Why Link Building Matters for B2B SEO Success (+7 Tips)
Getting more backlinks is the key to ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). If you are a marketer for a business-to-business (B2B) company, you may be wondering if this search engine optimization strategy holds for your clients.
Ask an experienced B2B SEO agency, and you will get the same answer. Yes, backlinks matter and this article provides the reasons why:
- Represent confidence from one site to another
- Promote page ranking
- Help search engines find your new pages
- Improve referral traffic
We also added tips to improve your backlinking strategies. Let’s go!
Want to learn more about the Digital Authority Partners approach to SEO? Watch this video!
Reasons Why Link Building Is Crucial to B2B SEO
Building links involves getting other sites to link back to your pages. When this happens, you get a backlink, a vote of confidence, from another location. Getting more backlinks strengthens your credibility and expertise.
Still trying to figure out if link building is worth it? Look at why successful B2B companies use this SEO strategy.
1. Represent Confidence from One Site to Another
When a website links to another, it tells the search engine that the pages have valuable and relevant content worth sharing. This is akin to endorsing the linked website's authority and credibility.
However, not all backlinks are equal. The quality and relevance of the linking website, and the anchor text used in the link, also play a role in determining backlink value. Marketers must focus on building high-quality backlinks from reputable and relevant sources.
2. Promote Page Ranking
Link building is a strategy that aims to increase the number and quality of inbound links pointing to a website, promoting its ranking in search engines. Backlinks from high-authority websites signal to search engines that a website is a trustworthy and authoritative source of information.
When a website receives inbound links from other websites, visitors click on the links and visit the website, increasing that website's traffic and potentially leading to more conversions.
3. Help Search Engines Find Your New Pages
When other websites link to your web pages, search engine bots follow those links and discover new pages on your site that they may not have otherwise found. This can help search engines find and index your new pages more quickly.
4. Improve Referral Traffic
Link building can help bring more referral traffic to your pages. When other sites link to your content, people who visit those websites click on the links and land on your website. The more high-quality links you get, the more referral traffic you acquire.
When your website receives links from high-authority websites, it can improve your site's credibility and reputation. This can make users more likely to click links to your website and explore the content.
Five Top Tips To Improve Your Link-Building Strategy
It is clear that your B2B site needs backlinks to promote your expertise and to get a higher rank in search engine results. Conquer B2B SEO myths and create an effective link-building strategy. Here are five tried-and-tested tips for you.
1. Publish Awesome Content
Publishing top-quality, valuable content encourages sites to link to your pages. Content such as how-to articles, infographics, guides, videos, and calculators is helpful, practical, and link-worthy. Be sure to add these types of content to your B2B site. To publish excellent content for backlinks, remember to:
- Research your audience. Understand your target audience and what type of content they are seeking. Use keyword research and social media analysis to determine what topics and content formats are prevalent in your niche.
- Maintain content quality. Develop content that provides value to your audience and stands out from the competition. Use visuals like images and videos to make your content more engaging and visually appealing. Ensure that the content is well-researched, well-written, and free of errors.
- Focus on linkable content. Create content that others will want to link to their websites. This includes original research, how-to guides, infographics, and different types of content that provide unique insights or valuable information.
- Build relationships. Networking and building relationships with other websites and influencers in your niche can help you to earn more backlinks over time. Share their content, collaborate on projects, and engage with them on social media to build trust and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
2. Respond To Help a Reporter Out (HARO) Requests
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a platform that connects journalists with experts and sources for their stories. Using HARO, can improve your backlinks by mentioning your website or brand in media outlets that link back to your site. Here's how to use HARO to strengthen backlinks:
- Sign up for HARO. Go to the HARO website and sign up for a free account. You'll receive daily emails with requests from journalists looking for sources.
- Monitor requests. Keep updated on the requests, and look for opportunities relevant to your expertise or brand. Make sure to respond quickly, as journalists often have tight deadlines.
- Provide valuable insights. When responding to a HARO request, provide valuable insights and information to help the journalist with their story. Include your name, title, and website in the response.
- Follow up. If a journalist uses your insights in their story, follow up with a thank you note and ask if they can include a link to your website. Some journalists may do this automatically, but asking is always a good idea.
- Track results. Keep track of the media outlets that mention your website, and ensure that they include a link. This helps track the effectiveness of your HARO efforts and make adjustments as needed.
3. Write Blog Guest Posts
Guest blogging is a content marketing strategy that involves creating content for another website in your industry or niche, to earn backlinks to your website. Here's how guest blogging can improve link-building:
- Increasing visibility. Guest blogging can increase visibility to a new audience, leading to more referral traffic and brand recognition. This also increases the likelihood of other websites linking back to your site.
- Creating quality backlinks. By creating quality content for another website, you can include links to your website within the content or in your author bio. These links can be high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites, which can improve your search engine rankings.
- Diversifying your link profile. By earning backlinks from various sources, including guest blogging opportunities, can diversify your link profile and improve your website's overall authority and credibility.
4. Research on Relevant Topics
By researching relevant topics, you can identify opportunities to create content that other websites may want. For example, if you run a website about office security, you might research popular topics in that niche and create high-quality content.
Other websites in the safety and security market may link to your content as a valuable resource for their audiences. Researching relevant topics can also help you produce content that is more likely to attract backlinks. Note the following topic research strategies to create linkable content:
- Identify your audience. Who is your target audience, and what are they searching for online? This helps you create content relevant to their needs and interests.
- Conduct keyword research. Use keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify relevant keywords and phrases related to your target audience's interests and needs.
- Brainstorm topics. Talk to your team and list topics based on keyword research and competition analysis. Develop topics that are relevant to your target audience, yet are little to no discussions on your site.
- Evaluate search intent. Find the search intent behind each keyword and topic. Determine whether the user is looking for information, products, or services. This helps you create content relevant to the user's needs.
5. Check Out Competitor Backlinks
When analyzing competitor backlinks, you can identify potential link-building opportunities that may have missed. For example, if a competitor has a backlink from a reputable website in your industry, contact that website and pitch your content as a valuable resource of which they may want to link.
Checking out competitor backlinks also helps you understand what linking strategies work in your industry. Adjust your strategy accordingly. For instance, suppose a competitor is guest blogging on a particular website or using a specific type of content to attract backlinks. You can try incorporating these strategies into your approach.
These techniques can help with competitor backlink research:
- Identify your competitors. Determine who your top competitors are in the industry or niche. Enter your keywords in Google search to find them.
- Use backlink research tools. Use backlink research tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to analyze competitor backlinks. Enter the competitor's domain into the tool, and it generates a list of all the backlinks pointing to that domain.
- Analyze the data. Determine the number of backlinks, the domain authority of the linking sites, the anchor text used, and the types of websites linking to your competitor. Look for patterns or trends in the data, such as high-quality sites linking to the competitor, and note those sites.
- Evaluate link quality. Check the linking sites' domain authority, page authority, and spam score. Look for backlinks from high-authority sites relevant to your industry or niche.
- Look for broken link opportunities. Use a tool like Check My Links. If broken links are found, contact the site owner and offer to replace the broken link with a link to your site.
Summing Up
Link building is crucial to promoting B2B SEO. It is a vote of confidence from other sites and boosts your page ranking and referral traffic. In addition, search engines can find new pages with the help of backlinks.
Strive to use natural link-building strategies, such as publishing great content, responding to HARO, and guest blogging, and you can secure that high rank on SERPs.
Contact Digital Authority Partners today and learn how link building can promote your B2B website.
Want To Meet Our Expert Team?
Book a meeting directly here