Long-term and Short-term Link Building Strategies

by Megan Webb-Morgan

Link building is a powerful SEO tool; through various tactics you can boost your search engine rankings and niche authority. Along with standard online marketing practices, such as good web design and social engagement, you can increase your page rank and gain a much broader fan base.

When links to your website are found on authoritative or popular websites, Google associates their authority with your website, therefore enhancing your position. As an online marketing tactic, link building will bring you a constant stream of new visitors, better niche placement, and higher authority on the web.

Overall, your link building strategy can include both long-term and short-term tactics; using both will allow you to spread your links throughout the web in a strategic manner. And the more links you have pointing to your website, the higher your rankings will be.

Short-term Strategies

Some methods of creating backlinks to your website take long-term effort but reap high rewards. However, short term methods can still be valuable in the link building process as a whole. It’s how you go about it that will make all the difference.

• Directories are a great opportunity to make your blog and links available to potential readers. Add your blog to sites that have a high page ranking, are in your niche, and have good reviews online. Avoid directories that look spammy or aren’t in your blog’s sector.
• When writing blog posts, insert links to other parts of your blog. This often overlooked strategy increases the amount of times your links appear on the web and is entirely under your control. Be sure the links look seamless and natural, and be careful not to overload your posts with too many.

Long-term Strategies

The most effective backlink strategies are long-term. Still, you’ll only need to take a few minutes each day or week in order to accomplish them effectively. The goal with these methods is to create a constant, authoritative presence on the web.

• Commenting on other blogs is a great way to link back to your site and gain new readers. Find a number of blogs that you like and become an active commenter.
• Social media sites offer a great opportunity for increasing traffic and backlinks, and are most effective when used on an ongoing basis. Don’t just create your online profile and then ignore it – keep it populated with links to your blog as well as links to related or interesting content found on the web.
• Becoming a guest blogger on other sites gets your name published in a variety of places and increases your authority on the web. It attracts new readers that might not otherwise have found your blog and forges relationships with other bloggers, increasing traffic to your site.

Search engines take into account the number of backlinks it finds and the authority of the pages where those links are found. Though getting valuable links takes constant effort, a vigilant attitude and a cohesive strategy for getting it done can help make your website an online success.

Megan Webb-Morgan is a web content writer for Resource Nation. She writes about small business, focusing on topics such as web design and online marketing.

Source: Hubspot 2