your website’s links into their existing, high-quality posts, you’ll not only channel traffic directly to your site but also enjoy the SEO boost that search engines love when you have dependable, high-authority backlinks.

Yet, despite their benefits, myths about link insertions can cause confusion or hesitation. That’s why we’re here to clear the air.

Here’s the truth behind the most common myths – and some actionable advice for making this strategy work effortlessly for your brand.

The Biggest Myths About Link Insertions

Myth 1: Link insertions are spammy and hurt SEO.

Fact: When partnering with credible bloggers and ensuring your links are relevant and blend organically into the content, link insertions are highly effective. Search engines reward quality and relevancy, and this strategy plays right into those rules.

Myth 2: It’s impossible to control where your link appears.

Fact: That’s where collaboration comes in! Platforms like Get Blogged connect you with handpicked bloggers who gladly follow your guidance for anchor text and link placement – even in their high-ranking posts.

Myth 3: Only new blog posts are valuable.

Fact: Think again! Adding links to established, evergreen content – especially posts that already rank well – has massive SEO benefits. These links tap into an audience that’s already engaging and searching for related content.

Myth 4: It’s too expensive to be worth it.

Fact: Think small but mighty! With Get Blogged, collaborations can start at just £26 (including platform fees). High-impact results are achievable at budget-friendly rates.

Myth 5: You need loads of links to get results.

Fact: Quality over quantity wins in SEO, every single time. A handful of strategic, well-executed links in the right places will do more for your authority and traffic than dozens of poorly placed ones.

Myth 6: It’s complicated to get started.

Fact: Not with Get Blogged! Our intuitive platform simplifies everything. From listing your campaign to managing blogger connections and placements, Get Blogged takes care of the details so you don’t have to.

We hope that busting these myths allows you to see how link insertions can be straightforward, cost-effective, and impactful when approached strategically.

Smart Tips for Your Next Link Insert Campaign

• Choose your anchor text wisely. They should make sense in context and clearly lead readers to valuable content on your site.
• Focus on prime placement. Links in the first few paragraphs or bold spots in the post naturally grab attention.
• Limit links per post. Keep it clean with no more than 1-3 links per 500 words to avoid overwhelming the reader.
• Prioritise relevant content. Blogs already ranking for similar keywords align seamlessly with your goals.

The best part? Link insertions are quick to set up and packed with potential. Done strategically, they’re a surefire way to boost your site’s authority, drive traffic, and elevate your search rankings.

Still Have Questions? We’ve Got You! Our friendly team is ready to tackle any lingering uncertainties and help you craft a winning campaign.

The post Everything You Need to Know About Link Insertions appeared first on Get Blogged .

Why Black Friday is a marketing necessity

For many retailers, Black Friday is the most important day of the year. It’s the day when stores offer massive discounts and shoppers line up early in the morning to take advantage of them. In recent years, Black Friday has become so popular that it has spilt over into Thanksgiving Day itself, with many stores opening their doors on Thursday evening to get a jump on the competition.

So, why is Black Friday such a big deal? And what does it mean for your marketing calendar? Let’s take a closer look.

The origins of Black Friday

Contrary to popular belief, Black Friday is not actually a holiday. It got its name in the 1960s, when police in Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaotic scene that unfolded on the day after Thanksgiving. As stores began offering ever-larger discounts on that day, shoppers began flooding into downtown Philadelphia, causing traffic jams and overcrowding. The police were not happy about it.

Over time, though, the negative connotation of the term dissipated and it became widely used by retailers to refer to the busiest shopping day of the year. These days, Black Friday is seen as an unofficial start to the holiday shopping season and a crucial day for retailers’ bottom lines. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, Black Friday is typically the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States—surpassing even Cyber Monday.

What Black Friday means for marketers

For marketers, Black Friday is an opportunity to reach shoppers at a time when they are already in a spending mood. It’s also a chance to clear out slow-moving inventory before the end of the year. And because so many people shop on Black Friday, it’s an ideal time to launch new products or promote special deals and discounts.

Of course, planning a successful Black Friday marketing campaign takes some careful thought and strategic planning. But if you can get it right, the rewards can be significant.

Black Friday falls on November 29th this year.

So, if you haven’t already started thinking about how you’re going to take advantage of Black Friday this year, now is the time to do it. Trust us – your bottom line will thank you for it!

The power of link-building

You’ve heard of link building, but what exactly is it? And why should you care? Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own. Search engines view each link (as long as it’s from an authoritative site) as a vote of confidence for your website, so generally speaking, the more links you have, the higher your site will rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Link building is an important part of any SEO strategy because it helps improve your website’s visibility and organic traffic. In other words, it’s a powerful tool that can help you reach your target audience and achieve your business goals.

But link building isn’t easy. It takes time, effort, and patience. And it’s not something you can do overnight. But if you’re willing to put in the work, link-building can be a powerful tool that will help you reach your target audience and achieve your business goals. (Shameless plug, we know a great platform to help you acquire some great links and mentions.)

Why link building is important

As I mentioned above, search engines use links as a way to measure the trustworthiness and authority of a website. The logic goes like this: if Website A is linking to Website B, then Website B must be trustworthy and authoritative.

Therefore, the more links you have from high-quality websites, the better your website will rank in SERPs. Link building is also important for driving referral traffic to your website. Referral traffic is the traffic that comes to your website from sources other than search engines (e.g., social media, blogs, etc.).

And since referral traffic has a lower bounce rate and higher conversion rate than other types of traffic, it’s essential for any business that wants to increase its online sales or leads.

How to build links

There are many ways to build links, but not all methods are created equal. Some methods, such as buying links from link farms or spammy blogging networks, might get your site penalised by Google. Others, such as guest blogging or creating infographics, are time-consuming but effective. The best link-building strategy is one that uses a mix of different methods to create high-quality links from a variety of sources.

Some common link-building methods include:

• Creating infographics
• Guest blogging
• Creating helpful resources (e.g., ebooks, guides, templates)
• Asking for testimonials and reviews
• Participating in forums and discussion boards
• Sponsoring events or conferences

Link building is an important part of any SEO strategy because it helps improve your website’s visibility and organic traffic. But it’s not something you can do overnight; it takes time, effort, and patience. If you’re willing to put in the work, though, link-building can be a powerful tool that will help you reach your target audience and achieve your business goals.

3 benefits of running link-building campaigns during Black Friday sales

Now that we’ve learned a little about the basics of link building, and how it can be a time-consuming and difficult process, Black Friday provides the perfect opportunity to get some high-quality links. Here’s why:

1. Increased web traffic

Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. That means that there will be a lot more people online looking for deals and discounts. And if your website is optimised for Black Friday, you could see a significant increase in web traffic.

2. Improved search engine rankings

More web traffic usually means improved search engine rankings. And since people are generally looking for deals and discounts on Black Friday, if your website is ranking higher in search results, you’re more likely to get clicks and conversions.

3. Increased brand awareness

With more people online searching for deals, there’s also an increased chance that they’ll come across your website and learn about your brand. If you have a well-executed Black Friday campaign, you could see a significant increase in brand awareness and reach.

Black Friday link-building campaigns can be a great way to get an edge on the competition. By capitalising on the increased web traffic and improved search engine rankings, you can reach more people with your message and improve your bottom line. So what are you waiting for? Let’s start planning your Black Friday campaign. Read on…

6 Black Friday link-building ideas you can’t afford to miss

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and that means it’s time to start thinking about your Black Friday link-building campaigns. If you want to make the most of this crucial time of year, you need to have a plan in place to get high-quality links from authoritative websites.

Here are 6 great link-building ideas that are sure to help your business succeed this Black Friday:

1. Create an exclusive Black Friday discount or offer

One of the best ways to get links from high-authority websites is to offer an exclusive discount or deal that can be promoted on those sites. This is a win-win situation; the website gets to promote a great offer to its audience, and you get a link back to your website. To make this work, reach out to websites in your industry and pitch them your exclusive offer. Be sure to stress how it will benefit their audience and why it’s worth promoting on their site. Not sure how to reach out to website owners in your niche? We’ve got you.

2. Build relationships with bloggers in your niche

One of the best ways to reach consumers on Black Friday is through blogger marketing. Identify a few popular bloggers in your niche and reach out to them about partnering on a Black Friday promotion. Offer them a percentage of sales or a flat fee in exchange for promoting your products or services on their blog and social media channels. Be sure to set clear expectations about what you expect from them in terms of deliverables.

3. Run competitions and giveaways via social media

In addition to blogger marketing, consider running a contest or giveaway on social media. This is a great way to generate buzz and excitement around your brand. To sweeten the pot, offer a grand prize that’s irresistible (think: free products, gift cards, or a trip). Be sure to promote your contest across all of your channels and use relevant hashtags so that people can easily find and enter your contest. We like Rafflecopter for this.

4. Sponsor a charitable Black Friday event

Another great way to get links during the holiday season is to sponsor a charitable event. This could be anything from a food drive to a toy drive to a coat drive or even a local litter pick. Whatever type of event you choose, make sure it’s something that aligns with your brand and that you’re passionate about. Then, reach out to local news outlets and pitch them the story of your event. Most publications are always looking for feel-good stories during the holidays, so there’s a good chance they’ll be interested in featuring your event on their website. And of course, don’t forget to include a link back to your website!

5. Email list

Finally, don’t forget about email marketing! Send out a couple of email blasts leading up to Black Friday with deals and discounts that your subscribers can take advantage of. Make sure to segment your list so that you’re only sending relevant information to people who actually want it. No one likes getting bombarded with emails, so be mindful of how often you’re sending messages. A few times leading up to the big day should suffice.

6. Host a Black Friday sale on your own website

Last but not least, don’t forget about promoting your own Black Friday sale on your website! This is a great way to increase traffic (and sales) during the holiday season. To really make an impact, create a dedicated landing page for your sale and promote it across all of your channels – social media, email marketing, etc. – leading up to the big day. And don’t forget to reach out to any influencers or bloggers who might be interested in promoting your sale as well!

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to score high-quality links this Black Friday. By getting creative and thinking outside the box, you can make sure your link-building campaigns are successful – and generate some sales for your business in the process!

Are you ready?

Black Friday is a great opportunity to boost sales and grow your business. By implementing some well-planned marketing tactics, you can ensure that your Black Friday campaign is successful. Influencer marketing, social media contests, and email blasts are all great ways to reach consumers and promote your deals. So start planning today and get ready for a successful Black Friday! Need help building your campaigns and get started? We’re here to help you, just reach out.

The post Black Friday link-building ideas you can’t afford to miss appeared first on Get Blogged .

You’ve got the knowledge, you’re confident that you can deliver the rankings that so many business owners desperately desire, and your venture seems like the perfect opportunity for achieving professional fulfilment and financial success.

The leads start coming in, you’re securing your first contracts, and you’re busy getting down in the trenches with delivering those first-page rankings.

But inevitably, there are challenges ahead. There are bumps in the road, minor disappointments, and problems that will sometimes seem unsurmountable to contend with. Knowing what these are likely to be – and knowing how to deal with them – is key to coming out stronger on the other side.

With years of experience working closely with fast-growing, gutsy, and determined SEO agencies, we know first-hand what these growing pains often look like – and more importantly, we know the solutions.

Whether these are battles that you’re up against right now, or ones that you’re anticipating in the future, we’re going to share our actionable advice for pushing through and creating a more powerful, profitable, and efficient agency…

1. Blogger outreach and link building becomes a massive time drain

It’s only when you’ve worked hands-on in blogger outreach and link building that you realise how time-consuming and laborious it can really be.

From identifying suitable sites to conducting email campaigns and negotiations to creating the content, to handling all the admin and getting everyone paid on time, this essential part of SEO can quickly spiral into more than a full-time job for even the most efficient of teams.

Doing all of this in-house presents a wide range of problems for growing agencies, from recruiting and upskilling the right talent to consistently meeting your link building quotas with a small team.

The solution: Outsourcing these elements of your SEO practices will give you the flexibility you need to thrive and ensure that your in-house team can work on a high-level strategy and remain accountable to clients.

With this scalable approach, you won’t have to worry about additional recruitment or offering long term, permanent employee contracts when you’re not convinced that you’re ready.

Here at Get Blogged, we have no minimum order value for our self-service blogger outreach platform, and you’re never tied into a lengthy contract. You can work with as many or as few bloggers as you need each month, making Get Blogged the savvy choice for small agencies with big ambitions.

2. It’s tough to find experienced SEO talent in many localities

The history of SEO can be traced back to the mid-1990s, but it’s still a relatively new profession and a niche discipline.

Research by Interquest Group in 2020 found that there are currently 6542 SEO professionals operating in the UK, and 30% of them have changed jobs within the past year.

A rather small talent pool and relatively low long-term job retention within the industry means that recruiting and retaining the right people, especially in smaller towns and cities, can be a real problem for SEO agencies.

The solution: If our time in lockdown has taught us anything about the world of work, it’s that more of us can effectively work from home, and there’s less and less need for daily face-to-face contact between teams.

Though you’d imagine that the digital marketing industry would be aware of this more than any, it’s evident that there’s still often a bums-on-seats mentality that convinces agency owners to believe they need flashy offices and inflexible 9-5 contracts.

From Zoom to Slack, there are plenty of solutions to manage workforces remotely. Leaning into this way of working is likely to save you a considerable chunk of cash, as well as allow your agency to tap into a worldwide talent pool.

3. Your clients expect the world and are disappointed when you can’t deliver

Anyone who’s worked in SEO for longer than five minutes knows that it’s never a quick fix. It’s a long-term strategy that requires testing, tweaking, and most importantly, patience.

If you’re onboarding clients who are expecting millions of pounds in sales overnight, you’re setting yourself up for big problems.

The solution: It’s easy to blame clients for unrealistic expectations and a lack of understanding about how SEO really works, but it’s important to recognise that your communication from the offset will set the tone of the relationship, and it’s your job to manage their expectations.

If this is becoming a problem in your agency, take a step back and look at your lead generation and sales processes. Have you educated your clients on what they’re really buying, and what they can expect from you? Do they understand the agreed deliverables, and what do they really mean? Does your sales team understand what they’re selling, and how it actually works?

Of course, you want your marketing to be compelling and showcase what you’re capable of, but there’s a careful balance that needs to be struck.

4. A Google update wipes out your clients’ rankings overnight

A Google update can strike fear into the hearts of even the most competent and experienced SEO professionals, and it’s inevitable that at some point in your career, an update will come along that appears to have a devastating impact on particular clients.

If not managed effectively, an incident like this could cause irreparable damage to the relationship you have with your client and may spark the end of your time working together.

The solution: Communication is key here.

In cases when you know in advance that an update is coming, let your clients know what they should expect, and what your plans are to mitigate any problems.

In the case of unexpected updates, the same applies. Communicate what you know, and assure the client that you’re putting plans in place.

Google updates and their consequences will impact all SEO agencies, but when handled correctly, they don’t have to signal big issues with your client relationships.

5. You’re experiencing friction with your clients’ in-house marketing teams

When you’re working with a client that already employs marketing professionals, there’ll sometimes be some understandable wariness from the team.

They might be concerned that you’re going to add a whole load of extra work to their schedules, or they might be fearful that your role could impact their job security.

If left ignored, this kind of issue can make your job much harder than it needs to be, and it’s not conclusive to delivering great results.

The solution: This is another relationship that requires some careful management.

If you want to get the team on your side (which of course, you do), then consider how you can help these employees to look good in the eyes of their bosses. If possible, encourage them to take ownership of a project that has a direct business impact.

Again, communication is really key here. Keeping everyone in the loop and making it clear that you’re all working towards a common goal will go a long way towards assuaging their fears and doubts.

6. Your clients are leaving to go elsewhere

The reality here is that clients will sometimes leave. There’s not a single agency out there that will manage to retain every single client they ever have, regardless of the quality of their work.

It is important to recognise though that keeping a client is often much easier (and indeed much cheaper) than finding a new one, and if you don’t have a client retention strategy in place, it’s probably time to consider creating one.

The solution: When clients are heading off to pastures new more often than you’d like, you need to ask yourself some difficult questions. Here are a few that are worthy of your consideration:

• Are you regularly welcoming feedback from your clients? And most importantly, are you using it to make positive changes where possible, or are you treating it as more of a box-ticking exercise?
• Are you effectively managing your client’s expectations?
• Is your reporting process really giving clients what they want and need?
• Are you quick to resolve issues when they arise?
• When a client leaves, are you finding out the real reasons why? You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know why it exists
• Are you showing your clients that they’re appreciated?
• Are you regularly and genuinely seeking to improve the client experience, at every step of their journey?
• Are you rewarding their loyalty? If not, how could you do this in the future?

The answers to these questions may create quite a lengthy to-do list for your agency, though the work will often have an extremely positive return on investment when you get this right.

7. You don’t have the capacity to take on any more clients, but you’re still receiving leads and enquiries

This one may well be a good problem to have, but it can be hugely frustrating for agency owners when you’re receiving interest in your services that you just don’t have the capacity to fulfil.

The solution: Again here, outsourcing is your friend.

Having external providers take care of tasks such as content creation and link building will allow your core team to focus on strategy and managing client relationships.

8. Your clients don’t fully understand what you’ve delivered for them this month

Regular and meaningful reporting is essential for gaining and maintaining the trust of your clients.

Do remember though that their understanding of SEO and its terminology is different to yours. They’re outsourcing it for a reason, and it can be all too easy to cause unnecessary confusion by bombarding them with industry lingo and data that they don’t understand.

The solution: What your reporting process will look like will largely be linked to the other systems that you have in place in your SEO agency, but remember that your reports should be designed in a way that makes sense to your clients, that allows them to see progress against key agreed deliverables, and ensures that they’re informed and satisfied.

Strong reporting can play a big part in retaining your clients and keeping them happy, so it should never be a last-minute thought at the end of the month. Ideally, there’ll be a team member with dedicated responsibility for managing and delivering the reports for particular clients.

9. Your expenses are spiralling out of control

Savvy SEO agency owners know that revenue and sales are only one part of the story. If your expenses are spiralling, it’ll be tough to remain profitable.

Of course, some expenses are essential. There’ll be software and tools that are necessary to carry out the job, you have to pay your talent, and oftentimes there are day-to-day running costs of office space.

The solution: For maximum profitability, it’s useful to take a step back and consider whether your ways of working could be optimised.

Do you really need an office that everyone physically attends five days a week, or could you better leverage online systems to allow your staff to work from anywhere in the world?

Would outsourcing provide you with a better return on investment than growing your core team?

10. You’re repeatedly being asked to take care of additional projects, like social media management

When clients want to give you more money for taking on more tasks, it can be hard to turn that down.

You might be inclined to think that it’s a natural progression that will facilitate growth, or you might reason that you could always outsource it if you don’t have the knowledge or expertise in-house.

That is indeed the route that many agencies will take, and of course, sometimes it’s a positive outcome.

But widening your scope isn’t always the road to sustainable growth, and there are associated problems that need to be considered. These can include overpromising and underdelivering, risking your reputation, and ultimately biting off more than you can chew.

The solution: Take the time to really consider where you see your agency going from a strategic point of view, and carefully assess whether your day-to-day decisions are aligned with that.

Do you see your agency growing into a full-service digital marketing company? Or do you want to be known as a more niche, focused solution?

There aren’t right or wrong answers here, but these are considerations that you’ll have to make as you grow.

Growing pains are often unavoidable as you build your agency, but recognising the ones that you’re likely to experience, and having a plan in place to mitigate them, goes a long way towards ensuring they don’t scupper your growth.

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The post 10 Growing Pains That Ambitious SEO Agencies Experience (With Solutions) appeared first on Get Blogged .

So what exactly is testimonial link building?

All brands and businesses want to see customers raving about their products and services.

Social proof is a huge element of successful marketing, so they’re delighted to receive real accounts from real people who heartily recommend what they have to offer.

By providing testimonials for products and services that you use and love, you can get your blurb featured on their websites, complete with a link back to your own site.

Simple, right?

But also massively effective.

This is a win-win scenario for you and the business in question, and an added benefit here is that you can also build some powerful relationships with other players in your niche.

Sounds great. How do I do it?

I’ve broken the exact process down into four steps, and I’ve also crafted a template you can use for when you’re doing your outreach.

Step 1: Identify your potential targets

As I’ve mentioned, you want to be targeting products and services that you’re more than happy to vouch for.

Your own reputation is on the line if you’re seen to be in cahoots with businesses that provide shoddy offerings, so keep that in mind whilst you’re doing your planning.

Brainstorm a big list of potential targets, then check to make sure they meet the additional criteria:

• Is the business relevant to your own niche?
• Is the business already displaying testimonials on their site?
• Do the testimonials include a backlink?

Ticking these boxes ensure that your link is relevant and that you’re not wasting any unnecessary time.

Your prospect list is going to look wildly different depending on what niche you operate in, but let’s suppose for example that you’re in the internet marketing space.

Your list could include theme creators, hosting providers, social media scheduling software, email marketing software, graphic design tools, SEO agencies, website developers, and so on.

Once you get your thinking cap on, you’re likely to have a sizeable pool of possibilities.

Step 2: Establish who you need to contact

You want to make sure that you’re reaching out to the right person, so your pitch email (which we’ll come to in a minute) is more likely to be read and actioned.

Here, the answer is largely going to depend on the kind of business that we’re looking at.

If it’s a one-man band or micro business that you’ve worked with in the past, you probably already know who to contact.

Larger organisations might even have a dedicated page on their site for submitting testimonials.

If you’re unsure, reach out via social media or through the contact page. Ideally, you want to get a hold of a name so you can make your email a little more personal.

Step 3: Pitch the idea of a testimonial

We’re all about saving time here where we can, so we aren’t going to just fire over a testimonial before we know they’re keen and they give us the go-ahead.

Keep it short and simple, and cut out any waffle.

This template here can be used to create your own effective pitch by just filling in the blanks:

Hi [name],

I’m [your name] and I own [your website/business].

I’ve been using [their product/service] recently to help me with [a problem you had], and I’m really impressed with the results it’s helped me to achieve!

Would you like me to put together a testimonial about [the product/service]? I’d love to help you to spread the word further, and I’d be delighted to provide you with a testimonial for you to use on your website.

Thanks, and I’ll look forward to hearing from you!

[your name]

Step 4: Write an awesome testimonial

There’s a good and a bad way to write a testimonial.

If you’re submitting something like ‘this service is great! I recommend it to all my friends!’ then there’s a strong chance they’re never publishing it.

Remember that the purpose of a testimonial is to persuade a potential buyer that this thing is worth their money.

A really great way to do this is to identify a potential objection that a prospect would have (and one that you also had before you bought), and bust it.

So for example, maybe you bought a WordPress theme but you were worried that you didn’t have the technical know-how to install it.

Your testimonial could be “I bought xyz when I was brand new to blogging, and I really worried that I wouldn’t be able to work out how to use all the amazing features. I was super impressed to discover that the set-up was amazingly simple, and I could do it myself in just 5 minutes.”

(Bonus points if you can also reference an additional element, such as great support, or if you’re happy to include a video testimonial).

Final thoughts on testimonial link building

So that is pretty much that for the testimonial link building method.

It’s often much faster than writing a guest post, and the link juice potential is often much higher.

Of course, a really good linking building strategy will involve a variety of methods, and it’s highly likely that to achieve the very best rankings, you’ll need to use this in conjunction with additional tactics. But this one’s a great tool to have in your kit when you’re planning your approach.

The post Testimonial Link Building: A Neglected But Powerful Strategy! appeared first on Get Blogged .

Let us begin with the most used question in our industry…

“How Many Backlinks Do I Need To Rank My Website?”

There’s no definite answer to this question, sorry! We wish there was!

Some websites can increase their search engine rankings with just a few backlinks. However, this practice can potentially hurt the site’s ability to draw adequate traffic because you’d be ranking with low volume search terms.

Add Backlinks Carefully…

Very generally speaking, a small business can rank on the first page of search engines for around 5 terms of average competition with around 50 backlinks. 

That said, it doesn’t mean stuffing your site with numerous backlinks; you need to add them carefully to avoid attracting penalties.

Play The Long Game…

Consistency is key with building links, and it’s advisable not to set a target number of backlinks or a deadline to achieve them by.

Link Building Is An Ongoing Process…

Link building should be an ongoing process, something you work on every single month to ensure a consistent level of high-quality backlinks are being added.

But, you need to cover the basics first:

Optimise Your Website Before You Add Backlinks

A well-optimised site needs fewer backlinks than a poorly optimised one.

Poorly optimised sites tend to dilute and reduce the relevance of a high-quality backlink.

As such, the first step is to ensure your website is well-optimised for ranking before adding backlinks.

Here are a few ways to optimise your site, and you can check this article for more:

• Eliminate unnecessary outbound links
• Add internal links to the most important pages
• Ensure the most important pages as easily accessible, e.g., one or two clicks away
• Eliminate broken links
• Merge or remove pages that do not have useful content

Eye Up Your Competition

Count the number of backlinks your competitors have got for specific keywords.

Only count your rival’s pages displayed in Google’s first 10 search result pages; not the total number of backlinks the rival site has.

Pages with lots of backlinks, and those with the least number of links shouldn’t be included.

Divide the total by 8 to get a rough estimate of the number of backlinks your competitors are using.

This calculation doesn’t account for quality, but this is an estimated amount of backlinks that you should be aiming to add to rank your pages in similar positions to your competitors.

The Quality Of Backlinks

Focus on the quality of the link; not quantity.

It’s understood that one high-quality backlink is often worth hundreds of low-quality backlinks.

The links shouldn’t be few; the key is in finding the perfect balance between the number of backlinks you want to use and their quality.

How Can You Tell If A Link Is Of High Quality?

To ascertain whether you’re adding a high-quality backlink, you should be aiming to tick off AT LEAST HALF of these factors with each link you add:

1. Is the link from a trusted source? Check spam score and trust flow metrics with sites like Moz and Ahrefs.
2. Does the site attract significant traffic? Check traffic levels with sites like SEMrush.
3. Is the link from a relevant site? Is the site within a similar niche or industry?It is not been acquired easily.
4. Was the link hard to acquire? Build relationships and avoid free links on spam sites.
5. Is the link not a reciprocal link? Reciprocal links violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, so use sparingly.
6. Is the link naturally witin the content? Make sure your link location makes sense and benefits the reader.
7. Is the link on a page with page rank? There is a lot of value placed on links on pages that are already ranking.
8. Is brand anchor text being used? The occasional link with your brand name is good.
9. Are Exact keyword match anchors used? Link anchor text that exactly matches your target keyword occasionally.
10. Are there other authority links? It’s good to be on a page with other high authority site links.
11. Is it a different site to your other links? It’s good to earn backlinks from different sites.
12. Is the link on a site with da50+? The higher the Domain Authority, the higher the backline value.

Free Guide

Feel free to save the graphic below to use as a guide when you’re planning your link building strategy.

Just these few points should help you determine the number of backlinks your site needs, and will set you on your way to achieving a solid link building strategy.

Remember, it’s not about the number of links you add to the site but the quality, and the graphic above will help you understand what factors make a quality backlink.

Competitor analysis for specific keywords will help you ascertain how to compete for rankings amongst your peers and competition, and don’t forget to optimise your site for ranking.

No Time To Link Build Properly? Get Great Links Without The Effort

That’s Where Get Blogged Comes In…

We know link building is the culmination of several skills.

You need to master content, sales, programming, psychology, and good old-fashioned marketing if you want other people to link to your site.

At Get Blogged, we handle content creation, outreach, link placement and reporting, whilst you enjoy the results of our link building services. Sound good?

Register now and take a look at our services; they’re probably more affordable than you think, and there is no minimum order size.

The post How Many Backlinks Do I Need To Rank My Website? appeared first on Get Blogged .

Though there’s no shortage of sites out there for you to work with, not all are built equally, and if you don’t have some solid quality control processes and an understanding of what makes a site a strong choice, you can run into all kinds of problems further down the line.

Of course, you’ll have your chosen data metrics to look at.

One of the most popular is Moz’s Domain Authority (DA), and that’s certainly a good starting point when it comes to cherry-picking the sites that will give you the best link juice.

For the absolute best return on investment though, you need to be diving a little deeper than this.

The Get Blogged self-service blogger outreach platform provides the metrics and data you need to carefully vet all of our bloggers’ sites before you select them for a content placement or collaboration. This is so you can ensure that the links you gain are of the highest possible quality.

You’ll find no PBNs, link farms, or dodgy dealings around these parts. We work with only genuine bloggers, with a real passion and zest for their subject and who are committed to creating only the very best content.

So it goes without saying that our site selection factors go beyond just looking at DA.

Today, I’m going to walk you through a selection of the checks that we make when we’re pinpointing the best bloggers for our clients’ projects, and why they should be part of your own selection process when you’re embarking on a link building project with our self-service blogger outreach platform.

It’s worth noting here before we jump in, that almost all of these points have caveats. On their own, they’re not necessarily a sign that you should ditch a prospective website completely and avoid it all costs.

But they do build up a bigger picture of a site’s quality as a whole, and if you’re seeing issues in 3-4 of the covered areas, you should certainly pause and consider looking elsewhere.

Let’s dive in…

1. The URL doesn’t make sense or isn’t relevant to the niche

Websites can have weird, whacky, and wonderful names, and you’ll come across all kinds of different URLs when you’re doing blogger outreach.

Sometimes though, if they’re completely nonsensical or appear to have no relevancy to the nature of the content, it could be an indicator that the site is built on a repurposed domain that was previously used for something completely different.

The main issue here is that at first glance, you’ve got no idea what the domain was previously used for. It could have been part of a bad neighbourhood, stuffed with spammy content, or engaged in black-hat SEO tactics which could ultimately cause you problems in the future.

For a snapshot of the former life of a domain, try out archive.org.

2. There’s huge discrepancies in metrics from different tools

Different metrics tools use different algorithms to assess sites, so there are always going to be some discrepancies from one to another.

It’s when the data is wildly different though that it could be a sign that there’s been some manipulation at play, and there are deeper issues going on beneath the surface.

This is one of the reasons why we use API data from across various providers to cross-reference our quality checks.

3. The site is crammed full of Adsense/PPC ads

Running ads is a totally legitimate and acceptable monetisation strategy, but if you find that there’s more ads than content, or they completely dominate the site at the cost of user experience, exercise caution.

4. The images are all obvious stock photos

This one is largely dependent on the niche. In some subject areas, such as business or marketing, stock photos are the accepted norm.

In some more creative niches though, the best bloggers will take their own photography, and indeed this can be one of the sites’ best selling points when it comes to collaborating with brands.

A successful partnership with such a site could result not just in a link placement, but in some high-quality marketing collateral that you can go on to use for brand awareness across your own platforms.

Take a common-sense approach with this one, but as a side note, do think outside of the box when it comes to what you can achieve from your link building campaigns. When done creatively, you can achieve way more than just link juice.

5. There are no associated social media profiles

The best sites, with high-quality content and a loyal readership, will almost always have a social media presence.

If your prospective site appears to have zero presence, it could be a sign that it was created purely for making a fast buck from selling links, and that it’s not a site that’s going to be loved and nurtured in the longer term.

6. There’s no real information on the contact page

A good contact page will usually include an email address, and sometimes even a phone number too.

If you can only find a contact form and no associated text, it could be a sign that the site isn’t as high quality as you might initially assume.

7. Every single post appears to be sponsored content

Again, this could be an indicator that a site exists purely for selling content placements.

A quality site will have a varied selection of posts, including those created by the author purely for the enjoyment of their reader.

8. The site covers an extremely wide range of niches and topics

There are plenty of highly covetable sites out there that dive into a variety of different subjects and do it really well.

A women’s lifestyle site, for example, might conceivably cover topics such as fashion, beauty, career, personal finance, travel, and more.

Similarly, many bloggers will start our writing in a specific niche, then once they’ve gained traction and success, they’ll be eager to start covering additional subjects that interest them. That’s completely normal and to be expected.

But when a site’s content is so vastly varied that it doesn’t make a great deal of sense for any reader who might land on it, this should be a red flag.

If the site you have your eye on has recently covered what to wear on a first date, how to groom a chihuahua, loan options for getting a new car, and a roundup of the best casinos to visit in London, then it’s probably worth asking yourself a few questions.

You get the picture. As is the case with most things, a bit of common sense goes a long way.

9. There are tons of irrelevant sidebar and footer links

This is an old-school link building tactic and is considered to be hugely spammy these days.

Ultimately, things like this will ruin the user experience, and that’s a pretty good rule of thumb to apply when you’re looking for problematic sites.

10. There are mentions of it being a ‘directory’ or accepting ‘article submissions’

Again, this is an old-school link building tactic that may have served you well a decade ago but should be avoided today.

A site that states they accept this kind of content is quite likely to not be particularly discerning with the work they publish, so you may want to avoid being associated.

Think of it like this… If something seems a little too good to be true, it probably is!

11. There’s no privacy policy page

The vast majority of websites require a privacy policy page, and there are very few exceptions to this.

Not only can it serve to give readers confidence in terms of how their data is handled and stored, but it can also ensure that you’re fulfilling various legal obligations.

If you can’t find this page on a site, it’s another sign that it should probably be avoided.

12. Your gut feeling tells you that this isn’t a quality, legitimate site

Is this a site that you’d return to simply for pleasure?

Does it appear to be well-loved and nurtured?

Do you get the impression that the owner takes pride in their work, and seeks to make it the best it can possibly be?

The more involved you get in link building and the longer you regularly visit sites with this in mind, the better your senses for this kind of thing will become.

The gut feeling might be a little harder to quantify than some of the other quality checks, but it’s definitely something that shouldn’t be overlooked!

Want to save this post so you can come back to it later? Pin the image below on Pinterest.

The post 12 Red Flags To Beware Of When Selecting Sites For Link Building appeared first on Get Blogged .

• Link Bait
• Ego Bait
• Broken Links
• Copyrighted Material
• Newsjacking
• Guest Blogging

• Infographics
• Content Syndication
• Repurpose Your Content
• Local Citations
• Blog Commenting
• Social Media Links
• Collaborate With Bloggers & Influencers

The SEO landscape is constantly evolving, especially when it comes to link building; thus building high quality links has never been more important.

You need to know how to come up with a great link building campaign that will stand up against your competition. The link building methods that follow will get you well on your way to gaining high-quality backlinks.

Firstly, Have You Got These Essential Skills For The Following Link Building Methods?

Mastering link building campaigns is arguably one of SEO’s toughest tasks.

The art of gaining backlinks involves being able to master several skills.

In the very least, you need to be analytical and logical to plan the strategy and nail competitor analysis.

To outreach and network, you require outstanding communication skills.

Outreach is a vital and sometimes a very tough process to get right in building link campaigns

We’ve set out some proven link building methods below, and will show you how to get the best results.

1. Earn Your Backlinks With Link Bait

Of all the link building methods, this is a broad technique. It involves the creation of high quality content that has the capacity to attract people’s attention and make them want to link to it.

The high quality resource that you’re creating in the Link Bait link building methods is what is used as your ‘Bait’.

The idea is that the audience will gain amazing value from your thorough research and unique data that people will want to reference it organically in their own work.

Link Bait is also usually presented in an eye-catching way.

How do you create Link Bait?

You first need to identify your niche idea. Have you got any outstanding ideas that are link-worthy?

Does your content offer up a new angle? Does it offer new research or new data in your niche that people are going to want to link to?

If your Link Bait idea doesn’t shout “link to me” you need to start thinking what you can add to offer Bloggers and website owners that they just have to link to.

What are your competitors doing?

Take a look at your competitors to see if they’ve created any highly linked content to get the ball rolling.

If you’ve got an idea for some content, you need to work out if it’s going to get linked to and by who.

When it comes to the Link Bait link building methods, the term used is ‘earned’ and not ‘built’ links. People should be naturally linking to your site because of your awesome content.

Even so, you will still need to get your Link Bait content out there so people know it exists. You will have to either do this manually or using a paid promotion.

2. Flattery Will Get You Everywhere With Ego Bait As One Of Your Link Building Methods

The art of Ego Bait involves creating content that revolves around a person’s achievements or work.

With a mix of psychology and marketing these link building methods can produce some pretty great results. Everyone loves being recognised for their work, an ego boost is never shied away from.

This type of content takes a much more targeted approach than other link building practices.

This is a strategy where the thought of building the links should come second. You’re not trying to catch as many links as possible from a wider audience.

You want the influencers or websites that are mentioned in the content to link back to you. Make the focus all on them.

Reciprocity is key here, you’re creating positive content around someone/a website and hoping that they return the favour with a link back to it.

How do you create successful Ego Bait?

You need to consider who you are trying to target; it needs to be personal and focussed like the following Ego Bait link building methods:

Interviews

One on one personal interviews are one of the best ways to get influencers and experts to link back to their content.

It is entirely about them, and an in-depth resource that talks about them positively; typically raving about them and their achievements. There should be no reason that they wouldn’t want to talk about it, it’s mutually beneficial.

Taking the time to conduct such an interview and be so interested in them and their work really allows you to build a relationship with that person.

This relationship naturally encourages them to link back to your interview on their social media at least.

Interviews are relatively quick to produce, too, there is minimal research because your subject is giving you all of the answers and content, you just need to put it together.

Round-up posts

Similar to an interview, this type of content allows you to feature multiple experts or influencers and share their voice with your audience.

As you get to link to multiple people within just one piece of content you can hope that you will get at least more than one mention or link from a single piece of content.

To create a resourceful round-up you need to think of an idea that is beneficial to your audience.

If you’re an interior decorator could you write about loft conversions and reach out to some expert tradesmen that can provide their top tips for a “10 Tips from the Experts for Converting Your Loft” post.

Once you’ve posted your article let the experts know about it!

Listicles

These are easy to compile, and they cast a wide net.

Typically, listicles feature the best of a particular niche and honour those included for being at the top.

Don’t just simply list everyone you want to target in a post, make the content thoughtful and resourceful; you still want to stroke their ego to encourage them to reciprocate a link.

Talk about why they are mentioned in your list.

Make sure it is still relevant to your niche, if you’re featuring the top beauty influencers but you’re an insurance company why would they want to link back to you?

It isn’t in their interest to direct their audience to an irrelevant source of information.

Again, make sure you let them know they’re included in the list, if they don’t know they’re in your listicle how do they know to share it.

3. Broken Link Building Ain’t Broken Yet

While some people are putting down their broken link building hats, we still think that it is a valid way of building some great links.

It involves finding links to resources that are within your niche that are no longer live and accessible.

Broken links are frustrating for the reader, and they’re bad for SEO. So contacting webmasters with a fresh new piece of content that replaces this broken link is doing them a favour right?

You’re helping them out and offering them an easy solution to provide value to their reader and improving their SEO at the same time.

Where do you start when it comes to broken link building?

Prospecting.

This requires a little bit of time, software and know-how.

You’ll need to find all of the broken links to your site first, you can use the Ahrefs database for this.

Take a look at your backlink profile and view the broken links you have on your own site.

Not only do you want to fix these because having broken links is bad for SEO, you want to stop others from using broken link building against you.

This is called link reclamation.

Next, you want to take a look at the broken links of your competitors.

Start by compiling those of just one. Here you have all of your opportunities right in front of you.

As you’re a competitor, the chances are that you already have similar content that you can offer up to be linked to to fix that broken link.

If you don’t, consider creating some resourceful content that will help you to offer to fix that broken link and most likely many others that you come across.

4. Crack Down On Unaccredited Use Of Copyrighted Material

Finding out that someone has used your image, graphic or other visual material without accrediting you isn’t great.

If you find one, how many others are out there using your content without linking to you?

This is a great method of link building if you create images, graphics and materials that are copyrighted.

If it is copyrighted, then credit is absolutely necessary

You can force webmasters to properly credit the copyrighted material with a link to the original source (your website!).

So now you just need to go out there and find out who is using your material unaccredited.

Google’s reverse image search is a great tool for doing this.

All you need to do is go to the image search engine on Google, click on the little camera at the end of the search bar and then input the URL of the image you want to find copies of on the internet.

Alternatively, you can also upload the image if you wish.

5. Get Your Opinions Heard With Newsjacking

Newsjacking was a term coined by David Meerman Scott in his book with the same name.

He said “Newsjacking is the art and science of injecting your ideas into a breaking news story so you and your ideas get noticed.”

So in other words, it means talking about and publishing current affairs and breaking news on your own site, but talking about yourself in that article at the same time in relevance to the news you’re posting about.

With Newsjacking, timing is everything

You need to have your finger on the pulse.

When it comes to current affairs and trends, it could last weeks or just a few hours, you never know.

The most ideal time to start reporting is when the news breaks, as soon as there are any details or hints of a story.

You want to try and be one of the first, to be visible you need to strike when the saturation of the news is low.

However, it isn’t always possible to talk and post about the news as soon as it happens.

You should still post about the event as soon as possible, but try and add some new insight that people aren’t talking, too. This is to boost your relevance and visibility above all of the others who are also talking about this news.

If it’s old news, your Newsjacking window has passed.

It isn’t worth spending your time on a story no one is talking about anymore, get ready for the next hot piece of news to come along.

If your Newsjacking was successful you will have got your piece of content out there at the right time.

With searches for keywords related to the story peaking in Google and sites like Twitter when the story is first broken, your content should be able to grab everyone’s attention while they’re searching for the details.

How do you find news to Newsjack in the first place?

Google Trends is a great tool to monitor current trends and stories.

Following Journalists in your industry will give you first access to the most relevant news for you.

Also, keep an eye on trending topics on Twitter. Sometimes though it is just down to luck and being in the right place at the right time.

Once you’ve found your news, get it out there!

Write and publish your piece as soon as you can.

Promote it on Twitter using the hashtags that everyone is using to cover the story.

You can even contact journalists who you think might be interested in your story, so they can talk about and share it.

6. Become An Expert In Your Field With Guest Blogging

The original link building method.

It may be an old method, but it is an essential in your link building arsenal.

Effective for building links to your site, as well as boosting your referral traffic.

Guest blogging is a strategy where you become a Guest Blogger… the hint is in the name!

It involves creating content for third party websites where you will most likely be allowed link backs to your own site in your author bio as credit.

As you progress in your guest blogging journey, you can eventually transform into an authority in your field.

People might even start referring to you as the expert and start linking to you. This is something that takes a lot of time, so be prepared to invest many hours.

Where to start with Guest Blogging As One Of Your Link Building Methods

The first thing you should do is to start compiling a list or database of sites within your niche that you can offer to guest blog for.

There are a number of ways to do this:

Google search strings

Try “keyword” + “write for us” first to pick up the easy finds. Other strings include Your Keyword “guest post opportunities”, Your Keyword “become a contributor” and Your Keyword “become a guest blogger” just to mention a few.

This might also return results that include websites publishing lists of sites that are allowing guest posts in that niche.

Google reverse image search

Find someone that writes in your niche and look at a post that they’ve written. Do they have an author bio with a headshot? Reverse image search their headshot! Chances are they’ve used the exact same image for all their author bios and guest posts.

Twitter

Use a search string using your keyword followed by ‘guest post’ or another similar search string. This should return results with websites and writers promoting the guest posts that they’ve published in that niche and where.

Competitor research

Take a look at the backlinks profile of your competitors and see if there are any websites that they’ve posted on that you can guest post on too.

Next it’s time to decide what you’re going to offer to write about

Not only do you need a solid idea, you need several solid ideas.

Your one idea isn’t going to be a fit for everyone and every website that you contact.

You also can’t continue to rewrite the same article over and over, you need to continue to offer something new.

Think about what you would like to read about in your niche, what would intrigue and excite you? That’s the kind of content that you need to pitch.

Take your time to get acquainted with the sites and bloggers that you’re going to offer to guest blog for

What do they post about at the moment?

Consider getting involved in their content. Leave real comments on content that you love, maybe even share the content that got your attention the most. That way you may already be on their radar when you contact them.

Before you send your pitch, if the website has guest post guidelines make sure you read them.

Site owners really appreciate when you take the time to take notice of their guidelines.

The guidelines can also help you to tailor your pitch because you’ll have some insight as to what they expect from their guest bloggers.

Now it’s your time to shine with the pitch

Write your pitch as if you were writing it to yourself should you be an editor of a popular website or newspaper.

You receive tens if not hundreds of emails a day and you always have an endless to-do list. The last thing you’re going to take notice of is a generic guest post pitch.

Take your time, be informative, be personal and offer something that only you can give them.

Once you’ve had a pitch accepted, it’s time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keys).

You might want to alter your writing to the website you’re writing for.

Produce high quality content but think about your time wisely

For the big, popular sites out there you want to produce your very best content.

But, for the smaller sites, while you wish you could spend your week researching and producing a couple of thousand-word masterpiece, it isn’t cost-effective in terms of the link you’re gaining.

So your post is published, what’s next?

Be a responsible author and reply to any comments you get.

You want to maintain a good relationship with the publisher and it’s always great to create conversation.

Promote your post on social media, share your great content with your audience, it may get some social traction too.

7. To Infographic, Or Not To Infographic?

Creating infographics as a link building strategy is lessening in popularity. That said, it’s is still an option to consider if you’ve tried every other avenue.

It is harder to get results from infographics now compared to when they were having their heyday.

Anyone can make a simple infographic.

All you have to do is open up Canva where you can create a lovely looking infographic in no time, and for free.

But it’s overused and people are getting lazy with it.

This laissez-faire approach to using infographics as a link building method no longer cuts it in the publishing world.

To get noticed, you need to create something noticeable!

You need to produce something that no one else is.

Look at what everyone else is doing and try to think about doing the opposite.

No simple flow charts with cute little illustrations.

Think beautiful interactive maps, viral games, or a useful tool that’s going to impact and make someone’s life easier. Like a type of calculator for something that you didn’t know that you needed!

You’re going to need a lot of brain power for this one, start thinking way outside the box.

8. Consider Syndicating Your Content As One Of Your Link Building Methods

Some SEO experts think that this method should be ditched. If you keep your finger on the SEO pulse you’ll know that this is still a very viable method.

Experts believed that content syndication was a bad idea and would equal getting hit with a Google penalty.

We disagree, as does Larry Kim:

“Google won’t penalize you for syndicating content. At worst, any duplicate versions of your article might be filtered out of the search results.”

If you create amazing resourceful content you’ll hope that, naturally, your content will get shared and linked to

With the best writing and stunning visuals there is no doubt that your content will get the eyes it deserves.

So if it’s that good, why not maximise its potential and push it out there to others yourself?

That’s where content syndication comes in; to make sure your content reaches as much of your target audience as possible.

Some of the biggest sites like The New York Times and CNN syndicate their content. They do this because they want a piece of the pie.

If a piece of content is going to bring in traffic and readers for them they’re going to want to take it.

So what are the benefits?

It allows you to reuse your amazing content.

You don’t have to spend time creating original content every single time you want to publish on a third party site.

This means it’s a more scalable version of guest posting, which typically requires unique content every time.

The rules of content syndication are simple

Make sure that the first time you publish your content it is on your site. That indexation of the content on your site is important.

Find the sites where you can syndicate your content. That could be through partnerships with a site with a slight increase in traffic than your own site. Another path would be through self-syndication on sites like LinkedIn and Medium.

For the technical part, ensure that the site syndicating your content adds a canonical link to your original content. It’s important for SEO.

9. Repurpose Your Content

So you’re already creating amazing content, but are you making the most of it?

Being the creator of some great evergreen content is all well and good, but you could do so much more with it than just letting it sit on your website blog.

While your content is great, it probably isn’t reaching everyone that it could.

Everyone likes to consume media and information in different forms. Restricting your content to one form on one platform is keeping it hidden from potential fresh eyes. AKA… customers!

Your content can be reformatted into eBooks, text statistics, visual maps, infographics, video and more.

What posts get the most traction can end up being entirely unexpected

One post you thought may have been very popular might have had a lot less interest than you thought and vice versa.

Your most popular blog posts are more likely to do even better repurposed into a different format.

What you thought was a great blog post may perform even better as a video or presentation. Maybe it’ll even go viral.

Find out what blog posts of yours have received the most page views over time in your Google Analytics account in the Behaviour section.

It’s also worth looking at what content got the most attention on social media too

We know that social media signals do have a small influence on search engine rankings, so why not capitalise on the most socially popular content too.

It could be another social media hit even if it’s the same content in a different format.

10. Let People Know Where You Are With Local Citations

The key to this one of the 13 link building methods is in the title – Local.

This one is for the businesses that have a “bricks and mortar” presence in their local community.

Local SEO refers to the practice of optimising your online presence to attract more business to your physical place of operation from relevant local searches.

So when someone is searching for something that you offer, you should show up in search results. You want to be shown on searches on Google, Bing, Apple maps, Yell and more.

Where to start with Local Citations

To start, you should claim your Google My Business listing if you haven’t done so already.

Get your Google My Business listing in good standing.

Fill out each and every section so you can provide as much information to Google as possible. This is so they can deliver you as a result for people looking for that information.

Google boasts an incredibly large share of the local SEO market. This is due to its general large presence as well as its Google Maps and ‘local pack’ search results integration.

If someone is using a location based word in their search query, whether that’s an actual place name or just ‘near me’, local search results will be triggered and drawn through to the top results (powered by Google My Business listings) into their local pack results which appear above the organic results.

That’s why local SEO is so important, especially on Google; local results are seen before the organic ones.

It’s important to rank in both the local pack results as well as the organic for double visibility

Your rankings in both sections relies on your onsite local SEO as well as your GMB listing.

Mobile friendliness now considered a ranking factor. The majority of visitors who are searching for local results come from mobile devices. Therefore, you need to make sure your website is mobile friendly.

When it comes to the implementation of local SEO on your website you need to make sure you’re making the most of it.

Include your location as well as your service when you’re considering keywords. You want to rank for that service in the area that you cover.

Getting listed in business directories and displaying full information in social profiles are also other examples of local citations.

These are what are referred to NAP citations (name, address and phone – it sometimes includes the addition of your website too).

NAP citations do act as a ranking signal. When you can get your website included too, it can add to your backlink profile.

You don’t want to go and just list your business anywhere

Relevant citations are where you’re going to get your traffic from.

List your business on popular and relevant websites and directories where people are going to actively search for your type of business.

Once you’ve created your citations, keeping them up to date and consistent is important.

Make sure you do a little housekeeping every now and then should your business information ever change.

11. Share Your Insights With Blog Commenting

Blog commenting is a great way to get your voice out there. It boosts your businesses visibility, while also building some good backlinks.

As with all of these link building methods, you do need to be cautious.

Leaving useful and thoughtful comments on other industry blogs will improve your SEO.

You’ll also gain more traffic to your site, as well as build your online reputation.

However, there are definite things you need to avoid doing so you don’t hinder yourself rather than help.

Comment as a real person

Leaving a spammy comment really benefits no one.

You’ll either get your comment removed or everyone will just ignore it.

Don’t register or leave a comment using your business name. Comment as yourself with your full name.

When leaving your topical and relevant comment, address the author.

It’s always great to start conversation and will boost your visibility in the comments.

Being personal and talking to the author directly will more than likely get you noticed and they’ll probably reply to your comment.

Blog commenting is all about getting yourself noticed while providing interesting, engaging commentary on topical blogs in your industry.

12. Add Social Media Links to The Mix

Have you heard us say that social media activity signals serves as a ranking factor yet?

Not only does it boost your SEO rankings, social traffic is just as important as other avenues of traffic to your website.

People discover so many new sites, businesses and services through social media every single day.

Filling out all of your business’s social media profiles and making sure they all include a link to your website is the first step.

If you post something and it doesn’t happen to have a link in it to your website they can at least click through to your profile and visit you from there.

Add a link to your website whenever it is relevant

You want to include it as much as possible, but if it just isn’t appropriate or seems spammy leave it out.

You still want to have a natural presence that your audience is going to relate to but always give them the opportunity to give your website a visit when you can.

13. Collaborate With Bloggers & Influencers

We hear everyone debating whether it’s better to work with Micro-Bloggers or more established bloggers all of the time.

When working with Bloggers was relatively new, everyone was attracted to only those with the best blog statistics and the most followers. The larger the numbers, the better and wider the exposure right?

Brands and Bloggers/Influencers have wised up to the true value of working with the right Influencers for the right content and the right campaign.

A Micro-Blogger’s impact can be mighty when it comes to link building

Commissioning sponsored posts and content placements on blogs is an excellent way to gain high quality backlinks.

Not only have Bloggers got vigorously engaged audiences, they have the ability to sell your products and services in an authentic way.

Working with Bloggers and Influencers doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Collaborating with Micro-Bloggers (those with around 10,000 followers across their platforms) is a very affordable link building method.

Have you read our article about why working with Bloggers and Influencers is essential for your business? There are some amazing benefits you may not have thought of, including the fact they have better engagement rates than celebs!

Planning your perfect link building methods takes time and patience. To save yourself some of the fuss and potential frustration, consider checking out the Get Blogged Blogger Outreach Services.

We allow you to retain full control of your link building campaigns; managing your own Blogger relationships closely, or you can let us handle the whole process for you with a fully managed experience.

Save this for later…

To conclude…

You know you need backlinks to help rank your site, so the 13 proven link building methods set out in this article should give you the push you need to get on with it.

Whichever of these affordable link building methods you choose for your website, the perfect opportunity to gain high quality backlinks is out there. You just have to find what works for you and your brand, and remain consistent.

Get started with Get Blogged.

The post Link Building Methods: 13 Affordable Ways To Get Backlinks appeared first on Get Blogged .

Unfortunately, many brands are still sceptical because they have not been able to measure the effectiveness, and understand the importance of collaborating with Bloggers and Influencers.

Influencer marketing is a worthwhile investment, and more and more brands are investing their money in it. It is a great option for businesses that want to improve their brand awareness, credibility, sales and reach.

This article talks about the many benefits of working with Bloggers and Influencers, and whay you should start including them in your marketing plans.

What’s An Influencer?

Influencers are those who have built a following on their blog and/or their social platforms such as Instagram and Youtube.

They are seen as a credible source of information, and they can affect purchasing decisions due to their authority, knowledge or relationship with their audience.

Bloggers and Influencers are not mere marketing tools. They are an asset that brands can use to build social relationships, thus, working with them makes it possible to meet marketing objectives.

Nano, Micro And Macro Bloggers

There are different levels of Bloggers and Influencers, and it’s important to choose the most appropriate one for your brand.

You must understand your brand well if you want to choose the right collaboration. Some brands may choose to engage with more than one level of Blogger or Influencer to maximise budget and to get a more varied result.

Paying the biggest Blogger or Influencer may seem like the best option, but it is not always the right one. We explain the difference between Nano, Micro and Macro Influencers below:

Nano Bloggers

These are the smallest influencers in terms of following; they have an average of 500 to 1000 followers.

Even though they do not have many followers, working with them to promote your brand is still very effective because most of their followers are highly engaged and can personally relate to them. Their followers trust them and are likely to believe what they say.

Many Nano Influencers will collaborate with you for under £100 per campaign.

Micro Bloggers

Micro Bloggers and Influencers tend to have more followers than Nano Bloggers. They may have anywhere between 1000 to 10,000 followers.

Their followers trust them because they have a lot of expertise on certain subjects.

They have earned the loyalty and credibility that their followers accord them. Most of their fans can relate to them on some level, therefore trust their opinions.

You can expect to collaborate with Micro Bloggers and influencers with budgets in the £100s.

Macro Bloggers

Macro Bloggers and Influencers can relate with their audience because they have expert knowledge in their respective fields.

They usually have a following of 10,000 upwards, but their stats are sometimes very much higher than that.

Their content is of very high quality, and Macro Bloggers and Influencers tend to command fees in the high £100s to £1000s per campaign.

Why You Should Work With Bloggers And Influencers

Content in the form of blog posts, social shoutouts and product reviews from Bloggers and Influencers gives you the chance to meet a fresh, new, engaged audience that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach with other forms of marketing.

Before you start your Blogger Outreach Strategy, it’s good to understand what it is that working with Bloggers and Influencers can gain you.

Working with an Influencer with millions of followers doesn’t always mean that you will achieve the engagement your brand needs. Here’s why it’s a good idea to work with Bloggers and Influencers of all levels:

1. Bloggers and Influencers Have Higher Engagement Rates Than Celebs

Bloggers and Influencers have higher engagement rates than celebrities. Celebs usually have millions of followers, and they tend not to engage with their audience.

Micro Bloggers and Influencers do not have an overwhelming amount of followers so they are more likely to have personal engagements with their audience.

2. They Are Trustworthy

Most millennials prefer products that non-celebrities endorse as they seem more honest and down to earth. People can relate to an Influencer more than a celeb.

3. They’re More Affordable

Bloggers and Influencers can create large volumes of content for low costs. They can also bring a fresh, modern and vibrant perspective to your marketing.

4. They’re Authentic

The secret is to find Influencers who represent whatever your brand stands for.

Bloggers and Influencers can increase the authenticity and credibility of your brand. The buying public rely on real reviews of your products and services, and Bloggers can provide honest perspectives that your customers will appreciate.

5. Influencers Bring A Fresh Perspective

51% of brands that have used Influencers agree that their content is more effective than content created by the brand. By 2020, over 50% of ad content will be from outside sources.

6. They’re Relatable

It was recently discovered, that out of every ten teens, four believe that their favourite Influencers understand them better than their friends.

7. They Are Well-Versed

Bloggers and Influencers have knowledge in a wide range of niches, but tend to specialise in a certain area so that they can be seen as experts in their fields.

8. Bloggers Are Valuable Connections

Bloggers and Influencers provide useful backlinks and referrals from their sites and social networks.

As we mentioned before, they can also help improve your sales by being loyal brand ambassadors.

Save or share this handy guide that shows you the main benefits of working with Bloggers and Influencers.

Finding Influencers Usually Requires A Lot Of Research. Not Any More.

You’ve hopefully now learned that most consumers trust Bloggers and Influencers, especially when doing research about a product or brand. It is important to take advantage of this to improve the awareness of your brand.

But where to start?

Get Blogged: Work With The Very Best Bloggers Within Your Budget

That’s where Get Blogged comes in. We match the very best Bloggers and Influencers to your campaign, and work with them to create content their audience will love.

We take the pain and stress out of Blogger Outreach, and produce high-quality content on your behalf for a really affordable cost.

Sound good? Get started.

Sources: Forbes

The post Bloggers And Influencers: Why They’re Essential For Your Next Campaign appeared first on Get Blogged .