If you are trying to improve your SEO it is essential to understand what backlinks are and how to integrate them into your SEO strategy.

First of all, what is a backlink? It is simply a link from a site that refers to a page on an external website. For example, when a company refers to one of your studies in an article, it creates a backlink linking the two contents. This will eventually benefit your SEO and visibility and here is why.

Google considers backlinks to be one of the three most important factors in improving search engine rankings.

The fact that your content is cited by other companies becomes an important sign of quality, as it indicates that you are a reliable, relevant and useful source.   

The frequency and quality of your backlinks are also important elements that impact your organic ranking. The more your content is used by external sources, the more it will have a positive influence on your SEO. However, if it is cited by websites that have no real relevance or are not recognized, it will probably have the opposite effect on your SEO. To learn more about the principles of Search Engine Optimization, check out our article on the subject.

The most important thing to consider when it comes to links is therefore to focus on quality rather than quantity. The efforts to be deployed are greater, but the return on investment will be beneficial by the fact that the search engines will attribute a more important weight to credible and important sources.

First, the most obvious way to increase the number of links to your site is to provide relevant, quality content that will engage your target audience. According to inc.com, nearly 75% of online content does not receive any external links. which represents a significant loss of earnings. Offering content with real added value, following a thorough understanding of the type of content most relevant to produce, is an extremely effective way to obtain backlinks. 

Secondly, no matter what industry you’re in, it’s always relevant to stay on top of your competitors, their strategies, their strengths and their weaknesses.  This is no different when it comes to backlinks. Conducting a study on the sites that refer to your competitors but not to your site gives you an idea of the kind of website that would be interested in your content. This will allow you to position your site as a good reference in the desired field by presenting yourself as a reliable and relevant source and thus promote your SEO.

Third, if you are the type of business that sells products from a variety of suppliers, you have an opportunity here to get several quality links. Why not ask the manufacturers to list the retailers selling their products on their sites? By contacting companies that have not listed you as a reseller, they will usually be very open to this request, as it is a win-win strategy for both parties. On the one hand, consumers will have direct access to points of sale where they can purchase the manufacturer’s products, and on the other hand, you will get a huge boost to your SEO strategy thanks to numerous quality backlinks.

Keep in mind that being mentioned by relevant and recognized external sources is one of the best ways to give visibility to your site with an optimal referencing on search engines.  

• Do I have an SEO strategy?   
• Do I want to improve my ranking on Google?   
• Is my content of quality and could it be used as a source for other sites?