Do I Really Need Backlinks?

If you’ve actually taken the time trying to acquire backlinks to your website, you’ll quickly realize the number of hoops you need to jump through to actually earn one. But first, let’s back up.

What Is A Backlink?

A backlink is an incoming link from one website to another. For example, if Website A has a link to Website B, Website B has earned a backlink. The standard advise is to gain quality backlinks from credible websites.

The Process of Acquiring Backlinks

The actual addition of a backlink on a website is fairly simple. It’s getting the second party to agree to go through the trouble of updating their website to benefit you that’s the hard part.

Have Your Ducks In A Row

Suppose you have a company in mind from whom you’d like to acquire a backlink. Before contacting anyone, however, be sure to have the following handy:

• Decide which page of YOUR website their backlink should point to from their website. Which page of yours makes sense for the other website to backlink to? We advise selecting an inner page (a.k.a not the homepage) as your backlink destination, but any page will do.

• Decide which page on THEIR website their backlink should display. Is it at the top somewhere? Embedded in an existing paragraph on an inner page? Or will you craft your own sentence with a backlink and instruct them to copy and paste directly on their specified page?

Give Them An Incentive

If you have something to offer them in exchange for a backlink, offer that upfront. Barter if necessary.

Trades Are Common

Oftentimes the second party will agree a backlink for a backlink. That means you’ll need to create a backlink to their website, which may or may not agree with your website’s goals.

In Conclusion

Backlinks are challenging because a) you don’t have control over the creation of a backlink and b) there’s no guarantee that you will see the results you’re hoping for. While they may boost some rankings, don’t break your back going about it thinking it’s your only option for greater web visibility.

Instead, we recommend focusing your marketing time and energy on areas where you do have control: your own website. Explore topics within your industry as blog posts. Optimize your existing title tags, make the site more user-friendly, add new promotions, etc.

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