The Internet Popularity Contest
SEO is in large part a popularity contest. If a lot of different sources are mentioning your website, or have recommended you in some way, this can give a huge boost to how well you show up in Google Search results.
Google Business Listing and Other Directories
Indirect
On-Page
Off-Page
UX
If you have a brick and mortar place of business, or an office, create a listing on Google Business.
This will put your business on Google Maps and allow it to show up in certain kinds of search results.
Other kinds of directories can be helpful as well, especially industry-specific ones. But make sure to use the same business contact information (i.e. company name, address and phone number) every time.
Quality Backlinks
Indirect
On-Page
Off-Page
UX
Nothing but communication is necessary
A backlink is a link from another website to a page on your website.
This is the internet version of a recommendation, which tells Google that people like you, and so Google rewards you accordingly.
Backlink Example
Backlinks are a big part of SEO.
If you want learn more from a knowledgeable source,
we highly recommend Moz’s Beginner’s Guide to Link Building.
The blue clickable text is a backlink for Moz!
We have signaled to Google that Moz’s guide is trustworthy and relevant by linking to it.
This helps Moz’s SEO.
Imagine the proverbial bullies of the internet are singing your praises – would you trust their recommendations? Nope, and neither would Google. So it’s better to have 10 recommendations from the good guys than 1000 recommendations from the bad guys.
How can you figure out whether a website is “good” or “bad”?
Check out their website and their reputation.
Do they seem untrustworthy to you?
Do they seem spammy?
Do they have bad reviews?
Does the idea of purchasing something from them
make you feel uncomfortable or concerned?
If your answers are all “yes”, then you’re most likely dealing with a website that you don’t want want to be associated with, which means that you probably don’t want a backlink from them either.
On the flip side, if the website seems professional, trustworthy, and is in an industry that’s relevant to your business, then this is an excellent candidate for a backlink.
Note: Bigger companies (or popular brands) with bigger followings will have bigger clout in the eyes of Google. This means that one backlink from a high-clout website can be worth 1,000 backlinks from low-clout websites.
Think of it as the difference between being mentioned on the front page of a national newspaper with a readership of millions, versus being mentioned on the front page of 10 local papers with a combined readership of 5,000 people.
Where to get backlinks
“Low hanging fruit” backlinks
- Partners — If you work in partnership with other businesses, then perhaps they could mention their working relationship with you on their website, and add a clickable link to your website. That’s a backlink!
- Articles — If you have articles written about you by other companies, always insist that they include a link to your website within the article. If the link points to a relevant page on your website (such as your product/service page if that what the article is about), that’s even better.
Other places to get backlinks
- Social media
- Press releases published outside of your website
- Submissions to industry-relevant, good quality online directories
- Articles published to industry-relevant online magazines
- Posting in forums
Writing great quality articles and content on your website can help, as people will be more likely to deem it worth sharing and linking to.
Reputation Management & Reviews
Indirect
On-Page
Off-Page
UX
Garnering reviews on public platforms can be very helpful, especially if they are good.
If you have a bad review on a public platform, a well-crafted response from you can go a long way towards managing your reputation. If you have ever left a bad review for a business, you know the difference that a genuine and kind response from the business can make.
Additionally, many people use social media to ask questions or complain about a business.
If your business replies and shows them that they are heard, you can build a lot of trust.
You can get alerts automatically sent to you when someone mentions your business on the web.
- Google alerts
- Social Media alerts with Social Mention or Talkwalker
- More tailored alerts with IFTTT
We’ve now got through the basic SEO Action items that have to do with other websites mentioning your business.
Continue on to learn more strategies.
