Link building plays a crucial role in SEO because search engines view backlinks as evidence of worthwhile content.
When a lot of high-quality and trustworthy sites link to your web pages, search engines will recognize that your content is valuable, rewarding it with a higher position in search engine page results.
Furthermore, backlinks to your site will result in increased traffic because you’ll know that others are talking about your website and value it, too.
In general, the more backlinks your site has, the better it will be for your search engine rankings.
However, you should always bear in mind that the backlinks linking to your site bring the most value if they are from high-quality and credible websites. If Google discovers that you’re using shady sites for backlinking to your site, your WooCommerce store could be penalized! At worst, it could even disappear from web search results!
Here are industry best practices to help you with your link-building strategy
1. Write guest articles on other websites in related niches
Here’s how this works. You write an article for another website in your niche. Share your knowledge and expertise so that the piece delivers value. They publish it. You include a link to yourself from that article. It’s as simple as that. Often, you want to offer something in return to the site publishing your piece. Consider either a freebie, or publishing an article from their website.
Guest blogging works best when you target the websites on which you want to appear carefully. Your work should also be meaningful and authentic, and give something really beneficial to the reader. In other words, be strategic with your placements. Done well and consistently, guest blogging will be traffic to your site, and you’ll reap the SEO rewards.
2. Use digital PR to create awareness and link build
Prepare linkable press releases and promote them to journalists or media release websites. You probably know by now that having links to your website tells Google that readers and customers value your site; therefore, you’ll rank higher in Google! For your WooCommerce store, this is like having prime retail space in a popular shopping mall. You’ll get lots of traffic and the opportunity to sell will increase significantly.
If you use this tactic, aim for high-authority websites. This can be challenging at first, but by using a PR consultant who has contacts, or registering on a site like MuckRack, which is used as a contact resource by journalists, you can make this tactic less challenging. If you use a site like Muckrack, describe your expertise in full, and only respond to interview requests for which you have the expertise and authority.
3. Develop relationships with influencers in your niche
Particularly consider those influencers who are growing their reputations as thought leaders and have authoritative and reputable sites. When the relationship is starting to grow, send them your products for free and ask for a review. Ask them to include “dofollow” links to your site, but also ask that the site not mention that the review has been requested. Keep in mind that the most successful relationships are reciprocal. You’ll soon wear out someone’s friendship and goodwill if you’re always asking for favours and not doing anything in return. Ask influencers if there is anything that you can do for them.
4. Reach out to partners and establish relationships with them
If you’re selling other companies’ products, ask them to list you on their sites (for example, in their section called Where To Buy Our Products, or suggest such a section if they don’t have one.
5. Get listed in any niche or general directories relevant to your specialist area
6. Leverage Sponsorship
Sponsorship is often a great way to raise awareness and earn backlinks. Again, be strategic about this, and only sponsor when it is relevant to your business. Every sponsorship deal should come with mentions on social media and website backlinks to your WooCommerce store. Seek out sponsorship opportunities that offer good photo opportunities for your and the organization’s social media accounts.
7. Write a strong and compelling how-to guide
If you sell products that are challenging to install or require a best-practice approach, write an outstanding how-to guide. Giving this for free positions you as a value-add eCommerce supplier, and the chances are you’ll win repeat buyers. Additionally, pitch the guide to bloggers in your industry and ask if they want to run sections of the guide as blog posts with backlinks. They will most likely thank you for the excellent content!
8. Create video guides
Take the guide one step further by creating a series of short videos demonstrating how to set-up a product, or discussing the best practices if it’s a service. The videos should be reasonable quality, authentic, and useful for customers.
9. Prepare discount offers
A good discount program is a win-win. You get traffic, domain authority, and returning shoppers, and buyers get a discount. The secret? List your discount program on websites aggregating deals.
10. Take advantage of unlinked mentions
Unlinked mentions happen when websites mention your eCommerce store but don’t link to your site. Take advantage of unlinked brand mentions with software like Brand24 or Ahrefs, which let you track mentions. When you discover unlinked mentions, contact the site owner with a request for a backline. And you have a great reason to reach out, given that they have mentioned your WooCommerce website!
11. Use content repurposing & syndication
Content repurposing and syndication is another link-building tactic. In this case, you focus on creating strong content that news sites, infographic directories, and video-sharing websites will carry. The best way of doing this is taking existing content and repurposing it into an infographic. If infographic designs aren’t your strong suit, work with a good graphic designer to create a beautiful interactive infographic. Employ this tactic with the content that is getting the greatest amount of traffic for the best results. The backlinks from these infographics will bring you a whole new stream of valuable traffic and, once again, lift your search engine page results (SERP).
