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Jan 5, 2018
They say that if you want your site to rank higher and outperform your competitors, then search engine submission is necessary.
Search engine submission refers to the process of submitting the URL or domain name of your website, or the pages within it, to search engines so they know such pages exist.
The logic behind it is that if search engines know about you, they can easily index and rank you for relevant searches.
This might be true 10 years ago, but today, search engines have mastered the art of crawling and indexing pages by following links that are tied to them and links that point to outside relevant data sources.
This means that search engine submission is no longer necessary, but link building and search engine optimization (SEO) are.
If you haven’t paid much attention to the link building and SEO optimization of your website and its pages yet, now’s the best time to take action. The sooner you do, the sooner you get discovered by prospects who will eventually turn into customers.
In this article, we will discuss what link building and SEO are, as well as the best practices to follow this 2021. We guarantee you, following these steps will help your site rank better in search engine result pages.
Link building is the process of getting other websites to embed a hyperlink of your page on some of the relevant content they publish, including blogs, articles, infographics, etc.
This allows search engine bots to quickly navigate between pages on the Internet and between each page of a site, so they can find, index, and rank it for relevant searches easily.
Think of it as creating a relationship with other authority websites in your industry to build your business network and establish your credibility. The more key people you know in your industry and the more connections you make, the more prominent you become.
According to Google, the top results on its search engine results pages (SERPs) contain 3.8 times more backlinks than those below them. This proves that link building is an essential part of your marketing strategy if you want to boost your rankings in search results.
But, before we discuss the top link-building practices of 2021, we would like to share with you the two methods for building links and SEO optimization: White hat SEO and black hat SEO.
Link building and SEO come with a set of rules you need to follow to achieve long-term success. However, some people like to take shortcuts even though it could mean getting their site demoted.
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The white hat technique is focused on following the rules or guidelines set by Google to make sure that your website ranks higher on search engine result pages for relevant queries.
This method is recommended by Google to prevent any penalties that could affect your online visibility.
White hat strategies include:
White hat SEO is the best approach for entrepreneurs and small business owners who have a website looking to build a strong and genuine connection with their target audience.
On the other hand, black hat SEO violates Google’s rules and guidelines for link building and SEO, which deceives search engines into increasing their online ranking.
Cloaking, a form of black hat technique, is the practice of displaying relevant content to search engines but shows different information to users. Hacking into a website and adding backlinks without authorization are another common examples.
However, the most notorious black hat strategy would be keyword stuffing, which involves putting too many keywords in your content that it’s no longer understandable or useful to its readers.
People resort to using this technique out of desperation to increase their visibility online and make their website rank higher in SERPs.
This method is only temporary. Google’s algorithm is programmed to detect these schemes of deception sooner, penalizing those websites with demotion.
If you want to build sustainable link building and SEO strategies that will help increase your ranking long-term, you should obviously go for the white hat technique.
To effectively work on a link building strategy, you need to know that link building today is completely different from what it was yesterday.
Pay special attention to the quality and authority of the websites where you build links, and not just on the quantity, it’s Important to Check the domain and page authority of these sites from DA PA Checker to see if those are worthy of getting backlinks. Remember, link-building is not something that happens overnight. Follow these steps and you’ll be on the right track:
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Without a doubt, blogging offers many benefits. In fact, HubSpot found that writing and publishing blog posts regularly can help increase your inbound links by 97% and drive more site visitors by 55%.
Only a few entrepreneurs and business owners venture into effective link building by writing for others.
What do we mean by effective link building?
It basically means placing your links on popular and credible forms of media and online platforms through guest posts, blog comments, and whatnot.
Not all websites are the same. Inserting your links in websites that don’t generate much web traffic won’t be able to do much for you, as opposed to placing your links on authority sites.
If you include your links on websites and other platforms where a lot of internet users already go, you allow those links to get noticed by many people. This means more clicks on your link and more visitors on your site.
It’s a great and effective way to improve the quality of your backlinks and boost your visibility online.
A study conducted by SEMrush revealed that several online platforms prove to be very effective in helping you generate the quality links you need, such as the following:
Guest posting enables you to gather backlinks from different reputable sites in your industry, allowing you to diversify your backlink portfolio.
Enlisting your business and putting your website link in relevant and targeted business directories is one of the easiest ways to build links and drive traffic to your site.
Given the number of daily active users on the different social media channels, it’s safe to say that everyone is on social media, including your ideal customers.
Sharing your blog posts, articles, infographics, videos, and other content will not only increase your click-through rate and drive users to your site, but it can also boost your visibility online. Seeing the amount of traffic on your site can encourage others to cite you or insert your hyperlink in their content.
Placing your link on public and press releases can boost brand awareness and expand your current audience. Also, since press releases are shareable in nature, especially when situated at the right platform, chances of your link receiving more exposure are really high.
Posting your link in forums and blog comments like Quora and Reddit is always a good idea, considering that these are user-generated platforms. Insightful discussions and heated debates that take place on these platforms usually drive users to take action.
Effective link building is the key to creating a good backlink profile. It allows you to have relevant niche links, local links, links from smaller yet still credible sites, and links from large, authority sites.
Having a good backlink not only helps improve your ranking on search results, but it also boosts your website’s credibility.
The Skyscraper technique, developed by Brian Dean of Backlinko, is a link building tactic that aims to create engaging content that will help you generate quality editorial links.
It was built on three principles:
By looking for popular topics that will capture the attention of your target audience and adding your flavor to them, you’ll surely come up with valuable content they’ll love. You’ll encourage other sources in your industry to link back to you, which is a clever way of link building.
Did you know that 72% of consumers prefer email as their primary channel for business communication?
That’s why it’s crucial that you optimize every email you send to your recipients to guarantee that they’ll take action.
An email signature is also known as an email footer. It contains your full name, your company name, job title, and your business contact information, including email, phone number, and company website.
By placing an email signature that contains your company link and social media links, you get to share a backlink every time you send an email to your recipients and provide multiple touchpoints from a single place.
Now that more and more businesses are transitioning online, competition has become fiercer than ever.
Because of this, you must do everything you can to remain competitive in all aspects, including link building.
If you must, study your competitors’ websites and figure out their backlinks. Doing this allows you to gain insights on why their link building is strong and how you can apply these to your pages.
Now that we’ve taught you the best practices for building links this 2021, let’s move on to search engine optimization.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is composed of many practices that aim to make your website and the pages within it search engine-friendly.
By making sure that search engines can locate and read your website easily, you allow them to index and rank your site for relevant queries.
SEO is important because it’s what connects you to your target audience online.
With a solid SEO strategy; you can rank on the first page of search engine results pages. Your target audience will find you right away while they’re actively looking for products or services that you happen to offer. Before you know it, they’ll turn from prospects into customers just like that.
According to Databox, 70% of marketers find SEO more effective than pay-per-clicks (PPC).
This proves that SEO is indeed an essential marketing strategy every business owner and entrepreneur who has a website should invest in, especially if they want to increase their revenue and help their business thrive in this digital world.
Integrating SEO into your digital marketing efforts can significantly enhance your online visibility and attract more potential customers.
To make sure you can achieve your business goals this 2021 with the help of SEO, here are four of the best practices you should follow:
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Search engines are becoming smarter by the day. They can now recognize the intent behind a searcher’s query.
When a user types in certain keywords, a search engine can read the phrases before and after those keywords to identify whether that person is looking for specific information, instructions, a website, or a product to buy.
This makes it easier for search engines to provide searchers with highly relevant results that match their intent. And, for your site to rank for relevant queries, be sure to produce content that fulfills your target audience’s search intent.
For example, if someone types in “DIY toys for toddlers,” Google will show them blogs that feature parents or guardians making handcrafted toys for young kids.
For those in your target audience who aren’t looking to buy educational toddler toys just yet, you can do something else to put your brand on top of their minds. That way, you’ll be the first one they’d think of when they’re ready to buy a learning toy for their toddlers.
With so many possible intents a searcher might have, how do you even begin creating content for each of them? There are four common types of search intent:
You can start by creating content for each type, or you can map out your prospects’ buying journey and create content for every stage. Doing this allows you to meet and capture your target audience as they travel towards making a final purchase decision.
From an SEO perspective, your title tags and meta description are two of the most important meta tags on your site.
Meta tags refer to fragments of text that describe your page’s content.
Title tags are clickable captions that show in search results. They tell internet users what your page is all about and why it’s relevant to their query.
Focusing on keyword-rich and highly relevant title tags easily attracts internet users to click on your site.
Here are some title tag best practices to follow:
A meta description is an HTML element that tells search engines and internet users what they can expect if they click on your search result. In other words, it’s a short but concise summary of your webpage.
You need to write convincing meta descriptions to encourage people to click on your link. Although meta descriptions don’t directly influence your SEO ranking, they do increase your click-through rate, which influences other factors that directly affect your ranking.
Optimize your meta descriptions using these tips:
According to Viperchill, the average word count for the top results on Google’s SERPs is 1,800 words. This suggests that search engines and internet users favor long-form content over short ones.
The reason behind this is that long-form content provides depth and information short blogs cannot cover. It creates a perception of higher quality and makes you sound like an expert in your field.
Additionally, people don’t read a blog word for word. They just scan through it.
Long-form content is perfect for scanning, especially if you format it in a way that’s convenient to skim through. Such content will keep your audience engaged, making them stay longer on your site.
Another reason why you should invest in long-form content is that it generates an average of 7x more leads compared to short blogs.
If you haven’t, start publishing longer blog posts to attract your ideal customers and to signal search engines that you’re an authority site in your industry.
So, what are the secrets to creating high-quality content? Find out below!
Nope. What matters today is effective link building combined with a solid SEO strategy to improve your ranking in search engine results pages.
If you’re looking to improve your backlink profile and build your SEO strategy, Digital Resource can help you!
Our team of SEO experts can help you get the quality links you need and build an SEO strategy that will help boost your ranking in search engine results pages, drive traffic to your site, and increase your revenue this 2021! Contact us today to get started!
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