If you’ve ever heard the term “inbound links” but don’t fully understand exactly how it works in relation to your website, you are in luck. I’m about to quickly explain to you what inbound links are and how you can build inbound links to your website.
What is an inbound link?
In short, an inbound link is basically another link to another website. For example, this is a link to a referral partner of mine that does promotional products (You’re welcome, Advertising Specialties!). This link will take you from our Boldthink website to another website.
Why are inbound links important?
Inbound links do a couple of things. First, it’s a great way to get referral traffic. When you give someone an inbound link and refer a potential reader, it’s a great way to build reciprocity. Second, it gives SEO a bit of a boost. Websites built with rich inbound links naturally rank better. When your website works alone with no inbound links, it may not generate much interest. However, when you start adding in links, your website becomes a valuable source of information. You can also think of inbound links as your online referral networking tool.
Not all inbound links are valuable.
Full disclosure: not all inbound links are created equal. The website that you are getting inbound links for need to have some authoritative rank. This is where many websites get in trouble with blackhat SEO tactics. You cannot buy inbound links. You need to build them from sites that are credible. For example, asking for a link on someone’s food blog that they do on a part time basis will not have much website authority compared to that of Inc., an online resource for small businesses.
How to build valuable inbound links.
Building inbound links is crucial for any SEO strategy. When beginning your inbound link strategy, here are a few easy ways to build valuable links:
- Link to websites in complementary industries. Naturally, when you link with similar companies because it solidifies the obvious relationship between the two websites.
- Be a guest blogger on another website.
- Link to your clients/partners and ask for a backlink on their website. This is common in the B2B industry because everyone has a vested interest in the success of each other’s business.
- Create a joint press release. For example, maybe you got a new client or formed a new partnership. This is a great opportunity for both parties involved to give an inbound link.
- Have a blog. This is a great way to continuously get inbound links. Be sure to push out all your posts using social media to get the most value out of our content.
These are just a few examples of ways to start building your inbound link strategy. What tactics have you used on your website?
