Did you know that link building is considered one of the most powerful tools for startups to achieve higher rankings in search engines?
According to Search Logistics, the number 1 ranking page on Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than pages ranking in positions 2-10. Unfortunately, only 5% of all websites online have backlinks pointing at them.
By acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own, you can improve your website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic.
At Embarque, we believe that implementing effective link building tactics can greatly benefit startup founders looking to enhance their online presence and drive success.
If you’re seeking valuable insights on link building tactics for startups, read on to discover strategies that can help boost your website’s rankings and increase brand visibility in search engine results.
What is Linkbuilding?
Linkbuilding is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. These hyperlinks, also known as links, enable users to navigate between web pages. Search engines utilize links to crawl and index the web.
Linkbuilding plays a crucial role in improving search engine rankings. It is considered a potent tool for achieving higher visibility in search results.
For startup businesses like yours, building strong and reputable backlinks is essential. If you're wondering how and where to begin, Embarque is here to assist you on your linkbuilding journey.
Embarque successfully increased a SaaS client’s organic traffic by 60x in one year through effective link building techniques. The client initially lacked SEO knowledge and a strategy to sell their niche product.
Embarque prioritized high-value pages, collaborated with link building partners, and used white hat techniques. They audited the client’s website, identified important pages for link building, and found relevant partners.
As a result, the client’s monthly organic traffic grew from 126 visitors in June 2021 to 7,495 in February 2023, leading to significant revenue growth. This case study highlights the importance of link building as an effective SEO technique and emphasizes the need for a clear strategy and quality standards in this practice.
What Makes a Good Link?
When evaluating the quality of links, it's important to consider multiple factors rather than relying on a single criterion. Four key factors to consider are:
- Authority: Links originating from well-established and authoritative websites hold more weight than those from newly established sites.
For example: A backlink from a reputable news outlet like CNN carries more authority than a link from a newly created blog.
To assist you in identifying and evaluating the authority of websites, you can enhance your browsing experience by downloading the MozBar Chrome extension. With MozBar enabled, you gain access to valuable data on domain authority, allowing you to make informed decisions about the quality of links you encounter while browsing the web.
- Relevance: Links embedded within content that is relevant to your industry or niche hold greater value than those from unrelated sources.
For example: Obtaining a backlink from a popular industry blog that discusses topics related to your business provides stronger relevance.
- Editorial: Editorial links, which are naturally integrated within high-quality content, carry more significance compared to links found in directories or social media platforms, even if the authority of the hosting website is lower.
For example: A backlink within a well-researched article on a niche blog has higher editorial value compared to a link in a directory listing.
- Dofollow: Dofollow links, which lack the "nofollow" tag, are considered more valuable because search engine crawlers, like Google's, follow and count them towards the website's authority.
For example: Dofollow backlinks have a stronger impact on improving search engine rankings compared to nofollow links.
Why is Linkbuilding Important for Startups?
Linkbuilding holds significant importance for startups:
- Credibility: Building high-quality links establishes credibility for your startup. When reputable websites link to your site, it signals to users and search engines that your business is trustworthy and authoritative.
- Search Engine Rankings: Google and other search engines consider links as a crucial ranking factor. Acquiring relevant and authoritative backlinks can improve your website's visibility and organic rankings, making it easier for potential customers to find you.
- Increased Web Traffic: Backlinks from reputable sources can drive a substantial increase in organic traffic to your startup's website. When users click on links pointing to your site from other websites, it creates a flow of targeted visitors who are more likely to engage with your content and convert into customers.
- Enhanced Site Metrics and SEO Scores: Effective link building can contribute to improved site metrics, such as domain authority and page authority. These metrics, along with other SEO factors, influence how search engines perceive and rank your website.
- Revenue Opportunities and Sales: By attracting more targeted traffic and increasing your online visibility, link building opens up greater revenue opportunities for your startup. Increased visibility can lead to more conversions, sales, and business growth.
- Niche Relationships: Building links within your niche fosters relationships with other businesses, influencers, and industry leaders. This can lead to collaborative opportunities, partnerships, and knowledge-sharing within your niche, further boosting your startup's growth potential.
- Establishing Authority: Effective link building helps your startup stand out as an authority voice within your industry. When your website is referenced and linked to by other reputable sources, it enhances your brand's reputation and positions you as a trusted thought leader.
- Referral Traffic: Acquiring quality backlinks provides a continuous source of referral traffic. Visitors who discover your startup through these links have a higher likelihood of being interested in your products or services, resulting in a steady stream of potential customers.
Linkbuilding Tactics for Startups
For startups aiming to implement effective link building strategies, here are some tactics to consider:
Publish stats pages or reports
Publishing statistics pages or reports provides unique and valuable content that other websites may find interesting and worth referencing. It establishes your startup as a credible source of industry-specific data, making it more likely for others to link to your pages.
When you provide valuable data and insights, other websites, bloggers, journalists, and researchers may reference and link to your statistics pages when discussing related topics. This helps increase the number of backlinks to your website.
Ask for reviews from review sites
Reviews on reputable review sites often include links to your startup's website. These user-generated links contribute to your backlink profile, signaling to search engines the credibility and relevance of your website. The more high-quality links you obtain from review sites, the stronger your backlink profile becomes.
Search engines also consider reviews as a crucial ranking factor. When your startup receives positive reviews and associated links from reputable review sites, it enhances your website's authority and can positively impact your search engine rankings. Higher rankings lead to increased visibility and organic traffic.
Users who come across your startup through reviews may click on the provided links, leading them directly to your site. This not only drives traffic but also presents an opportunity for conversions and business expansion.
By actively encouraging customers to leave reviews on relevant review sites and providing convenient access to your profiles, startups can effectively harness the power of review-based link building. It enables them to acquire valuable backlinks, improve search engine rankings, drive targeted traffic, establish credibility, and foster business growth.
Publish authoritative content
Consistently publishing informative, well-researched, and valuable content increases the likelihood of other industry websites mentioning and linking to your site. Quality content naturally attracts attention and serves as a reputable reference, facilitating organic backlink acquisition.
A notable example of this is VEED’s article on "Reverse Engineering How the TikTok Algorithm Works," which was cited and linked back by Marketsplash in their blog post.
Authoritative content also positions your startup as a trusted source of information within your niche. By demonstrating expertise and providing valuable insights, you establish credibility and trust among your target audience. This enhances the likelihood of other websites linking to your content.
Be smart about guest blogging
Guest blogging enables you to include links back to your own site within the content or author bio. These backlinks play a crucial role in improving your site's search engine rankings and organic visibility. By focusing on high-quality guest blogging opportunities, you can acquire authoritative backlinks from trustworthy sources, further boosting your site's reputation.
Hot tip: If you publish guest post product listicles on relevant websites with your product on it, there’s a chance that your guest post will rank on Google Search. This can bring in important conversions. If you successfully do this ten times, then you can increase your chances of conversions!
Look to the competition
Studying your competitors' backlink profiles allows you to uncover valuable insights into potential link opportunities within your industry. By identifying the sources and websites that have linked to your competitors, you can target authoritative and relevant websites that may be willing to link to your site as well.
If your competitors have acquired links from reputable and trustworthy websites, it indicates that these sources are receptive to linking to businesses in your niche. By strategically targeting these same sources, you enhance the likelihood of obtaining high-quality links that positively impact your site's authority and search engine rankings.
To assist you in this process, you can utilize tools like Ahrefs Backlink Checker. This tool provides comprehensive data and analysis of backlinks, allowing you to identify potential link sources and assess their quality and relevance to your own website.
Target broken links
Finding broken links on other websites and offering to replace them with a link to your site is a smart link building tactic that benefits both parties involved. By offering to replace broken links, you provide value to the website owner by helping them maintain a functional and user-friendly website. In return, you gain a valuable backlink to your own site, which enhances your visibility, authority, and search engine rankings.
To get started, conduct a thorough analysis of relevant websites within your industry to identify any broken links. Broken links are links that no longer work or lead to an error page. This could be due to the linked content being removed or the website being restructured. You can use Ahrefs to find a website’s broken links:
Once you've identified broken links on other websites, reach out to the website owners or administrators and inform them about the issue. Politely suggest replacing the broken link with a relevant and working link to your own content that provides similar or complementary information.
Create linkable assets such as infographics and carousels
Infographics and carousels are powerful assets for acquiring backlinks to your website. Their visually appealing nature captures attention and makes them highly shareable on social media platforms. In fact, studies have shown that infographics are shared three times more frequently than any other form of content.
By creating engaging and informative infographics and carousels, you can increase the chances of your content being shared, leading to greater exposure and potential backlinks. Leveraging the visual appeal and social media compatibility of these formats can significantly boost your website's link-building efforts, ultimately driving traffic, enhancing brand visibility, and improving your online presence.
Check out this carousel on LinkedIn:
If you're looking to take your content to the next level, incorporating infographic videos can be a game-changer. Infographic videos combine the visual appeal and storytelling power of infographics with the engaging nature of videos. To simplify the creation process, VEED is an excellent tool that can assist you every step of the way.
Fix mentions without links
Reaching out to individuals or websites that mention your brand but don't include a link is an effective and efficient strategy for acquiring backlinks.
By proactively requesting these links, you can convert existing brand mentions into valuable backlinks, boosting your website's visibility and authority. Additionally, this approach allows for relationship building and networking within your industry.
Leveraging mention monitoring tools, such as Mention or Google Alerts, can help streamline the process and ensure that you don't miss out on any potential opportunities.
Devote resources to outreach
Outreach serves as a means of establishing connections and building relationships within your industry or niche. By reaching out to website owners, bloggers, influencers, or industry experts, you can initiate a dialogue and demonstrate your genuine interest in collaborating or providing valuable content. This helps foster trust and credibility, laying the foundation for successful link-building partnerships.
When you actively engage in outreach, you have the opportunity to secure relevant and high-quality backlinks. By targeting websites that align with your niche or industry, you increase the likelihood of acquiring links that carry substantial value. These links not only drive traffic to your site but also signal to search engines that your website is a reliable and authoritative source, potentially leading to improved search engine rankings.
One effective platform for outreach is Help-A-Reporter-Out (HARO). HARO connects reporters and content creators with expert sources who can contribute valuable insights and information for their articles or publications.
By signing up for HARO, you gain access to a network of opportunities where you can showcase your expertise and provide valuable input. When reporters and content creators include your insights or quotes in their content, they typically provide a backlink to your website, generating valuable traffic and enhancing your online visibility.
Use social media
Social media platforms provide an ideal space to share your content and promote it to a wider audience. By crafting compelling posts that highlight the value of your content and incorporating a link to your website, you encourage users to click through and visit your site. Additionally, when others find your content valuable, they may share it with their own followers, further expanding its reach and potential for generating backlinks.
Sctively engaging with users in your niche on social media platforms also helps you build relationships and establish your authority. By participating in discussions, offering insights, and providing valuable information, you position yourself as a knowledgeable resource. As you engage with others, they are more likely to take notice of your expertise and share your content, potentially leading to valuable backlinks from their platforms.
LinkedIn offers a wide range of industry-specific groups where professionals gather to discuss relevant topics, share insights, and exchange ideas. By actively participating in these groups and contributing valuable input, you can build connections and establish yourself as a trusted authority. Engaging in discussions and providing valuable content can lead to opportunities for backlinks as group members reference or link to your website or content.
Things to Consider When Outsourcing Linkbuilding
When it comes to outsourcing link building, it's crucial to consider several factors to ensure you make an informed decision. Here are some valuable tips to guide you in selecting the right agency for your needs:
Conduct thorough research
Before entrusting your link building efforts to an agency, invest time in conducting thorough research. Start by visiting their website to understand their services, expertise, and client portfolio. Additionally, explore independent review platforms and forums to gather insights and feedback from previous clients. This research will enable you to assess the agency's credibility, reputation, and ability to meet your specific link building requirements.
Consider hiring Embarque, a trusted agency that has helped fast-growing companies like VEED and Riverside achieve remarkable results through SEO. With Embarque, you can leverage the expertise of native English SEO writers and specialists at a fraction of the cost. Whether you need product-centric content or high-quality backlinks, Embarque's team is equipped to take your growth to the next level.
Understand the costs
It's essential to have a clear understanding of the costs associated with link building services. The price you should expect to pay for these services can vary based on factors such as the quality of the links and the quantity of links you require.
When considering link building costs, keep in mind that high-quality links typically come at a higher price point. These links are acquired from reputable and authoritative websites, which can significantly contribute to boosting your website's visibility and search engine rankings. Conversely, lower-quality links may be more affordable but may not have the same impact on your website's performance.
Additionally, the number of links you need will also impact the overall cost. A larger quantity of links will require more time, effort, and resources from the link building service provider, thus influencing the pricing structure.
To ensure you receive a fair and competitive price for link building services, it's advisable to research and compare offerings from multiple providers. Evaluate the quality of their link building strategies, the reputation of the agency, and the results they have achieved for previous clients.
Embarque offers flexible content packages for backlinks that scale with your budget. We provide two pricing options:
You can save by opting for a longer-term plan:
Avoid Black Hat SEO
When outsourcing link building, it's crucial to prioritize ethical practices and avoid black hat SEO techniques. Black hat methods involve manipulative tactics that violate search engine guidelines and can lead to severe penalties, including a decrease in search rankings or even a complete removal from search results.
To safeguard your website's reputation and long-term success, ensure that the person or agency you're considering is reputable and committed to using white hat link building methods. White hat techniques focus on organic and sustainable strategies that comply with search engine guidelines, ensuring the acquisition of high-quality and relevant backlinks.
As you search for a trusted partner, consider Embarque as a reputable agency that is trusted by many clients, demonstrating its credibility in the industry. Embarque prioritizes ethical link building practices and is committed to delivering sustainable and impactful results for their clients. By choosing a reputable agency like Embarque, you can rest assured that your link building efforts will align with best practices and protect the integrity of your website.
Beware of over-promising
Beware of over-promising when it comes to link building services. If someone guarantees you extraordinary results in a short period, you need to approach such promises with caution. While effective link building can significantly benefit your website's visibility and performance, it is a process that takes time, effort, and a strategic approach.
Link building involves building genuine relationships, creating valuable content, and earning backlinks from authoritative sources. These efforts require careful planning, execution, and ongoing optimization. It is unrealistic to expect immediate or overnight success in terms of link acquisition and search engine rankings.
Reputable link building agencies like Embarque understand the importance of setting realistic expectations and providing a transparent view of the process. They will work with you to develop a comprehensive strategy based on your goals and budget, focusing on sustainable and long-term results.
Understand the process
To gain a better understanding of the link building process, it is important to know how the agency plans to build links for your website.
Embarque prides itself on transparency and provides insights into their process through published case studies of past clients. These case studies serve as valuable resources that showcase how Embarque customizes strategies to meet the unique needs of each client.
By reading these case studies, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of how Embarque approaches link building and see the tangible results they have achieved for their clients.
Set clear expectations (on both sides)
Clear communication and understanding of responsibilities can contribute to a more efficient and effective collaboration. Here are some steps to help set clear expectations:
- Define project objectives: Clearly outline the goals and objectives of the project. Discuss what you aim to achieve and what the agency is expected to deliver.
- Discuss deliverables: Identify the specific deliverables and outcomes expected from the agency. This could include the number of backlinks, the quality of links, content creation, reporting, and any other relevant factors.
- Clarify timelines: Set realistic timelines for the project. Determine milestones, deadlines, and key dates to ensure both parties are aware of the project's progress and expected completion.
- Communicate roles and responsibilities: Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each party involved. Discuss who will be responsible for content creation, outreach, monitoring, reporting, and any other necessary tasks.
- Establish communication channels: Determine the preferred methods and frequency of communication. Whether it's through email, phone calls, or project management tools, ensure that both parties can communicate effectively and address any concerns or questions that may arise.
- Discuss metrics and reporting: Agree upon the metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) that will be used to measure the success of the link building campaign. Determine how progress and results will be reported and shared.
Conclusion
This comprehensive guide highlights key strategies that startups can implement to improve their link building efforts. It emphasizes the importance of conducting thorough research, building relationships with relevant websites, and creating valuable content to attract high-quality backlinks. By following these tactics, startups can enhance their online presence and increase their website’s visibility.
For startups seeking professional assistance in implementing effective link building tactics, Embarque offers comprehensive strategies tailored to their specific needs.To explore how Embarque can help your startup improve its link building efforts and boost online visibility, visit our website or contact us today for a personalized consultation.