Why Backlinks Are Important For Your Company’s Business Plan

A company’s digital health is a foundational pillar of its ability to attract and retain a consumer or client audience. While some strategies may provide short-term solutions, it’s vital to also incorporate long-term tactics to create consistent practices that maintain your website and other digital platforms. SEO backlinks are a critical piece in establishing a strong presence and should be prioritized as part of your overall content plan.

For those that may be new to link building, here are three key reasons why backlinks are important. 

1. A Content-First Strategy Captures Leads

Generally speaking, there are three different kinds of links that can affect your website’s digital health:

• Internal links: links to additional helpful content within your site. For example, a blog article about industry trends may link to a landing page with your organization’s services that address these specific needs;
• External links: Links that take the reader to high-quality content on another site. This practice can help build credibility for your own site, adding a second voice to the conversation, or providing sources for stats, data, etc.;
• Backlinks: When other websites link back to your content. These types of SEO backlinks signify to search engines that your content is valid and relevant, increasing the chances of your website ranking highly on Google or other search engines. While any author on the internet can link to your content, targeted pitching strategies are often required to land backlinks on high-profile websites.

Each of these link types requires different types of content, and all contribute to your website’s ability to capture a larger segment of the market against your competitors. You’ll need to build content specifically designed to facilitate each of these types of links, which could include blog posts, infographics or research surveys. 

Often, as you build content that satisfies both the internal and external link needs of your site, you’ll be able to organically capture more backlinks or pitch your content with confidence to other outlets.

When done correctly, backlinks on high-visibility sites will contribute most to capturing leads via funneling targeted traffic to strategic pages on your site (you just need to high-quality content to achieve this). 

2. Effective Digital Strategies Address Both On-Page and Off-Page SEO

When we think of SEO planning, a few strategies automatically come to mind: keyword usage, metadata, title tags and consistent NAP are some of the most common. However, if you want to really build an effective long-term strategy, you have to consider off-page SEO tactics to complement your current on-page work.

What’s the difference? 

On-page SEO is about what’s happening directly on your website. Off-page SEO is about the factors surrounding your website that can impact its overall digital health and brand presence. This is where backlinking comes into play. (Refer to our blog to learn more about on-page and off-page SEO). 

Both your backlink accumulation and domain authority can become significant drivers of your website’s ability to be found by the right digital audience. 

Think of it this way: when you last picked a new coffee shop to work in, did you select your destination blindly, or did you rely on the recommendations of friends, family members and online reviewers? Search engines rely on “recommendations” (backlinks) from other sites to signal that your website is content-rich and authoritative. With each of those backlinks, you’re building your digital credibility and increasing your chances of ranking.

3. Diversified Tactics Work Together to Influence Rankings and Conversions

If nothing else, it’s crucial that you don’t rely on one tactic to develop a robust digital presence. There’s no silver bullet in SEO, and a diverse set of strategies help you cover all the right bases. Luckily, link building is a diverse practice. That’s why backlinks are important—they can come from a variety of sources and serve different purposes. For example: 

• Links from listings can funnel hot leads actively looking for a type of business like yours;
• Bylined thought leadership articles can build industry credibility and position your team members as experts in your space;
• Links from relevant blog posts can land warm leads on your site and push them into your sales funnel with a CTA at the end of the article; 
• Digital PR-related links can build buzz surrounding upcoming events or announcements. 

Develop Your Backlink Strategy

A comprehensive digital marketing plan can include tactics like building a library of keyword-dense content, creating shareable graphics for backlinks, executing a backlink outreach plan, increasing domain authority and managing your website functionality. (Easier said than done, right?)

While it may seem complicated, SEO backlinks are one factor that can drive the most results. However, it’s not a tactic you can complete in just a few weeks. That’s why many businesses shy away from link building campaigns—they don’t want to put in the time and investment. Yet when you work with experts, you’ll see ROI for years to come. 

Chat with our diverse link building team to understand the next steps in developing your strategy.