Do you know what inbound links can do for your website?
If you haven’t harnessed the power of inbound links, you’re missing out on a valuable source of traffic for your website. Don’t let your site suffer – it’s time to answer questions like “What are inbound links?”
In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to make inbound links work for you. Keep reading to learn how to boost your traffic naturally!
What is an Inbound Link?
If you’re just getting started with inbound marketing, you may have heard that links are one way to get more traffic.
There are actually a number of different kinds of links you can use, though. These break down effectively into three different categories: outbound links, inbound links, and internal links. They’re all important for your SEO strategy. However, inbound links are often seen as the most desirable.
What makes them different from other types of links, and why are they so desirable? These are the questions you need to answer to successfully use them.
In short, an inbound link is a link that comes from another site to your site. It’s “inbound” because it’s coming “in” to your site from somewhere else.
Meanwhile, an outbound link goes from your site to another website. And internal links link between pages on your own site.
Why Do Inbound Links Matter?
So you know inbound links are important, and you know what they are – but why exactly do they matter so much? Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons to start using inbound links today.
1. SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a complex web of strategies in which links play an important role. When your site gets a lot of inbound links, it’s likely to be ranked higher by the search engines.
Inbound links let the algorithms know that your site has authority on a subject. After all, why would other sites be linking to yours if you didn’t know what you were talking about?
Of course, not all inbound links are equal. Yours should be from authoritative, high-quality sites to get the best results. But the more high-quality inbound links you have, the better. Visit Toms SEO Link Building for more about inbound links and SEO.
2. Referral Traffic
The other main reason inbound links are such hot commodities is that they’re a great source of referral traffic.
If someone posts a link to your site on their site, their site’s visitors are more likely to click on it. An inbound link from a trusted site is like a referral for your site. The new traffic can turn into valuable new followers for you.
Of course, how much referral traffic you get depends on how much traffic the site posting the link has. The more traffic on their site, the more your site will benefit.
The Makings of a Good Inbound Link
As mentioned above, not all inbound links are created equal. You want to make sure that yours are the best – but what does a great inbound link really look like?
A good inbound link should come from a high-quality site, for the reasons already discussed. A link from a poor website can actually harm your brand, rather than helping it. However, it’s also important for the inbound link to have the right anchor text.
Anchor text refers to the part of the text that actually contains the hyperlink. A good inbound link needs a quality anchor text that fits naturally in the flow of the post.
The anchor text doesn’t always need to be optimized for keywords. Sometimes a simple text, such as “click here,” can be just as effective.
How to Get Inbound Links
The problem with inbound links, of course, is that you need another site to work with you. Unlike outbound and internal links, you can’t do it all on your own.
Here are a few of the top ways to get those links you really need.
1. Have a Great Blog
A blog with steady posts and good content will help you get inbound links naturally. If the content is excellent, other sites in your niche will want to link to it.
2. Use Outbound Links
If you want to get links, you have to give links. Make sure to include links to respectable blogs on your own blog. This will make them that much more likely to return the favor.
Blogs are a type of social media, although the “social” part is often forgotten. Play it up by forging valuable connections with sites that can give you the links you need.
Those links also strengthen your posts. You can’t cover every relevant topic in a single blog post. Let your links do some of the work for you, so your readers get more out of visiting your site.
3. Write Guest Posts
Guest posting on another blog actually puts you in charge of the links. This is a great chance to throw in a nice, natural inbound link to your own site.
Just make sure to check with the site about their linking rules. It won’t look good if you try to sneak in a link without their knowledge.
4. Create Resource Lists
Target your blog content to make it linkable. A great way to get a linkable post is to write a comprehensive resource list. Other blogs will want to link to this type of valuable information in their own posts.
Start Your Inbound Link Strategy Today
Inbound links can make or break your SEO approach. Don’t wait to start getting the links you need. The sooner you start building your inbound link game, the more your work is going to pay off.
Looking for more ways to boost your SEO game? Check out our reputation management tool.