Learn how inbound links signal trust and authority to search engines.
As a small business leader, CMO, or marketing professional, you know the importance of SEO for driving traffic and boosting your online presence. In fact, you may have heard that inbound links are one key to boosting your search engine rankings.
But you may not know what an inbound link is or how to create an SEO strategy. This article is your roadmap to understanding and using inbound links. We'll break down the basics, explain their importance, and provide actionable strategies you can implement to attract high-quality links to your website.
By the end of this guide, you'll have a clear understanding of how to use inbound links to achieve higher rankings, increase website traffic, and build a stronger online presence for your business.
What are inbound links?
According to Gartner, inbound links are links from sources other than search engines that lead directly to a page on your website.[1] If you think of your website as a city, you can imagine inbound links are like highways connecting you to other important locations. The more links that lead to your site, the easier it is for people to find and visit it.
But these links aren't just pathways. They have more power than that. They can also significantly boost your search engine ranking. Inbound links represent a "vote of confidence" from other sources as homepages receiving many inbound links likely rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).[1] In other words, the more high-quality inbound links you have pointing to your site, the higher it will rank in search engines.
For SMBs, ranking in search engines can mean the difference between success and failure. The top results on Google receive most of the clicks for a given search term, while clicks significantly dwindle for lower-ranking positions. Inbound links are the key to unlocking this prime real estate and attracting qualified traffic directly to your website. By building a strong backlink profile, you'll increase your website's visibility and attract potential customers actively searching for your products or services.
Why are inbound links important?
In the competitive landscape of the internet, standing out from the crowd is important for SMBs. While many marketing channels compete for your budget, inbound links offer a powerful and cost-effective way to achieve your goals. Here are five key benefits that make inbound links your secret weapon for online success:
1. Higher search engine rankings
Imagine spending a fortune on advertising only to have potential customers miss you entirely. That's the harsh reality for businesses neglecting SEO. Inbound links act as votes of confidence for your website, influencing search engines like Google to rank you higher in relevant searches.
This translates into organic visibility, meaning potential customers discover you naturally without paying for ads, and smart CMOs know this. Search engine optimization led all digital channels as a priority for marketers in 2022, with a 45% expected investment increase, according to Gartner.[2]
2. Attract high-quality traffic
Not all website traffic is created equal. Inbound links bring qualified visitors who are already interested in what you have to offer. Unlike cold leads from paid advertising, these individuals have already clicked on a link from a trusted source, indicating a pre-existing interest in your content or industry. This translates to higher conversion rates and more customers for your business.
3. Establish brand authority and credibility
Inbound links are like being featured in a prestigious industry publication. Earning links from reputable websites signals to both search engines and users that you're a trusted source of information in your field. This builds brand authority and credibility, making you stand out from the competition and attracting more potential customers who trust your expertise.
4. Boost brand awareness and visibility
Inbound links help your website gain exposure beyond your immediate audience. When your content is linked to various sources, it reaches a wider range of potential customers, increasing brand awareness and recognition. This broader visibility builds trust and credibility, establishing you as a legitimate player in your market.
5. Cost-effective growth strategy
Compared to paid advertising, inbound links offer a sustainable and cost-effective approach to online growth. While ad campaigns require ongoing investment to maintain visibility, well-built inbound links continue to drive traffic and boost your SEO ranking over time, offering long-term value without constant financial drain.
With a handful of digital channels taking almost half of CMO's budgets (44.2%), inbound links provide a strategic advantage by offering organic growth opportunities without breaking the bank.[3]
Inbound link-building tactics
Now you understand the power of inbound links, but how do you actually attract them? Here are some effective tactics to get you started:
1. Guest blogs
Contribute valuable content to relevant websites in your industry. Gartner's Ignition Guide to Formalizing an SEO Strategy as a Digital Marketing Leader emphasizes the effectiveness of guest posting, stating, "Guest posting and PR coverage efforts can help you get backlinks for your content.[4]" By sharing your expertise on established platforms, you gain exposure to a new audience and earn valuable links back to your website.
Remember, target high-quality pages with good domain authority and page authority for maximum impact. Focus on creating content formats like listicles, guides, surveys, infographics, and expert opinions, as they naturally attract more links due to their shareability.
2. Broken link building
You can turn the broken links on someone else's website into a link-building opportunity. Find relevant websites with broken links to pages similar to yours, then offer your high-quality content as a replacement. By fixing their broken link and providing valuable information, you earn a link and improve the user experience on their website.
3. Outreach
Direct outreach can be a powerful tool. Identify relevant websites, bloggers, and influencers in your industry and reach out with personalized messages. Offer to contribute content, collaborate on projects, or simply share your expertise. Building genuine relationships can lead to natural link opportunities as others discover the value you provide.
4. Create high-quality content
Content is king. Creating informative, engaging, and valuable content naturally attracts links. Conduct thorough research, offer unique insights, and optimize your content for search engines. The more valuable your content is, the higher the chance others will link to it as a trusted source.
5. Promote your content
Creating great content is only half of the equation. You also need to promote it actively to reach a wider audience and increase the chances of attracting backlinks. Share your content on social media, engage in online communities, and consider submitting it to relevant directories. The more visibility your content gets, the more likely it is to attract attention and valuable links.
Tools and technologies to help you build inbound links
Building a robust backlink profile takes time, effort, and the right tools. However, there are plenty of tools available that will help you streamline the process and track your progress.
Link management software will give you a bird's-eye view of all your inbound links, their source, quality, and impact. These platforms come with a variety of features allowing you to:
Discover all the inbound links pointing to your website, even those you may not be aware of.
Analyze the authority and relevance of each backlink to understand its true value.
Identify and disavow spammy or harmful backlinks that could harm your SEO.
Monitor your overall backlink profile growth and see how it impacts your search engine ranking.
Some of this software comes with a broken link discovery feature, which will:
Scan relevant websites for broken links on pages related to your niche.
Offer your high-quality content as a replacement, providing value to the website owner and potentially earning an inbound link.
Streamline the process of contacting webmasters and suggesting your content as a replacement.
Those with a link analytics feature can:
Track how often people click on links from other websites.
See which websites are sent to you the most traffic through inbound links.
Identify the inbound links driving the most traffic and engagement.
Benchmark your link profile against your competitors and identify areas you can improve.
How to measure the quality of backlinks
While having a large number of links pointing to your website might seem impressive, it's important to focus on quality over quantity. High-quality inbound links from relevant and authoritative sources carry significantly more weight in the eyes of search engines. Here are key factors to consider when assessing the quality of your inbound links:
Domain authority (DA): This metric, often provided by SEO tools, indicates the overall strength and authority of a website. Links from websites with high DA carry more weight in boosting your search engine rank.
Page authority (PA): Similar to DA, PA measures the authority of a specific web page, and inbound links from pages with higher DA are more valuable.
Relevancy: A backlink for a website in your niche or industry holds more value than a link from a completely unrelated website.
Link placement: Links embedded within the content, particularly in the main body text, are generally more valuable than those placed in footers, sidebars, or comment sections.
Link type: "Do-follow" links pass on more authority, while "no-follow" links don't directly impact your SEO ranking but can still drive traffic and brand awareness.
Anchor text: The text used to link to your website should be relevant to your content and brand.
The quality of your backlink profile as a whole also matters. It should be diverse. A natural backlink profile includes links from various sources, not just a few high-authority websites.
Other types of links
While inbound links are the focus of this article, it's important to understand the broader landscape of links. Here are two other valuable types of links you should be aware of.
Outbound links
Understanding the difference between inbound links and outbound links is key, even though they can both be useful. Outbound links are links from your website that point to another website. Your outbound links are some other site's inbound links. Outbound links matter because they:
Improve user experience.
Demonstrate expertise.
Have SEO benefits because search engines consider sites that link to relevant sites more informative.
But be mindful of overusing outbound links because they can dilute your website's SEO value. Choose relevant, high-quality websites and use descriptive anchor text to maximize the benefits.
Internal links
Internal links connect different pages within your website. They:
Make it easier for users to find relevant content.
Spread your website's SEO value across all pages.
Keep users engaged by guiding them to related content.
Strategically using internal links helps both users and search engines understand your website structure and content hierarchy. Use relevant anchor text and prioritize linking to high-value pages to maximize the impact.
Start building your inbound link strategy
If you're looking for new strategies to enhance your business's online presence and boost traffic to your website, building inbound links could be one of the best. It attracts high-quality traffic, boosts your business's authority, and is sustainable and cost-effective.
Your next steps are:
Audit your existing backlink profile
Implement strategic link-building tactics
Create high-quality, link-worthy content
Promote your content across channels
Monitor and analyze your progress
Outsourcing this work is also an option. Here are some resources to help you find an agency that will work with you to improve your backlink profile.