You don’t need us to tell you how vital search rankings are nowadays.
The higher a website ranks on sites like Google, the more organic traffic it’ll get – and the greater the opportunity to make sales. And, of course, link building is at the very heart of this.
For ecommerce websites, link building is crucial. It’s one of the most effective ways of encouraging search engines to take note of your site and go on to rank it highly for the search terms that matter to your company.
In this article, we’ll explain what link building is and how it works before discussing some of the most effective strategies. Read on for everything you need to know.
Understanding Link Building
Link building is the process by which businesses attempt to acquire high-quality links to your website from other high-domain authority websites.
At first glance, link building might sound like a simple task. But a lot of work goes into a quality link, and the more links a site gets, the better it’s likely to do in terms of search rankings.
One of the most important factors in determining search engine ranking success, link building is a must for businesses of all types. It’s particularly important for ecommerce websites, however, as these companies depend so heavily on search rankings.
There are several types of links that combine to create a link-building campaign. These are the top ones you’ll need to know about:
Internal links: these link content within a website
External links: these link to pages and resources outside of the website
Natural links: these link to pages listing further information
Manual links: these are links from external sites to your own
Don’t forget, no link is created equal, and many different strategies can be used, from beginner strategies to advanced ecommerce link-building tactics.
Many factors go into determining the effectiveness of individual links, from their quality to the relevance of the content being linked.
That’s why a well-thought-out link-building strategy is so important. Without one, you risk creating a massive collection of links that don’t achieve the intended results.
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Preparing for Link Building
Before you start link building for ecommerce websites, we always recommend taking the time to prepare properly.
At this stage, completing a thorough website audit is a good idea. This will allow your team to assess your current link profile and identify any issues that may crop up.
Remember, this audit will look very different for various websites, with ecommerce stores facing different issues than knowledge-hub websites and subscription services.
Analyse competitors’ link profiles to gain insights and inspiration, then start working on your analysis of the intended target audience. Identify potential link prospects and site owners, keeping an eye out for the ones that might deliver the best quality links.
Your link-building strategy’s success will depend on a range of factors, but it’s worth setting realistic goals and expectations from the start.
That way, you’ll be able to see whether or not your strategy is achieving what you’d hoped it would – and you’ll know when you’re hitting milestones along the way.
Create quantitative targets for your strategy, ensuring that the whole team is on board with what you’re planning and aware of how you intend to reach your chosen targets.
Building a Strong Foundation
A strong foundation will make a real difference to the effectiveness of your link-building strategy. So, ensure you optimise website content for linkability, focusing on creating high-quality and shareable content.
Visual elements and multimedia resources will create plentiful opportunities for quality links, and subtle changes like these will also make your site more user-friendly in the process.
Don’t overlook internal linking as you plan your strategy. On-page optimisation techniques on blogs and product pages like these can make a huge difference to the success of your strategy overall.
And, of course, internal links also make life easier for users, allowing them to navigate the site with ease.
Use structured data markup to share information directly with search engines. Make data easily readable, and Google will reward you with improved rankings.
Effective Linkbuilding Strategies
There are many different strategies that you can employ to build links. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options.
Guest blogging and contributorship:
Content is king when it comes to link-building strategies. We’ve seen incredible results from strategies focusing on guest blogging and contributorship, as links generated by blog posts tend to be top quality and immeasurably useful for target audiences.
Start by crafting compelling content you can send across once website owners begin to show interest – if they like your content, you can work on guest post drafts for them to review.
If your partnership proves successful, you’ll soon see great results in terms of website traffic – and you might find you attract the interest of new markets, too.
Broken link removal:
Broken links can drag your search rankings down, so it’s always worth hunting for broken links and implementing a broken link-building strategy.
Use online tools such as Google Search Console to find any broken links affecting your website. Here, you’ll get a complete overview of any errors found during indexing, and you’ll have the opportunity to rectify those as soon as possible.
This task can be difficult, but if you focus on good relationships during your outreach work and quickly offer relevant replacements, you should soon see good results.
Influencer partnerships:
Never underestimate the importance of building relationships in link-building work – especially if you’re operating within the ecommerce niche.
Start by targeting influencers with audiences similar to yours and establish collaborations with the voices that matter right now. Doing so could earn you some enormously influential links, every one of which is likely to have far more power than those earned more easily via similar businesses.
Linkable assets:
Assets like info books, website articles, and guides go hand in hand with an effective link-building strategy.
Creating and promoting assets like these opens the door for quality links from all kinds of relevant sites, as you’re providing high-value content that other websites are far more willing to share.
Creating the content is just the first part of the job, though. You’ll then need to spend time on outreach and distribution strategies, to ensure you get the word out about the assets your team has worked so hard on.
White Hat Link Building Techniques
One of the best ways of earning links is by creating genuinely valuable and informative content.
There are no shortcuts in link building. In fact, the more time you spend creating the content behind your links, the more likely those links will have a tangible impact on search rankings.
Establish your brand as a thought leader within your industry. Participate in industry forums and communities, contributing insights and building meaningful and mutually profitable relationships. All of these can be effective ecommerce link-building tactics when done right!
Focus on building relationships with well-known personalities in your field and engage in media outreach. Introduce your company to journalists and publishers, then get back in touch with them at regular intervals to share press releases and resources that may pique their interest.
Link Monitoring and Maintenance
No strategy could ever hope to achieve its targets without careful analysis and monitoring. Link building is no exception, which is why all strategies must be closely monitored throughout the process.
Analyse backlinks using tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or the Semrush Backlink Gap Tool.
That way, you’ll have a good understanding of the quality of the links being generated. Make sure you identify any potentially toxic links and deal with them swiftly before they get a chance to affect your rankings.
Unfortunately, the work is never really finished when it comes to link building. As you work through the process, remember to keep checking on things like lost and broken links. Doing so will mean that your strategy has the potential to improve over time, and better rankings will soon follow.
It might be worth disavowing these if you notice large quantities of poor-quality links during analysis. However, we’d only suggest doing so if you are sure that the presence of such links is having, or is likely to have, a detrimental impact on your rankings.
If you’re unsure, contact a member of our expert Link Building team today!
Investing Resource into High Quality Link Building Pays Off
Ecommerce link building strategies can be labour-intensive and time-consuming, but it’s a process worth investing your energy in.
By creating quality links, you’ll alert search engines to your website’s value – and they’ll soon respond by rewarding your site with a higher ranking.
If you’d like to learn more about SEO link building and how it works, don’t hesitate to contact Position Digital. We’re one of a handful of agencies that do link building well and are always happy to share our secrets.
To learn more about the broader world of digital marketing, including social media, content, digital PR, and more, be sure to check out our blog page for the latest tips and insights!
