If SEO is one of your top priorities in marketing, you’re one smart cookie. These days, a business isn’t really a business until it has an established web presence. And in order to market your website – including the company blog – and attract as much traffic as possible, SEO should always be a part of the game plan.
While search engine optimization has a lot to do with the keyphrases used in website copy and content, link building is really what increases page rankings and inbound traffic.
Quality back links to your website prove to search engines that your domain is legitimate, informative, interesting, relevant… then your rankings go up. That’s pretty much the jist of it.
Every Link Building Campaign is Unique.
But of course, every link building campaign is different. That’s because every business has (or should have) a unique selling proposition.
Each business focuses on getting links from a variety of websites in its niche. Within each niche, there are different website categories to target. Each category includes sites from a specific source or with a specific purpose.
There are five kinds of websites that should be included in link building campaigns because they decrease the time it takes to start seeing results from SEO.
Five Types of Websites That Boost Link Building Campaigns’ Results
The five categories of websites that are worth targeting for backlinks include
Your Own Websites
Backlink from other websites you may have to the website you want to optimize. If a company has separate websites for different products, services, divisions, etc., be sure to link to your destination website. If your other websites are optimized, even better. These are the easiest backlinks to build. Make the most of them.
Close Associate Websites
Close associate sites are websites of influential consumers or of vendors who make your services possible. Nonprofits for causes related to your company’s purpose are also close associate websites. Seek links from them.
Websites promoting local events in which your company participates are also great targets for quality backlinks.
Media Support Websites
These are websites that help you get the news out about your company. Niche directories and news sites are typical of this category.
Any websites that a PR professional may have tucked away in her arsenal is pretty much a media support website. Media support websites already enjoy heavy traffic for the most part, so getting links from them is a tremendous help.
Natural Interest Websites
Sites with natural interest include blogs, forums, classified ad sites and any site that facilitates normal, helpful and non-sales dialogue about topics related to your niche. Word of mouth drives this category. Become a known participant in forums, and contact bloggers for an interview about your concept or to guest post on their blog.
Discussion Websites
Don’t get discussion websites confused with natural interest websites. Discussion websites are fit for self-promotion – which isn’t too highly esteemed on natural interest websites.
Discussion websites are actually the social networks and other social sharing websites. Links posted to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, etc. are additional opportunities for inbound traffic. The more, the better.
You may find that a certain category produces more links and traffic than the others do. Focus more on those certain websites. But always make an effort to build links in each of the site categories. Each website you link to offers another chance to attract unique visitors to your own website.
If your website already has the right keyphrases, smart link building will make your SEO even more profitable.